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New York, Open City: Contesting the Commons
By Matt Frassica
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What kinds of functions do public places serve? In what ways does the design of public spaces determine the kinds of things that go on inside them? How do planners (architects, landscape designers, urban planners, city officials) create spaces that promote certain social functions over others, and privilege certain users over others? What are the consequences, intended and unintended, of these design decisions? What happens when public spaces become contested spaces - when competing claims of tradition, memory, and financial interest get hashed out through design?
See also my clips and NYOC blog for current work.
In wartime, an open city is one that has been left undefended, often with the aim of protecting historical structures from bombardment. Applied to this project, the term represents an ideal: the commons as a place in which conflicts over territory have been suspended. In practice, few spaces are more contested in the urban environment, with business improvement districts, community groups, activists, developers, and city agencies each vying for their conception of the common good.
Over the next year, I'll be paying special attention to current urban design projects and proposals, but also looking at the ways city residents use the city's existing public spaces. I will also be keeping a blog of my findings and reflections.
Back to Matt Frassica's portfolio
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Recent Work:
The Rumpus Interview with Robert Sullivan
Con Ed Puts Wrench in Powerhouse Landmark Efforts
Patient-Friendly Design Is Prescribed for Health Facilities
The Many Faces of Washington Square Park
Joel Sanders Brings the Outside In
Change Marks History of Preservation
Two Visions of 21st-Century Cities
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