I visited the Halifax Public Garden at the end of the summer, it felt like a quaint Canadian version of le jardin du luxembourg. Of course the park space itself was a highlight, but even more apparent was the interaction of the community within the space. Old people, young people, lovers, friends, gardeners, artists, tourists, locals, all of this made for a beautiful public space. Even the graffiti was beautiful! When I read the information board that you see here I was impressed to learn that this was the oldest remaining Victorian Garden in Canada. But the graffiti tag is what I remember. It struck me as more than just an act of rebellion. Someone had considered this place when leaving their mark. A space like this garden is intended as an inclusive space in the city. Seeing a graffiti tag in this context made me wonder about the way public space represents a whole community. Can we design more inclusive public space by involving seemingly disconnected members of the community?
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Maybe the degree of success by which public space can be evaluated is the attraction, delight and pleasure this space provides to all layers of society. A venue that facilitates interaction between people from all origins, gender, age, background is, in my opinion, a successful public space regardless of its aesthetic qualities. I remember taking photographs in the jardin du Luxembourg as you did in the Halifax Public Garden, one was of a very old and elegant lady crossing the garden in the winter with her hat on and a walking stick. In the spring time a Japanese couple extremely well dressed walked holding hands and stopped to observe the local noisy toddlers using the playground area in the wildest possible way. In another part that same day chess players could be found waiting for a partner or engrossed in a game…
One of the notable differences between the jardin du Luxembourg and the Halifax Public Garden is the number of visitors and who these visitors are. The jardin du Luxembourg is heavily filled with tourists. For them the garden is a rest area, they can also pick where they are going to rest because the garden is filled with thousands of metal chairs that you can drag of find where your taste and needs of the moment attract you to stop.
Another population very visible in the Luxembourg or "Luco" —as the young locals call it— is the student body attending University René Descartes Paris 5 and the many graduate schools located nearby. None of these post-secondary institutions (contrarily to Dalhousie) have a lot of recreational space to offer and if the weather is nice students will flock in the Luco like pigeons on the roof of Notre Dame.
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