A civic center or civic centre is a prominent

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isl ...

area within a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, villag ...

that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the term "civic center" has been used in reference to an entire

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the " cit ...

of a community or a major shopping center in the middle of a community. In this type of civic center, special attention is paid to the way public structures are grouped and landscaped. In some American cities, a multi-purpose arena is named "Civic Center", for example

Columbus Civic Center Columbus Civic Center is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Columbus, Georgia, built in 1996. History The arena was built in 1996, along with a Softball Complex, to fully complete South Commons (an area consisting of a baseball and football ...

. Such "civic centers" combine venues for sporting events, theaters, concerts and similar events. In Australia, a civic centre can refer to a civic precinct, a show or meeting venue, or can also be used as a brand of

Shopping Centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes ...

Notable civic centers

India

* Delhi Civic Centre

North America

* Civic Center, Houston * Seattle Center *

Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China * Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fo ...

, St Louis *

* Miami Health District * Tallahassee Civic Center * Mid-Hudson Civic Center * San Francisco Civic Center * Honolulu Capitol District *

National Mall The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and va ...

Denver Civic Center The Denver Civic Center is a civic center area that includes two parks surrounded by government and cultural buildings and spaces. Civic Center is located in central Denver, Colorado, on the south side of Downtown Denver. Much of the area is a his ...

* Lee County Civic Center, FL * Florence Civic Center * Ottawa Civic Centre *

Hartford Civic Center Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

* Providence Civic Center * Springfield Civic Center * Peoria Civic Center * Richard J. Daley Center, formerly Chicago Civic Center *

Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in 2004 and intended to celebrate the third millennium, is a prominent civic center ne ...

* Cumberland County Civic Center * Los Angeles Civic Center * Saint Paul Civic Center *

Evansville Civic Center Complex The Evansville Civic Center Complex is the location of all city offices for the City of Evansville and County of Vanderburgh, including the Evansville Police Department and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Department. The Vanderburgh County Co ...

* New York City Civic Center *

Marin County Civic Center The Marin County Civic Center, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is located in San Rafael, California, United States. Groundbreaking for the Civic Center Administration Building took place in 1960, after Wright's death and under the watch of Wright ...

After the amalgamation of Toronto in 1998, five of the six municipalities in the former Metro Toronto used the Civic Centre name in referring to their respective city halls before its abolition. * East York Civic Centre * Etobicoke Civic Centre * North York Civic Centre * Scarborough Civic Centre * York Civic Centre

United Kingdom

In most cases civic centres in the UK are a focus for local government offices and public service buildings. The

Cardiff Civic Centre Cathays Park ( cy, Parc Cathays) or Cardiff Civic Centre is a civic centre area in the city centre of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, consisting of a number of early 20th century buildings and a central park area, Alexandra Gardens. It ...

is probably the oldest and best preserved civic centre in the UK. With the reforms of local government in London in 1965 and across England in anticipation of the implementation of the Redcliffe-Maud Report in 1974, a number of local authorities commissioned new civic centres sometimes funded by disposing of their 19th Century Town Hall buildings. Sir Basil Spence was responsible for designing three of these civic centres: *''Hampstead Civic Centre'', which was only partially completed; and of which only the

Swiss Cottage Library Swiss Cottage Library is the central library in the public library service of the London Borough of Camden, housed in an architectural landmark building in Avenue Road, London, Avenue Road designed by Sir Basil Spence. It has been Grade II Liste ...

(1964) still exists. *''

Sunderland Civic Centre Sunderland Civic Centre was a municipal building in the Burdon Road in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. It was the headquarters of Sunderland City Council until November 2021. History After Sunderland became a municipal borough in 1835, c ...

'' (1970). *''Kensington and Chelsea Civic Centre'' (1977). Other noteworthy civic centres include: *''Barking and Dagenham Civic Centre'' at Becontree Heath (1937). *

Southampton Civic Centre The Civic Centre is a municipal building located in the Cultural Quarter area within the city of Southampton, England. It comprises offices occupied by Southampton City Council, the SeaCity Museum, the Guildhall, the Southampton City Art ...

(1932). * Newport Civic Centre (main building 1940, clock tower completed 1964). *

Plymouth Civic Centre Plymouth Civic Centre is a former principal administrative centre of Plymouth, Devon, England. Opened in 1962, the building was used by Plymouth City Council until it was sold for development in 2015. It has been Grade II Listed since 2007. H ...

(1950–1962), Devon, Architect Hector J W Stirling. *

Newcastle Civic Centre Newcastle Civic Centre is a local government building located in the Haymarket area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the main administrative and ceremonial centre for Newcastle City Council. Designed by the city architect, George Kenyo ...

(1967). * Civic Centre, Swansea (opened in 1982 as the County Hall)

China

* Shenzhen Civic Center * *

Romania

* Bucharest Civic Centre

References

{{Developments Urban studies and planning terminology Town squares Local government Neighbourhoods