Public spaces and urban beauty. The pursuit of happiness in the contemporary European city

In Europe the historic city is the result of a seamless integration between the physical dimension and the content of identity: the system of public spaces is the fulcrum of the entire urban structure, authentic stage of the meeting community, where beauty is intended to be a significant value, able to fascinate and to seduce, a mean to make people feel part of the urban whole. The suburb is rationally organized for specialized and functional parts, linked and connected by a strong hierarchical system of mobility: while movements of people and things take place in a systematic way, a new desire for public life takes place through episodes and experiences related to everyday existence. Thus, public happiness is no longer the result of the emotional impact of a widespread beauty, but the discover of new meanings and values of the city as a unique urban whole, both historic and suburban, together with not predictable social forms of interaction between people.