Privatization of Public Spaces

Theory of City Form- Seminar

Tejashree Kulkarni

2014 MUD 006

Structure of Presentation

1. INTRODUCTION

2. SYNOPSIS

3. LITERATURE REVIEW

4. FORMATION OF PARAMETERS FOR

STUDYING PUBLIC SPACES

5. CASE STUDIES

i. Government Park, T. T. Nagar, Bhopal

ii. Platinum Plaza, Bhopal

iii. DB City Mall, Bhopal

6. CONCLUSIONS

-Relevance to Indian Cities

Introduction

Plazas, town squares, parks, marketplaces, public commons and malls, beaches and

riverfronts, piers, special areas within convention centres or grounds, sites within public

buildings, lobbies, concourses, or public spaces within private buildings.

All of such places with people and activities constitute the public dimension of human social

life.

The nature and character of public spaces are closely related to the nature and character of

the cities. As cities have changed, so have their public spaces.

Trafalgar Square, London

Thames Riverwalk, London

Kolkata City Centre Shivaji Park, Mumbai

Introduction

Privatization of public spaces:

•Managed, subsidized and developed

by private agencies, which has led to the

privatization of urban landscapes

•Controls uses, movement and

behaviour of the spaces, dramatically

influences redesign of traditional public

space

•These spaces are generally found in the

urban residential neighbourhoods

•Some part of the society is restricted

access either by physical means or by

social means.

•A newer effort of privatizing public

landscape also involves atriums- being

developed in many corporate and

commercial buildings; such as shopping

malls.

GLOBALISATION

RAPID URBANISATI

ON

SCARCITY OF DEVELOPED

URBAN LAND

LIFESTYLE

HOUSING TYPOLOGY

MORPHOLOGY

Change in nature of Public & Open

Spaces

PRIVATIZATIONAs one of the major

changes

Synopsis

Aim

The aim of this seminar is to find reasons behind

privatization of public spaces and to study their

contribution in urban social life.

Objectives

1. To understand the differentiation between private

space and public space

2. Finding reasons of changing character of urban

public spaces through privatization.

3. To explore different theories about privatized public

spaces written and documented by different urbanists

and theoreticians, through their literature.

4. To find relevance of the theories with respect to

public spaces in Indian context.

Scope

1. The seminar will observe and analyze privatization

of urban public spaces, and the reasons behind it.

2. The seminar will involve public spaces such as

privatized/ semi- privatized parks in neighbourhoods,

atriums and premises of shopping mall etc

Limitations

1. Case studies related to public spaces will be limited

in the Indian context only, by taking examples from

Bhopal city.

Methodology

1. Primary data for case studies will be collected

through observations, photographs, and informal

interviews of the users involved.

2. Collection of secondary data will be done through

literature studies from articles in books and journals.

The literature is reviewed on the basis of various

important topics related to the subject, discussed by

authors.

Literature Review

Madanipour, A., 2003. Impersonal Space of the City. In Madanipour, A. Public and Private Spaces of

the City

Madanipour, A., 2010. Whose Public Space?

In Madanipour, A. Whose Public Space?

Madanipour, A., 2010. Marginal

Public Spaces in European Cities. In Madanipour, A.

Whose Public Space?

Madanipour, A., 2003. Why are the Design and Development of

Public Spaces Significant for Cities? In Cuthbert, A. Design

of Cities: Critical Readings in Urban

Design

Francis, M., 2009. Changing

Values of Public Spaces.

Landscape Architecture

The distinction between the Public and the Private•Spaces are separarted from the outer complex system either by spatial means such as boundaries, fences, compound walls etc•Or by temporal means such as predominant working hours

Access on the basis of physical & social constraints

“This complex system of codes, expressed through physical objects and social arrangements, signifies private places, where strangers cannot enter without permission or negotiation. Public places, on the other hand, are expected to be accessible to everyone, where strangers and citizens alike can enter with fewer restrictions.” (Madanipour, 2003)

Literature Review

Public to Private ownership transformation

•Developing the urban areas, but also maintaining them is a burden for most of the public authorities.

•So, it becomes advantageous for them to let private sector manage the development.

‘Privatization’ as a ‘silent movement’

•In American cities Government efforts are largely abandoned in favour

of private initiatives that manage, subsidize & develop public spaces.

• This strategy has led to the ‘privatization’ of open spaces,

including some parks, plazas and waterfront areas. The

movement is silent and subtle; occurring with little public

debate yet marked success. (Francis, 2009)

•Resulting into large tax intensives and space control

‘Atriums’ as a Public Space

•The public mall also faces redesign. Many early

malls were designed as furnished outdoor rooms, but

ended up being used much differently than intended.

The main criticism of these spaces is that they

are not truly public, and thus not accessible or

usable.

