Plazas and public squares are genuinely one of the best parts of European cities and I think that as we try to improve American Cities we should try to integrate them into our cities through things like closing off sections of road to cars, and building new parks and pocket parks
Like the existence of a place where you can just exist and be around others with no expectations of what to do, maybe some nice public art or shops nearby as well was one of the most impactful things about a trip to Europe, these kinds of spaces really help to make a city human scales and a better place to live in, at least in my mind
Large sprawling parks like Central Park can fulfill a similar need of a space for Recreation but I think that the smaller more human sized plazas help to better fulfill the goal of a space for you to exist in, a simple 3rd place without any expectations as their small size and enclosed nature creates a great environment for people
Obviously large parks are amazing, but I think they have a different purpose than a small park or a plaza
Anyways if you want a good example of the public spaces I am talking about, check out Florence Italy, it has so many of these kinds of spaces and is an incredibly Walkable city, below I have marked in red a good portion of the public squares in the city center
