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#whOWNSpace addresses the conflicts that arise out of the privatization, commercialization, and militarization of public space. #whOWNSpace provides a framework for communities to: 1- REVEAL conflicting issues of ownership in the increasingly privatized, commercialized, and militarized spaces that exist within the metropolitan public sphere; 2- QUESTION those conditions and the current state of our “public” space; 3- ADVOCATE FOR AND PROPOSE policies, activities, and designs that encourage democratic use of urban open spaces 4- INTERVENE in urban spaces, turning ideas and research into material action and measurable results The project arises from the the questions that the Occupy Wall Street movement has raised about ownership and use of open space in New York City, North America, and cities around the world. To-date the project has:
- held public workshops with The Public School New York in Manhattan (Upper East Side, Midtown, and Lower Manhattan) and Brooklyn (Greenpoint);
- launched an advocacy campaign to enforce open space regulations at Zuccotti Park;
- conducted a skillshare at the Brooklyn Bazaar;
- and engaged in extensive mapping and diagramming of privately owned public spaces in New York City.
The project will continue to take action in order to improve the role of POPS, and other public spaces, within our democratic infrastructure. Collaborating partners include DSGN AGNC, BRUNO, The Public School New York, Not an Alternative, and 596 Acres. For more information, see the project website -www.whownspace.blogspot.com.
#whOWNSpace POPS analysis workshop. Image by Aurash Khawarzad
#whOWNSpace diagram by Quilian Riano, DSGN AGNC
#occupyDOB campaign image. Graphic by Quilian Riano, DSGN AGNC
