Public Space

Many different meanings come to mind when one thinks of public space. Most definitions of public space involve what are usually thought of as communal “civic” spaces, such as public squares, city parks, public streets, sidewalks, and plazas. These spaces represent the stage on which communal life unfolds and where the ebb and flow of human exchange takes place. In this vein, public spaces are communal spaces where social, political, and economic activities take place. Other definitions of public space include those public domains that go beyond the local scale and that affect everyday communal life, such as global institutions or even the “spacelessness” of the Internet.

Public space is a necessary element of human existence, providing channels for movement, nodes for communication, and common areas for play and recreation. Access to public space helps people satisfy everyday needs, exercise significant aspects of human rights, and protect special cultural meanings. Government buildings, such as public libraries and many other similar buildings, are also public spaces. But not all state-owned buildings fall under definitions of public space. Some spaces are “semipublic,” where the right to occupy public space is restricted based on certain economic restrictions. Entry to public parks can also be restricted based on the ability to pay a fee or based on a user's residence. Some privately owned spaces, such as cafes, are sometimes thought of as public spaces, but they are public only to the extent that one has money to spend. Shopping malls are public in the sense that everyone has legal access, but private controls over speech and behavior frequently apply.

What we normally think of as public space today stretches back to premodern concepts of the public marketplace in Mesopotamian cities and in ancient Greece and Rome. Sometimes called the agora, these were sites of great importance, serving as places for formal and informal communication and economic exchange. In later years, these open marketplaces incorporated open spaces for political assembly, sports, and religious gatherings. Public spaces as sites for economic, cultural, political, and social activities are still very much a vital part of communal life in many parts of the [Page 2314]world today. Various cultures place different emphases on the value of public space. For example, Latin American cultures place great emphasis on displays of wealth and religious power in palaces, town halls, and churches that face the main street and public squares. Yet in the Muslim world, there is limited public space, apart from public markets and shopping centers. Instead, private spaces such as the home, the mosque, and religious schools are rich in architectural design and cultural expression, and it is here that much of communal life resides. Hence, the idea of a public-private balance is unique to each culture.

San Marco Square and Palazzo Ducale, Venice

Source: Morguefile.

Beginning in the 18th century, universal access to public space was an important aspect of democratizing societies. But in practice, public access was anything but universal. Public space was restricted by economic class, race, ethnicity, and gender, existing alongside class exploitation, slavery, and the oppression of women. In other words, universal access to public space is never guaranteed, never universal, and always a struggle. Feminist geographers have argued that notions of public space serve to spatially entrap women in terms of the built environment. Public spaces of the city, for example, are coded as masculine spaces—that is, the places of productive work accomplished primarily by male breadwinners. The suburbs represent private, feminine spaces, which are places of nonwage domesticity where reproductive work and child care are relegated primarily to women.

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