| − | A '''public square''' is an open space within a [[town]] or [[city]], of a perfect or approximately [[square]] shape, or of a regular rectangular shape<ref>. (In Boston, Massachusetts, almost all the spaces known as "squares" are of highly irregular shape.)</ref>. A square is usually open for public intercourse, as in a market square or public square, but sometimes the center of the square comprises private grounds (as in the garden squares constructed in the high-class residential suburbs of west [[London]] in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries). | + | A '''public square''' is an open space within a [[town]] or [[city]], of a perfect or approximately [[square]] shape, or of a regular rectangular shape.<ref>. (In Boston, Massachusetts, almost all the spaces known as "squares" are of highly irregular shape.)</ref> A square is usually open for public intercourse, as in a market square or public square, but sometimes the center of the square comprises private grounds (as in the garden squares constructed in the high-class residential suburbs of west [[London]] in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries). |
| | In modern [[city planning]], spaces set aside as open and public serve an important function amidst all the privately owned and built land. | | In modern [[city planning]], spaces set aside as open and public serve an important function amidst all the privately owned and built land. |