The Role of the Quality of Public Space in Supporting the Improvement of External Evaluation in the Central Surabaya Area

Nowadays, many cities are competing in creating their own image and identity regarding the improvement of the sustainable tourism sector. In addition, city identity has become an important issue in nowadays' urban planning and design sector. Many of these cities make their identity related to cultural heritage important for their city branding activities. This is done with the purposes of being able to increase sustainability for tourism, as well as driving and growing the local economy. This study discusses how the assessment of the public space's quality in the Balai Pemuda Surabaya building plays a role in increasing the external evaluation or attractiveness of the Central Surabaya according to visitors. This study uses a combined strategy, namely qualitative in taking interpretations from respondents and correlational with quantitative to validate the qualitative results. The result obtained from this study is that the public space, especially community open space, in the Balai Pemuda Surabaya building is considered by the public or visitors to be able to become a sustainable attraction for the Central Surabaya area. This is because apart from having historical value, it can also be used for community activities, such as recreation, sight seeing as well as being a place for various cultural festivals in the city of Surabaya.