Protest in Public and Private Space

I thought an article about the Occupy Wall Street movement by architecture critic Michael Kimmelman in this week's NYTimes "Review" was relevant to our class. It talks about the role of public space in protest. Visually, the accompanying images are a reminder of some iconic spaces in the history of protest, from public universities to public squares.

Kent State University

Tiananmen Square

Ironically, the park where the Occupy Wall Street protesters have been gathering is privately owned. This is perhaps symbolic of the fact that much public space in cities has become privatizes. But while the space is not technically public, it is being used as a public space for a certain group of citizens to express their opinions about the current state of affairs.

The article reminded me of a number of posts here: Julia's post on ancient Greek ideas of the polis; Payton and Connor's podcast on the public and private aspects of Chase Tower in Austin (within the context if a protest); and Noah and Michael's podcast on alternative, perhaps even resistant, uses of public space at Wooldridge Square.