Occupy the (Cite Gate) steps

Valletta finally has the entrance it deserves.

Moreover the Renzo Piano project has resulted in the creation of a new public square and two flight of steps which have maximised public space. 

Coupled with the open air theatre and the architect’s plans for the ditch, the project celebrates public open space.

Surely the new parliament replaces a very unremarkable sterile square often used as a carpark and carnival events, but the design of the new city gate makes up for this loss.

One may still harbour doubts on whether the main building should have been a parliament instead of a museum or library but the design itself is aesthetically pleasing.

What I find striking is that few people have taken the opportunity to hang out on the steps.

Perhaps the organisation of cultural activities like movie screening or street theatre and simple things like the availability of street food, would help in attracting more people to the stairs but ultimately it all boils down to collective willingness to spontaneously aggregate and socialise in public spaces.

Spontaneous aggregation in public spaces is in itself an act of subversion against this shopping mall culture where space is functional to profit making.

Perhaps over the years the Maltese have been conditioned to being entertained in privatised and commercialised spaces. When I was younger I remember young people keener on occupying the few available spaces in City gate.  One such places was ic-Cint, an area just outside City gate where rockers and punks used to congregate.

The sudden availability of free public space in the capital city offers a challenge for a society which expects to be entertained by profit makers and where the sale of public land to accommodate developers is accepted as a fact of life.

One major stumbling block remains accessibility to Valletta. While private shopping malls with their own privatised landscaped plazes thrive on car-parks, open spaces in big cities thrive on a flow of commuters.  

Having regular night buses from Valletta to all localities should be seen as a public service and encouraged.  It is ironic that while night buses have been introduced in Paceville no such service operates in the capital city.

Before the project took shape many were sceptical of the imposition of an architectural scheme on Valletta’s entrance. 

In reality Piano’s project substitutes a barren landscape by reclaiming space for the people.  It is up to civil society to make the best use of this space.