The Politics of Public Space (Broché)

Why is public space disappearing ? Why is this disappearance important to democratic politics, and how has it become an international phenomenon ? Public spaces, once democratic sites of dissent and cultural transformation, have become centers of private commerce and consumption. Increasingly, municipalities and local businesses collaborate to police urban public spaces, transforming them into highly regulated sites of cultural and economic activity.
Nevertheless, new technologies for communication and new forms of social organization are constantly creating alternative forms of public space. International and comparative in its outlook, The Politics of Public Space expands the definition of public space and considers how the notion of the "public" has evolved. The Politics of Public Space highlights the historical, cultural, and geographical specificity of privatized and repoliticized public space in order to raise the possibility of a different politics of public space and a reimagined public sphere.