In Praise of Public Spaces!

I know I've mentioned the Project for Public Spaces before...but I just love their website! It's got an easy-to-read design, lots of great photos and wonderful info about spectacular places to enjoy around the world. In December they focused on the World's Best Squares. Here's the top ten:

1) Rynek Glowny, Krakow, Poland
2) Plaza Hidalgo, Mexico City, Mexico
3) Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy
4) Piazza del Campo, Siena, Italy
5) Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Covent Gardens and Leicester Square, London, UK
6) Hotel de Ville, Paris, France
7) Old Town Square, Prague, Czech Republic
8) Plaza de la Constitucion, Oaxaca City, Mexico
9) Plaza Santa Ana, Madrid, Spain
10) Plaza de Armas, Cuzco, Peru

There are six more listed on the Best Squares page, plus an extended list on their Public Spaces Parks page. PPS also collects similar lists for markets, buildings, streets and neighborhoods. They've got a Hall of Shame too, in which they highlight places that are empty, dysfunctional, uninviting and unsafe. The reader comments on both the praised and shamed places is useful to read before traveling to a certain city. Browse around this site before your next trip -- you can gather tips on great places to enjoy on your journeys, as well as warnings on ones to steer clear of.