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Welcome to Perspectives on Public Space, a podcast hosted by Sara Ivry. Each episode features a conversation with an expert working in a field connected to public space: urban design, history, architecture, community planning, and more. Grounded in scholarship and primary sources available on JSTOR, these conversations explore how public spaces are created, contested, and reimagined. Relevant links will be included in each episode’s transcript. New episodes are released weekly.

Perspectives on Public Space takes a closer look at the widely held belief that public spaces are open and welcoming to all. To what extent is that really true? What happens when different communities have competing demands on public space? How do we revitalize or redesign these spaces to make them more inclusive and hospitable? What role does architecture play in this pursuit? What myths and misconceptions attend the popular understanding of public lands?

Across seven episodes, Perspectives on Public Space invites listeners to consider how we share, shape, and experience the spaces that define our collective lives. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Perspectives on Public Space

A colorful collage that includes a family feeding pigeons in a city square, friends relaxing in a park, and an example of hostile architecture

On the Meaning and Value of Public Spaces

Sara Ivry and Setha Low
November 11, 2025
What is public space? How is it produced, and why is that production important for our social and political lives?
Three colorful shapes against a black background demonstrating the idea of national parks and public lands

The Victory of Public Lands

Sara Ivry and John Leshy
November 18, 2025
Most Americans agree on the value of preserving public lands. How did the idea of public lands come about, and how can we ensure they exist in the future?

Related Reading

Panoramic of 14th street and Union Square. Taken August 25, 2017 in New York.

Perspectives on Public Space: A Reading List

Jesse McLaughlin
November 13, 2025
This list introduces some of the main debates about public space, from park politics to political protest, public expressions of sexuality to safety and security.
A view of the landscape seen along the Golden Gate Trail in the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington.

The Promise and Problems of Public Lands: A Reading List

Greg Gordon
November 17, 2025
Discover key research on U.S. public lands through scholarly works exploring conservation, Indigenous knowledge, and public policy.

The Tamest Grizzly of Yellowstone

April White
November 19, 2025
Adored by tourists and studied by scientists, a grizzly mother named Sylvia became an emblem of the fragile balance between humans and the wild.
An ancient glacier channel at Lake Tenaya in Yosemite National Park, 1872

Living Laboratories: Science and the National Parks

Danny Robb
November 20, 2025
National parks in the US are filled with glaciers and volcanoes, which isn't an accident, as the parks developed alongside the sciences of glaciology and volcanology.
public space