The plaza: The civic plaza

New Urban News Technical Page by Andres Duany, Michael Morrissey, and Patrick Pinnell

It is often the case that important civic buildings are physically smaller than the private structures around them. Since the human species is given to mistaking size for significance, it is important to understand the ways in which civic buildings can indicate their importance without size, luxury, or hyperactive massing. The space around a civic building is the most important resource for this purpose.

In Europe and Latin America, the civic plaza, with its paved or earthen surface, is widespread. In North America the civic square, with its planted surface, has been historically more common. Indeed, the image of the courthouse or capitol in the midst of a city block of grass, is an archetype of government  from the Appalachians south and west. Other civic building types such as schools and churches also tended to present their faces to the world in the company of surrounding lawn.