Designs On The Public: The Private Lives Of New York's Public Spaces
by Kristine F. Miller /
2007 / English / PDF
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New York City is home to some of the most recognizable places
in the world. As familiar as the sight of New Year’s Eve in
Times Square or a protest in front of City Hall may be to us,
do we understand who controls what happens there? Kristine
Miller delves into six of New York’s most important public
spaces to trace how design influences their complicated
lives.
New York City is home to some of the most recognizable places
in the world. As familiar as the sight of New Year’s Eve in
Times Square or a protest in front of City Hall may be to us,
do we understand who controls what happens there? Kristine
Miller delves into six of New York’s most important public
spaces to trace how design influences their complicated
lives.
Miller chronicles controversies in the histories of New York
locations including Times Square, Trump Tower, the IBM Atrium,
and Sony Plaza. The story of each location reveals that public
space is not a concrete or fixed reality, but rather a
constantly changing situation open to the forces of law,
corporations, bureaucracy, and government. The qualities of
public spaces we consider essential, including accessibility,
public ownership, and ties to democratic life, are, at best,
temporary conditions and often completely absent.
Miller chronicles controversies in the histories of New York
locations including Times Square, Trump Tower, the IBM Atrium,
and Sony Plaza. The story of each location reveals that public
space is not a concrete or fixed reality, but rather a
constantly changing situation open to the forces of law,
corporations, bureaucracy, and government. The qualities of
public spaces we consider essential, including accessibility,
public ownership, and ties to democratic life, are, at best,
temporary conditions and often completely absent.
Design is, in Miller’s view, complicit in regulation of public
spaces in New York City to exclude undesirables, restrict
activities, and privilege commercial interests, and in this
work she shows how design can reactivate public space and
public life.
Design is, in Miller’s view, complicit in regulation of public
spaces in New York City to exclude undesirables, restrict
activities, and privilege commercial interests, and in this
work she shows how design can reactivate public space and
public life.
Kristine F. Miller is associate professor of landscape
architecture at the University of Minnesota.
Kristine F. Miller is associate professor of landscape
architecture at the University of Minnesota.