Bailey Berdan

Inequitable Privatization of Public Spaces

Architecture [M.Arch]

The normative practice of privatization within architecture creates an environment where no space is truly public. In order to create public space someone must first purchase it and then must maintain and regulate it. When nowhere is truly public, the spaces labeled as such become layered with the biases and regulations of the owner, which in turn creates an inequitable environment. Often hostile elements are incorporated into these spaces with the intention to keep unwanted people groups from utilizing and inhabiting them which reinstates that these spaces are not truly public.

Public space is crucial to a successful economy and thriving population as it "has the potential to create a sense of belonging, cultural vibrancy and in turn to promote happiness and wellbeing." (Valdes 2022)

This privatization also creates unusable and forgotten spaces that have the potential to be reclaimed for public use. The areas in and around privately owned facilities are regulated spaces but the spaces between have the potential to become public space through the power of community involvement.

Therefore, this thesis aims to reclaim the forgotten areas within cities to combat the hostility of normative architecture in public spaces and to give control back to the surrounding communities.

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