Public space, a seemingly innocent concept, is one of the most contentious issues in urban planning. Intended as a place for a nice stroll, somewhere to sip your coffee, or an escape from your office cubicle, public space, so we think, is more often than not abused by homeless men, a home for illicit activity, and a playground for angsty teens. In the wake of 9/11, security and safety in public spaces are in a constant battle with how the public can enjoy these spaces and access our rights of public space. As Mitchell succinctly puts it, “public space engenders fears, fears that derive from the sense of public space as uncontrolled space, as a space in which civilization is exceptionally fragile.” [1]

How do we strike a balance between the tamed and the wild, the policed and the terrorized? Although public space in New York City and Portland are vastly different, geographically and demographically, patterns observed in the Big Apple can still be relevant in midcoast Maine. In order to deal with the unruliness that these parks develop, both in terms of landscaping and its inhabitants, many public spaces have become privatized. Through this kind of business, parks receive the money and upkeep that cities often are unable to provide. Bryant Square Park in New York City has used this privatization to increase their “smart” factor, utilizing the space for concerts, movie nights, and skating rinks. However, natural qualities and park autonomy are compromised by advertisements and other marks of the permeating consumerism influence. In New York, such advertisements may not seem out of place, but in a small city such as Portland, it is hard to imagine advertisements lining the quaint parks and quiet, cobblestoned streets.

Portland’s Lincoln Park has all the potential for a beautiful public space: a central location, plenty of space, greenery, and a fountain that just needs some TLC. This park needs a severe overhaul, however, in order to keep up with its smarter contemporaries and serve its growing population. Although privatizing the park would help fix up its decrepit pathways and lackluster landscaping, I think that smaller scale funding and entrepreneurship could do the park equal justice. By planting one or two food trucks in the park, the space would become more attractive to the public and would also provide some business to local vendors. Some more aesthetic seating and a smaller splash fountain surrounding the larger one would also greatly enhance the park’s seatability and appeal to families with children.

The park could also do away with its abominable fence which closes it off from the surrounding streets and perpetuates “the loss of freedom of movement so characteristic of the American way of life.” [4]

While I don’t see surveillance cameras, sensor-activated water fountains, and an interactive energy consumption display necessary in public spaces such as Lincoln Park, intelligent (but not necessarily “smart”) improvements would greatly promote the common good in Portland.

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[1] Mitchell, Don. 2014 [2003]. “To Go Again to Hyde Park: Public Space, Rights and Social Justice.” In The People, Place and Space Reader, edited by Jen Jack Gieseking, et al, 192. New York: Routledge, 2014.

[2] http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3z51KkF2hGQ/UI3BzbyqcbI/AAAAAAAANQU/8yOZa-ZbhHs/s1600/30_b00be1f06a_o.jpg

[3] http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tg9u1b1eNfk/UC5gLQ9rTyI/AAAAAAAAScE/Z62XS7ZDfOM/s1600/Greenway_Fountain_HORIZ.jpg

[4] Low, Setha M. 2002. “Spaces of Reflection, Recovery, and Resistance: Reimagining the Postindustrial Plaza.” In After the World Trade Center: Rethinking New York City, edited by Michael Sorkin and Sharon Zukin, 166. New York: Routledge.

[5] http://mainecampus.bangorpublishing.netdna-cdn.com/files/2011/10/IMG_5563WEB-975×651.jpg