Technology · Public space

The plaza / forum / agora

c. 500 BCE · Greece / Rome
Piranesi's etching of the Roman Forum, the Campo Vaccino, the central civic open space of ancient Rome
Piranesi's etching of the Roman Forum, the Campo Vaccino, the central civic open space of ancient Rome · Public domain · Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

What it is

The plaza, forum or agora is the central open civic space of a city, used for assembly, market, ritual and politics, exemplified by the Greek agora and the Roman forum from around 500 BCE. The Greek agora was the gathering ground of citizens and the setting of democratic and commercial life, while the Roman forum framed government and religion with surrounding public buildings. The Spanish later codified the form for colonial towns in the Laws of the Indies of 1573, which prescribed a central rectangular plaza around which each new city was to be built.

Why it matters

It is the archetypal public room of the city, where political, commercial and ceremonial life converge in a shared space. Through the Laws of the Indies the central plaza was systematically reproduced across the Americas, shaping hundreds of cities.

Plans it shaped

See it on the timeline →
hub.toekom.st — History of Urbanism · an interactive timeline of 850 planned cities across 6,000 years.