A War on Street Music in NYC
In the New Deal era, New York City banned street musicians, classifying them as beggars. Some New Yorkers fought back.
The Power of Placemaking
Why the social, political, and emotional dimensions of public spaces matter, and how people themselves play a central role in creating them.
POPS Goes the City: Privately Owned Public Space and Its Discontents
Why is so much of the “public space” in cities actually private, and who benefits from it being that way?
Landscape Architecture: A Reading List
A survey of classic and contemporary works revealing how cities, materials, power, and ecology shape landscapes—and how design can create healthier, more just places.
Designing for Community and Climate in Los Angeles
How can we design public spaces that help people thrive and connect—with each other and with their environment?
In Praise of Loitering
A possible remedy to sexual harassment and assault in public spaces is to encourage more people of all kinds to spend time on the streets.
The Case for a Public Social Media Platform
Artist and writer Joshua Citarella explores why corporate platforms corrode democracy—and what a postal-service-style digital commons could do differently.
Bread, Circuses, Baths: Bathing in Rome, the Public Way
By the fourth century CE, Rome had some 856 privately owned public baths, the grounds of which served as civic gardens adorned with sculptures.
Greening Philly’s Neglected Lots
Spearheaded by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, an urban beautification program transformed neighborhoods in the city of brotherly love.
In the Sharing Garden
How one family physician fosters food justice, social connectivity, and better health at a local community garden.