The coronavirus pandemic has forced many into socializing in open spaces. The aim of this paper is to explore how citizens perceive public spaces and how their social praxis transforms public into social or common space. This paper also analyzes the processes which transform social spaces into mere public spaces. Furthermore, this paper researches how citizens socialize at Petar Preradović Square, known as the city promenade. Youth meetups in front of the Croatian National Theater are explored through semi-structured interviews. This research has shown that public spaces are usually a backdrop to citizens’ social activities and that citizens simulate cafe and restaurant behavior while using public spaces. A case study of Kvaternik Square and an interview with an architect deconstruct the meaning of social and public spaces, as well as the architectural intervention that transformed the social function of the square, changing it from a dynamic marketplace to a sterile location that isn't appealing to citizens, thus reshaping it from a social space to public space.

Pandemija koronavirusa prisilila je mnoge građane na druženje na otvorenome. Cilj ovog rada bio je istražiti na koje načine građani percipiraju javni prostor te kako njihove društvene prakse javni prostor pretvaraju u društveni, odnosno opći prostor (engl. common space). Rad istražuje kojim procesima društveni prostor postaje puki javni prostor. Urbanom etnografijom istraženo je okupljanje građana na Trgu Petra Preradovića odnosno zagrebačkoj „špici“, dok su metodom polustrukturiranog intervjua analizirana razmišljanja mladih koji su se okupljali kod Hrvatskog narodnog kazališta u Zagrebu. Istraživanje je pokazalo kako je javni prostor građanima uglavnom kulisa prilikom druženja te kako pri korištenju javnih prostora uglavnom simuliraju boravak u kafiću i restoranu. Analiza primjera Kvaternikovog trga pokazala je kako je arhitektonska intervencija promijenila društvenu funkciju trga, iz dinamične tržnice u sterilno mjesto koje ne privlači građane, te ga tako iz društvenog prostora pretvorio u javni prostor.