Factors, dimensions and variables determinant in the quality of open public spaces. Contribution from the scientific literature (2009–2020)

Several studies have shown that the good quality of open public spaces (EPA) is essential to guarantee their use, increase their frequency of visits and positively influence the perception of users. For this reason, it is worrying that an increasing interest is being paid to the indexes that make it possible to quantify the square meters of this public asset, leaving aside the conditions that make it possible to measure whether these meters are efficient in their use. In this article, we seek to contribute from the review of scientific literature to the systematization of information related to the factors, dimensions and variables that determine the quality of the EPAs, contained in the articles published in databases from 2009 to 2020. The results show that the dimension of physical characteristics is the most recurrent in the studies, while the variables related to inclusion are the least evaluated. Quality studies can use quantitative, qualitative, or mixed assessment instruments. It is also evident that there are few studies on this subject at the Latin American level and that most have been carried out in Asian and European countries.