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Rebuilding the site now commonly known as Ground Zero has become a battle over "images and lost opportunities" as much as about "material form" (Boyer 120). This paper argues that the symbolic success or failure of a future memorial to 9/11 will be determined largely by how well its design embodies the qualities of a "public space" and by how adroitly it negotiates the utopian and critical aspects of public art. Because the design of a permanent memorial at Ground Zero is a culmination, rather than a beginning, of the work of collective memory that commenced on September 11, we insist on examining the different stages of commemoration leading to it--from makeshift tokens of grief and mourning to museum exhibits--to illustrate the quality of publicness and to assess the balance between utopia and critique in the commemorative public art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how physical structure affects the use of small public spaces in reference to a public space in the heart of Greenwich Village, New York City. Father Demo Square is an odd park located in the heart of the village. The park has been designed after a traditional Italian piazza, and provides an open space surrounded by walk-ups and cafes that serves as a community gathering place. A local association secured close to $1 million from New York City's budget to renovate this park whose plans include the enactment of a curfew and the construction of a fence to enforce the curfew. The goal is to remove late night ruffians and the homeless, and this action will aversely affect the vibrant social life that the park presently sustains.

This study proposes a normative theory of the local, community newspaper as a public space in Riverdale, a neighborhood in Bronx, New York City. The Riverdale Press takes on issues, such as historic preservation, designed to help its disadvantaged residents. It comes in serving as the voice of Riverdale, attempting to stand strong in the face of a larger regional government that oversees the New York City region. The ethnic newspaper unites and defines the social group.

Public spaces have been studied as reflections of the tendencies toward privatization in the global city. Building on prior research on New York City office plazas, this article argues that the fact that developers of such spaces are structural speculators means that such spaces reflect not what the city already is, but what elites expect it to become. In this way, such public spaces are leading indicators of the shape of the global city. Rather than revealing the privatization that is already well known, recent spaces provide evidence of a recent suburban strategy and anticipate the post-imperial city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Use of public spaces for day labor markets has generated controversy in municipalities across the United States. Local officials have two main policy options in responding to these marketsâ?”repression or management. We theorize that, when compared to repression, managing day labor markets by creating official hiring sites more effectively challenges the discursive stigmatization of minorities, creates a structural basis for cooperation by balancing inter-group power, and reduces uncertainty by building cooperation and trust. We further assert that these ameliorative effects reduce human rights abuses against immigrant workers and promote harmonious community relations. Findings from multivariate regressions analyses using data from a survey of 145 day laborers participating in eight major day labor markets on Long Island support our assertions. Instances of repression were significantly related to a wide range of human rights abuses as well as poor and worsening community relations. In contrast, workers surveyed at official hiring sites were significantly less likely to report several specific types of abuses and more likely to report good relations with strangers and improving relations with contractors. The conclusion underscores how important inclusive, empowering negotiations and accessible locations are in order for official hiring sites to have a positive impact. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past 50 years, structural real estate speculators in New York City have embraced a succession of different visions for the city. Elites' changing objectives for New York are identified by examining the changing and contradictory plans for Battery Park City, a large, upper-class planned community that was built in on landfill along the Hudson River, directly across from the World Trade Center. Examination of the history and conflicts that produced the plans identifies four distinct periods between 1950 and the present, reflected in the city's public spaces: working-class space, privatized space, filtered space, and suburban space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The case study will examine the development and implementation of an anti-violence coalition formed in response to youth violence episodes in Washington Heights, NY. Neighborhood violence and drug dealing has caused residents to limit their activity and daily walking trips outside their homes. This study will assess activity in the neighborhood before and after the outbreak of violence and will describe the efforts made by local leaders to control this violence. Interviews will be conducted with area youth, local leaders, elected officials, and other adults who live and work in the area. The case study will contribute to our understanding of the ways in which citizen mobilization can make public spaces safe for essential and recreational physical activity. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]