Public Spaces

This commentary from the Los Angeles Times calls for creation of a central park for the city, made by putting a "cap" over a section of freeway.

This film from Streetsblog looks at a community effort in Portland to remove pavement from unused parking lots.

As a Texas beach erodes and the waves come closer to shore, homeowners are scrambling to figure out what to do when the public beach invades their private property.

"Football Carnivals" are on the rise in Germany, where the community viewing buzz from the 2006 World Cup has hung around and revived itself for the current European Championship.

For six hours this Sunday, streets in North Portland will be off-limits to cars.

Despite the economic downturn, city officials in Spokane Valley, WA move forward with a plan to build something the city has always lacked: a true city center.

Vancouverites send a sculpture packing, stirring up a debate over the role of public art.

Santa Monica, CA is succeeding where other larger cities have failed, creating a public WiFi system that actually makes money.

A charity in Britain wants to replicate the success of London's heavily used Speaker's Corner in other parts of the country to encourage public interaction and discussion. Some say it's an idea that could never be.

Many of famed landscape architect Lawrence Halprin's optimistic 1970s public spaces are being updated and reconsidered. Historic preservationists fight back, but supporters say, "It's a living, breathing space, not a museum."

William Fulton reflects on the lasting impact of L.A. developer Robert Maguire III on the city.

Downtown Knoxville has seen many improvements in recent years. This column calls on the city to be careful how it lets private interests use downtown's new public spaces.

Columnist E. Thomas McClanahan reviews a new public space in Kansas City, and finds a lot to like in the urban design.

A provocative new exhibition at the New York Public Library challenges new bans on taking pictures in public space, and proposes the idea that photography is in some ways an exercise of eminent domain.

At one time, Oklahoma City is doing two things many cities have only hoped to: the city's getting rid of one of its aging inner-city highways and replacing it with a park.

Flashing lights on the walls on train tunnels that display a 15-second video to passengers have been introduced in L.A., bringing new revenue to the area's transit agency, but bothering some riders. Some say the ads intrude on public space.

Pubilc art should be guided by public input, according to this commentary.

A Los Angeles activist and artist has taken to placing street signs mimicking the city's no parking signs on traffic islands, declaring them parks.

Cairo's first new green space in more than 100 years has opened -- on top of a 500-year old garbage dump.

To build a sense of community and improve long neglected but heavily used bus stops, a community group in South Los Angeles has begun creating colorful outdoor living rooms to give residents a place to sit and chat.