PUBLIC is the third installment of a series of conferences exploring present predicaments in architecture and urban planning. This conference will focus on the relationships between planning, architecture, and the public while exploring the social impact of designs and decisions. Questions to be considered include: What role should public space play? What is the public definition of beauty? What forces enable planning and architecture to redefine culture and serve as a catalyst for change?

A diverse group of experts who actively shape the public opinion of architecture and planning will respond through informal discussion to a series of four "provocations." These free-ranging conversations will underscore the complexities and contradictions inherent in each provocation as well as suggest potential solutions to such predicaments. Open discussion at the end of the afternoon will encourage the audience to take part in the conversations.