<p>“As a concise, cross-disciplinary synthesis I know of no current competition for the book. For designers, managers, and advocates of public places, <i>Public Space </i>is a cogent introduction, a call to action, and articulation of its complexities and import. For scholars of public space it offers an integrated review of work from multiple disciplines.”</p><p><b>Mark Childs,</b> <i>Emeritus Professor, School of Architecture and Planning, University of New Mexico</i></p><p>"That it may work better when picked up and browsed than read front to back does not stop <i>Public Space </i>from achieving considerable scholarly value. The book is deeply grounded in planning history and theory, and contains an enormous volume of key ideas from across the urban design discourse. What’s more, Mehta voices a significant concern for the social, including contemporary debates around access and equity, crime and public safety. All of these could be confronted at greater length in a different book, but it’s something that they are included here at all, being (hopefully) communicated to an eclectic audience of urbanists and design professionals. If it even partly succeeds in the goal of sharing a wealth of ideas on this most important of human habitats across disciplines and professions, it is a worthy endeavor. Perhaps even a new model."</p><p><b>Gordon Douglas, Ph.D.,</b> <i>Associate Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, and Director, The Institute of Metropolitan Studies, San José State University </i></p>