•Developers have tried moving public landscapes

away from street and creating networks of shops

or lifting plazas above street level.

Parameters for case-studies

vi. Reasons for privatization

Privatization of spaces is done by various strategies

like physical segregation and restricting access, or

directly by changing its ownership and movement

control.

vii. Future of such spaces

Spaces continue to be proposed, build and managed.

But, there should be clear conception about what will

happen to them in future and how they should be user-

oiriented rather than being in favour of owners,

managers and designers.

i. Use and user group diversity

public spaces should accommodate user diversity

consisting people of various backgrounds, ages etc.

They should not be perilous to women. (William

Whyte)

ii. Comfort with respect to basic human needs

(Francis, 2009)

It involves weather protection, seating, security etc.

Public spaces should offer adequate ‘sittable’ space,

programmed events and food to enhance its comfort

levels.

iii. Accessibility or ‘publicness’ in terms of

users and activities (Francis, 2009)

It talks about physical accessibility to all user groups.

Public space must be open and accessible to all.

iv. Uses and activities which add meaning to

spaces.

v. Its physical characteristics such as sense of

enclosure, scale and proportion, site features

etc.

Case-studies

Map

•Surrounded by VIP bungalows

•Low-rise development around

•Upper class society/ politians

•Surrounded by apartments & commercial blocks

•High-rise development, around 200 flats

•Gated community, higher middle class society

1. Government Park-1 2. Platinum Plaza

1. Government Park-1 2. Platinum Plaza

Use and User Groups:

•A nursery of indoor and outdoor plants. It’s less than

half part is in actual use by the nursery. Rest of the

green spaces like lawns and some part of vacant

land is reserved by the park authorities, which is not

utilized for any function.

•So, the user group of the park is very limited to the

nursery workers and customers

•there are no other functions taking place viz.

morning/evening walks, children play areas etc

which generally happen in public parks.

Use and User Groups:

The play area is often used by the children residing in

the society and also elderly people, during evening

time. Being owned & maintained by the society, it

bans access to outsiders.

The community residing here is comprised of higher

middle classes of society; hence they are the only user

group of the space. It is limited to children of 2-10

years age group only.

1. Government Park-1 2. Platinum Plaza

Comfort: Being a public park, it has lot of soothing

greenery and shading within the campus. But, since it

has not been utilized for the public, there is no other

supporting infrastructure to cater to.

Comfort: As the garden is inside the gates of the

society, parents allow children to play here easily,

because of its secured and protected environment,

physical and visual control, no disturbance from

vehicles etc aspects. It also protects them from harsh

sun, as it is surrounded by tall buildings; it creates

shading over the lawn.

1. Government Park-1 2. Platinum Plaza

Accessibility or ‘publicness’: The Park is

open to all categories of users, in terms of free entry

and exits. But, since it is a fenced garden from all

sides, it is hardly identified as a public space while

moving from the approach road.

Visual permeability is thus very poor. Due to

lack of functions, activities, poor design and

maintenance, nothing attracts people to come

and explore this park.

Accessibility or ‘publicness’: The space does

not allow trespassers or outsiders to use or enjoy the

garden. It is also kept very much introvert in its site

layout, such that it is not even visible from the

approach road. The gates and security guards also

prohibit access inside the compound walls.

1. Government Park-1 2. Platinum Plaza

Uses and Activities: Activities related to buy and

sell and maintenance of the nursery, lawn and

vegetation only take place during its working hours, 8

am to 5 pm.

Uses and Activities: The space is mostly used as

children play area and an informal space to relax and

interact for old age people and women, belonging to

the residential society.

1. Government Park-1 2. Platinum Plaza

Physical

characteristics:

The Park is sufficient to

serve as a neighbourhood

level park. It has access

from both of the road

sides. A water canal passes

through the garden

running parallel to the

approaching road.

Physical characteristics: The scale of the space

is not very big for playing sports like cricket, football

etc freely. Hence, used by only a specific age group of

children.

1. Government Park-1 2. Platinum Plaza

Reasons for Privatization:

Main and the only function is the Plant Nursery,

the fenced compounds, entrance gates, weak

permeability, the odd working hours (morning 8 to

evening 5, Sunday Holiday) makes the space inactive.

Future of the space: The Park as a public space

holds importance due to its location and surroundings.

People will definitely use such spaces if given

opportunity through re-considering their need in

their lives and also the potential of the space for

developing it as an active and vibrant public park.

Reasons for Privatization:

Being a modern development in a new planned city of

Bhopal, the space is also under privatization by

developers. The ownership, current housing and

development trends, reasons of privacy,

security, maintenance and exclusive social

network are the probable reasons of this privatization.

