The Death of Public Space and Human Rights

         The concept of public space is dying, and as it gradually dies, so do the rights of the people that choose to occupy these areas. In her book The Naked City, Sharon Zukin discusses a perfect example of this collapse: Union Square. Union Square, like many of its sister public spaces, has historically provided an area for protests and assemblies of countless causes to thrive (132). Unfortunately, for the last few decades, since the 1980s, Union Square has began to rely on private companies through Business Improvement Districts and Local Development Corporations for its maintenance and survival. BIDS and LDCs present an attractive offer that lifts the responsibility of city government to regulate, maintain, pamper, and essentially gentrify public areas (such as parks), thus saving the government copious amounts of dollars (143). The companies behind these BIDs and LDCs, after gaining control over a small percentage of what is “public,” begin to branch out and before long, rents begin to exponentially increase, providing a true profit for these corporations (144).

      Unfortunately, this pernicious relationship between BIDs and LDCs can be summed up in a simple sentence: cities are selling themselves out. By falling into the hands of these BIDs and LDCs and handing them power and control, the city sold the democracy of its inhabitants. Theoretically, the idea that private companies can pay for the upkeep and promotion of “public” spaces sounds ideal as it lessens some of the burden and costs the city may encounter. However, this exchange of power is not merely an exchange, but is an inequitable transference that has led to the exclusion of people and the ultimate birth of pseudo-public spaces: privately owned public spaces.

      Public spaces, in name, should offer an area for people to gather publicly, and when this fundamental right is removed and regulated, issues arise. In this video, Judith Butler, a professor at University of California, Berkeley, furthers this point as she discusses how Turkey’s citizens were offended as their right to assembly was destroyed when private ownership of public squares became prevalent. Many riots and protests begin in public spaces all over the world. From the Taksim Square in Turkey to the Tahrir Square in Egypt, revolutions are catalyzed by the existence of mass assembly for a certain cause. When this option is stripped away from people, by its own government, the questions range from “Where is the democracy?” to “Is the government serving its people?” It is without a doubt that the government is saving a large amount of money through BIDs and LDCs, but it is placing its people in the hands of a much more controlling beast, one that looks at its own shoes, and never at others. It is without argument that private corporations have a right to control their owned areas, but does the government have the right to sell out and dismiss its job?

"The more public Space is privatized, the less freedom of assembly there is; and I'm not sure you can have a Democracy without freedom of assembly" Judith Butler shared her thoughts on #PublicSpace with us. https://t.co/3JJTqXcXtB#PublicSpace2018 Registration opens 15.01! pic.twitter.com/AhVprcvzZj

— publicspace (@publicspaceCCCB) January 12, 2018