The Significance of Urban Public Places: Sociological Considerations on the Use of Urban Space Taking the Example of Coffee Houses

Coffee house used to be the places for meeting with friends. In a broader sense, these places have represented „organized public spaces“ in a city providing place to meet, have a chat and spend some time with friends. In many cases, some coffee houses have been „institutions“ of urban life, a part of urban identity, memory and a “must place” to visit and see in a certain city. During several last decades, the role of coffee houses has changed – from identity places, from urban memories, from „institutions“ into (usually) crowded places, usually for short stay. Instead of live music that was accompanying social gatherings in the old coffee houses, music more like noise prevails in modern coffee places. It seems that noise- music is programmed in that way to prevent the customers of staying longer period of time. Due to many reasons, privatization of buildings and therefore also of the coffee houses, many of them that used to represent the identity of a certain urban milieu, are closed for many years. Examples include „Corso“, and „Medulić“ and „Gradska kavana“in Zagreb. This transformation of major roles of coffee houses – from the traditional ones to the modern ones – has changed also their major role as a suitable, comfortable, and a place where an extended part of a time could be spent. So, in a way, specific combination of private and public places had been represented by coffee houses. Today’s coffee places are usually for short stay, for „showing the other that I am also here“, and to see who is also present. The paper will discuss major changes of social functions of coffee houses now and in earlier times, trying to show whether the role of authentic, old fashioned, full of memories and identity places – coffee houses – will ever „come back“ and what will be their major social roles nowadays.