Having recently visited New York for the very first time I had to share this inspirational Ted Talk- "How public spaces make cities work". Not because it's a city I fell in love with, but because the talk outlines the importance of making the world a better place to thrive in. The speaker is Amanda Burden who was appointed the director of the New York City Planning. She was given the arduous task of creating more space in New York to accommodate the city's growth. So how did she do this?

She did this by understanding people's intrinsic social and spatial needs which gave her the insight to create public spaces and places that people actually want to spend time in.

This inspiring talk goes into detail about how important it is to make public spaces a place where people want to be, meet and share - a fundamental human need, which I feel we could all pay more attention to personally and professionally. I particularly love how she ends off her talk with this analogy: "Public spaces are like parties, people stay because they are having a good time." So simple. But it sums up why we choose to be where we are or want to be.

In Cape Town we are are so privileged to have beautiful natural public spaces and parks surrounding us (something I admit I take for granted). But a city like New York can only go up so any under-utilised spaces need to be carefully considered. Despite the odds Amanda Burden did this successfully by planning New Yorks innovative park- The High Line. The park is an elevated rail line that's been transformed into a public park on the West Side of Manhattan, which has become a favourite public space for local New Yorkers as well as a visitor destination for tourists. Particularly beautiful in summer this is a must see attraction if you get the chance to visit this awesome city.

Do you have any public spaces you've visited in Cape Town or in other parts of the world that you would like to share? A personal favourite of mine is a small walkway next to the Liesbeek River canal that runs alongside Paradise Road near the circle. A local resident has made it his mission to maintain the park with beautiful timber swings, stools and plant beds so that it can be enjoyed by families in the area. It's such a privilege to live so close by and my border skollie dog buzzy "digs" it too!

Our 'border skollie' Buzz at Paradise Park