Abandonment, Authenticity, and Transgressive Placemaking

From Ellis Island to New York's iconic water towers, do we need abandonment for authenticity? What happens when we take over an abandoned space and throw a party? 

Bennett writes about our fascination and need for spaces that have been given over to time: "When people talk about how a city is 'real,' they’re talking about the parts that make it a little dangerous." 

And, at the intersection of abandonment, urban spelunking, and public art, is the Wanderlust School of Transgressive Placemaking. Their most recent project was a complete reimagining of public space – a speakeasy inside a water tower atop an abandoned building in Manhattan.