the.com/public squares
the internet's whole pitch, minus the roof, the crowd, and the pigeons.
means an open urban space owned by everyone and no one, built for people to gather, argue, sell, and stand around doing nothing in particular.
from traces to the greek agora and roman forum, where commerce, politics, and gossip shared one paved lot; medieval europe rebuilt the idea around cathedrals and markets, and the name stuck even after the shape stopped being square.
oldest survivingmarrakech's jemaa el-fnaa, active for nearly a thousand years
legal quirkmany are technically owned by private landlords, not cities
biggest onetiananmen square holds over half a million people at once
internet rebrandtwitter literally called itself the town square in 2022
for instance
tiananmen square — beijing, 1989 protests, 109 acres of pure political weight
red square — moscow, kremlin's front yard since the 15th century
times square — nyc, less a square than a billboard with a subway stop
tahrir square — cairo, 2011 revolution's ground zero