Carlo Ratti’s welcome call for the humanising of urban public spaces (We used AI to analyse three cities. It’s true: we now walk more quickly and socialise less, 18 August) chimes well with Thomas Heatherwick’s latest series of Building Soul on Radio 4, where his prime concern is to encourage joy in our built environment.
May I make the case for a too often overlooked space in the heart of Preston? Winckley Square is composed of largely Georgian townhouses that define an undulating park.
In the mid-20th century, a public space was created with paths laid out in “desire lines” across the square. By the 21st century, repeated flooding under an overarching tree canopy made for a distinctively less inviting place. But trees felled in the wake of the ash dieback disease, together with landscaping and rebuilt culverts, have had an enlightening effect.
The gardens, looked after by the Friends of Winckley Square, host a programme of social and heritage events. Now, associations with the likes of Gerard Manley Hopkins, the suffragette Edith Rigby, the graphic novelist Bryan Talbot and the Beano artist Leo Baxendale are being looked at, with a view to setting up links to explore their work and inspire contemporary writers.
Austen Lynch
Garstang, Lancashire
• Carlo Ratti presents fascinating AI-generated data on how people use public open space, arguing that this can be used to design spaces better, and suggesting architects should use these AI tools. There are some truly outstanding public spaces designed by architects. But the professionals best placed to use these tools, to evaluate the conditions and to design creatively in response, are landscape architects (or multidisciplinary teams that include landscape architects).
Annie Coombs
Fellow of the Landscape Institute
