Setha Low, The Graduate Center, CUNY – Why Public Space Matters: Propositions for Social Justice and Diversity
Name
Setha Low
Title
Professor, Director of the Public Space Research Group
Main affiliation
The Graduate Center, CUNY
email
slow@gc.cuny.edu
Country
United States
Region
North America
Main themes
Urban Management
Social Inclusion
Municipal/Urban Finance
Governance
Environment
Title
Why Public Space Matters: Propositions for Social Justice and Diversity
Focus
This presentation offers five propositions about social justice and public space that can be used to intervene in the transformations in the public realm such as globalization and the privatization/securitization that have reduced the ability of public space to be a center for civic life and a source of cultural/social diversity.
Issues which the lecture addresses
This presentation offers five propositions about social justice and public space that can be used to intervene in the transformations in the public realm such as globalization and the privatization/securitization that have reduced the ability of public space to be a center for civic life and a source of cultural/social diversity. The five propositions concern distributive justice, recognition, interactional justice and encounter, care and repair, and procedural justice. The application of these five propositions is exemplified through brief reflections on the politics of the street in New York City, and ‘broken windows’ style policing of graffiti.
Short analysis of the above issues
Across a diverse range of urban geographical contexts, the provision and governance of public spaces frequently generates conflicts of varying intensity involving urban inhabitants and urban authorities. A clear moral and philosophically-based argument and evaluative framework is necessary for both critiquing and informing the positions that are taken in public space disputes. This presentation develops a model of socially just public space that could inform analysis of, and interventions in, these conflicts. In dialogue with the literatures on urban public space and on social and spatial justice, I offer five propositions about what makes for more just public space.
Propositions for addressing the issue
Distributive justice: Is there public space for everyone? Is it a “fair” allocation of public resources?
Below are some propositions that can be used to evaluate public space to move towards a model of social justice and diversity for all urban spaces:
Recognition of difference: Are all people recognized as individuals with rights to public space? Are the rules of use based solely on the norms of the dominant class?
Interactional justice: Does the public space allow for all individuals to interact safely and respectfully? Do those in authority treat all users with comparable respect?
Ethics of caring: Does the public space encourage people to help one another and to practice stewardship of the space?
Procedural justice: Is there a way for everyone to gain access to public space?
Additional Reading Materials
Low, Setha (2017). Spatializing Culture: The Ethnography of Space and Place. London and New York: Routledge.
Low, Setha and Kurt Iveson (2016). Propositions for More Just Urban Public Spaces. City, 20(1):10-31.
Low, Setha, and Neil Smith (Editors) (2006). The Politics of Public Space. New York and London: Routledge.
Low, S., D. Taplin and S. Scheld (2005). Rethinking Urban Parks: Lessons in Culture and Diversity. Austin: University of Texas Press.
