Regenerarea urbană a spaţiilor publice: soluţii pentru oraşul contemporan / Urban regeneration of public spaces: solutions for the contemporary city

This study argues that the public space should be understood as a common good rather than a commodity and that successful regeneration must prioritize the needs, dignity and the rights to the city, of all its residents. Accordingly, the comparative analysis of HafenCity, Spangen, Magdolna, Sunrise Valley and Pančevo demonstrates that urban regeneration is not a linear process toward success, but a field of complex social, economic, spatial and political contradictions. These five cases reveal major risks, including gentrification and spatial exclusion, the fragility of socially oriented interventions, technological enclavization, speculative development and the abandonment of cultural heritage. At the same time, they highlight different strategies for addressing urban decline, from waterfront redevelopment and adaptive reuse to participatory regeneration, social housing rehabilitation, and knowledge-based development. The analysis emphasizes the tension between the planned space, shaped by municipalities and investors and the lived space, shaped by communities through everyday practices, resistance and adaptation. Across those cases, public space emerges as a key indicator of social justice and urban sustainability. Its quality cannot be assessed solely through architectural innovation, economic performance or investment returns, but through accessibility, inclusiveness, social cohesion, heritage preservation, and long-term resilience.