Walking around Gracia, the most interesting thing was to see the small scale plazas in the residence area. They were like an outside living room for the people living around there. Actually in Tokyo we also have something similar. They exist in the residence area but they are not plazas. They are called “the pocket parks”. It means that they exist with a residence area and normally they are very narrow place.
But I can tell the difference ofthe small plazas around Gracia and the pocket parks in Tokyo. To say it short I think the plazas in Gracia is more an open space. They are connected to the calles and there are so many ways to get to the plaza. But the pocket park, normally it is located next to one street. So we only have one entrance to get in that space. So that is another reason that we call them “the pocket parks”. And also these are sometimes used as a park by the children so some of them have a small playgrounds.
Another difference ishow the area has been located. Considering about the plazas, I think the buildings which surround the area are opened to the plaza. They are some restaurants or café that open to the plaza. We can even see the balconies of the residence. It is possible for us to see many scenes from the plaza. But the pocket park is something different. The building around the place is not opened to the parks. You might be able to see some balconies or the windows of the residence but on the ground floor we usually have a fence or a wall to separate the pocket park and the buildings around it. So we do not have a relationship between the park and the things around the area. And I think this is very different from the public areas in Barcelona.