Future of the space:

The character of such spaces will only change from

private to public, in terms of accessibility, when the

structure of whole neighbourhood will change.

3. DB City Mall

DB CITY MALL

It is the most popular and

successful mall in Bhopal city,

because of its many factors like

location, vibrancy, functions,

activities and character. It is

located in M.P. Nagar- the prime

commercial zone of the city.

Use and User Groups: The user group varies

from middle class to elite classes of society, who come

here for mainly for relaxation, shopping and recreation.

Children with their families also hang out in the mall

atriums and shops, as daily shopping and recreation

happen under one roof. It is also a popular space for

youth, due to variety of food and shopping

opportunities.

Comfort:

Being an indoor, air-conditioned space, it is always

comfortable and soothing in all seasons and all times

of day. This is the crucial factor due to which people

choose mall over an open public space, in a city like

Bhopal.

Accessibility or ‘publicness’:

The atrium of the mall is actually open to all, but the

character, environment & security control

automatically negates the economically weaker

social classes. This practice does not make this place

truly ‘public’ or ‘open to all’, though it is free of charge.

•The outdoor informal seating space allows people

to interact freely, and it gets active after evenings.

•The edge between the mall and the street is

open ended though there is a level difference

created; which makes it more successful. Its

glamorous character automatically prevents lower

classes of society to cross the edge of the road and

enter the mall premises.

3. DB City Mall

Uses and Activities:

The mall comprises of lots of inter-related activities like

shopping of almost all kinds, from groceries to cars,

movie theatre, food court including chain restaurants

as well as fine dining and to a 5-star Hotel.

All of these functions and activities add up to the

active and vibrant space-making quality of the place.

Physical Characteristics:

The mall follows current successful trend of having an

atrium as the focal point and other axes converging

into it.

Though the edge between the mall and the front road

is open-ended, it is slightly raised from the road. It

indirectly separates and restricts access to some

classes of society from the mall premises.

3. DB City Mall

Reason for Privatization:

As lot of investment is done by private owners and

developers, the control of the space is retained by

them. It is more focused on attracting people to spend

money on shopping and recreational activities, which

are seen as potential customers of the retailers. The

motive of creating the mall is thus about gathering

public and indirectly seeking their attention; and is

hardly about creating a ‘public space’.

Future of the Space:

The concept of introducing the mall has proved to be

commercially successful in Bhopal’s context. The

introvert building with atriums as the focus can be

more innovatively designed to make it more public.

3. DB City Mall

PUBLIC SPACE

OPEN & ACCESSI

BLE

SOCIAL

ACTIVE

VIBRANT

DYNAMIC

INTEGRAL PART OF CITY

Conclusions

a. Public space and privatized public space differ from

each other not just on the basis of ownership but

also on its users, functions and activities.

b. Public space should be free, open and accessible

to all user groups of all ages, social classes, gender

and professions etc.

c. When the access to the space and its activities is

closed for certain user groups by physical, economic or

social barriers, then that space is not truly ‘public’ in

its sense.

d. Public authorities seem to be disinterested in

designing and developing public spaces because of its

maintenance issues and financial burden. Hence,

these responsibilities are passed on to the

private sector developers; who seek some

incentives and profit on their investment.

e. Spaces like shopping mall atriums are actually free and open to all, but its physical setting and glossy, vibrant

environment automatically withdraws economically weaker section of the society.

f. Privatization of public spaces like gardens, parks etc thus deprive common people and residents; who

have equaled right on such spaces to relax, rest and enjoy themselves in the busy urban life.

Conclusions Relevance to Indian cities

a. In Indian cities, privatization of public spaces occurs according to ownerships as well as by spatial means. In

case of ownership privatizations, the changing neighborhoods, housing typologies and city character are the

factors for privatization. In newly developed Indian cities, there is a need of creation of public spaces, but in

reality, it becomes challenging due to its initial investment cost, maintenance and control. Thus, there

is a trend to have privatized spaces at neighborhood level.

b. Public gardens and parks in public realms are privatized spatially by providing strong edging elements

like compound walls, chain links, fences and thorny bushes etc which divide and sometimes

completely segregates it from the street physically and visually.

c. Globalization and western influences have brought concept of shopping malls in India, which now

perhaps is essential part of a city’s life and identity. It is so established that, it can be considered as a

‘sheltered public space’, where people enjoy and relax, apart from shopping activities. Most of the Indian

malls are spatially as well as ownership-wise privatized, highly secured, and indirectly kept limited to certain

social classes.

d. Owners, developers, researchers and designers should contribute in creating truly successful and

democratic public spaces. We need to develop a broader perspective to know the importance of public

spaces in the urban life.

e. Only by providing for basic human dimensions and qualities, spaces can be made into truly

democratic, meaningful and lovable spaces.

Thank You