Public Space Papers

The authors in “Ivan Coyote Ted Talk” and “Black Faces in White Spaces” discuss current, significant issues and establish their ethos in particularly similar ways. During the Ted Talk, Ivan Coyote proposed his reasonings as to why gender-neutral bathrooms are needed in today’s society through personal experiences and experiences of others. Miatta Williams also renders her personal growth experiences to reveal that prejudice is prevalent in all parts of America and that it should be taken seriously.

Altering public space can be a negative or positive thing. It is something that changes or adjusts something or someone. You can alter space positively by planting a tree in an empty plot so it can grow big. It can be a friendly smile on someone’s face that joyfully spreads to everyone else. It can also be a beautiful building or a park that transformed something old, unused, or outdated. Any of these ways and more can alter public space positively, and we should always strive to do things that way. There will always be negative in life but it is up to you think positive, act positive, and do things in a positive way. Then without you even realizing it, you will alter public space in a positive way as

Anderson argues that common rhythms of societal response can be identified in similar public spaces. It is clear that the way individuals behave in noisy environments where they are constantly avoiding interaction with objects and bodies differs from convivial mingling. Alternatively, Anderson claims that places that exhibit similar patterns of vitality, usage, and organization have similar social traits (Anderson 67). To illustrate this, relatively busy and safe spaces open any frenzy is given slight regulation regardless of whether these spaces are libraries, museums, retail centers, squares, or parks. It appears that these places are marked by the ethos of researched trust in the situation. Mechanisms are used to negotiate bodies and space in these environments. These mechanisms appear to render the familiar strange and the strange familiar. Transactions are carried out in a safe and efficient manner: threat resulting from anticipation of violence, anxiety, and fear is always avoided. The participants have appreciated the benefits consciously and tactful in public places. Social experiences in public places domesticate diversity and complexities in urban places (Burfeind 18).

First up to analyzing this article is by using a tool concept called the sociological lens. Sociologists use sociological lens to think critically about everyday life, everyday assumptions while also challenging the natural aspects of life. The main issue in this article is that people with different body parts should go different restrooms. More specifically, people with penises should not be allowed to go into female restrooms because it is viewed as dangerous. However, if we analyze this through a sociological lens, the segregation of bathrooms based on gender is a rather new phenomenon. For example, the article states that prior to the Victorian Era, men and women would use the same

Public spaces are the achievement of urban societies where people can get urban experience very intensive and lively, offering experiences and possibilities for action. They are important spaces because they have potential for play, a potential which as Stevens believes is almost neglected:

Since public space is a contested domain, devices may be placed to exclude the inappropriate users of that particular area (Malone 2002, 160-161). The inappropriateness of users may vary from one space to another. One example of this mechanism is the use of ‘hostile architecture’; the term used to describe the structures installed in public places to deter its use in certain ways or by certain groups of people (Petty 2016, 68). For example, in the cities of Australia, anti-skating devices such as little knobs on steps, garden beds and rails are implemented (Timms 2015), to exclude the space’s undesired users such as skateboarders. The skateboarding culture is closely associated with young adults, in particular the male demographic (Nemeth 2006, 309; Slee 2011, 1-2); hence through the measure of ‘hostile architecture’, young people’s use of public space may be subjected to disproportionate deterrence and

Public space can easily be changed if you belong to certain minority groups that are stereotyped and devalued, such as being a person of color. Brent Staples describes his “ability to alter public space in ugly ways” in his essay “Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space” (239). Racial profiling is still a discernible issue in America and Staples’ essay is a perfect example of the damaging effects racial profiling has on people of color. He recounts the event that caused him to become aware of the change his presence creates in public and the steps he took to help people not fear him during the walks he took at night to help battle his insomnia.

Public streets provide not only the transportation, but the vitality, attraction, and interaction in a city. A willingness to walk on and use the streets is essential to businesses, and to the life and economic success of a city. Robert Teir, Maintaining Safety and Civility in Public Spaces: A Constitutional Approach to Aggressive Begging, 54 La. L. Rev. 285, 288 (1993). However, these social catalysts only exist if public spaces are viewed as desirable and attractive. Id. at 289. Unfortunately, when parks or sidewalks are a place of frequent intimidation and intrusion, they become a place not to be sought out, but rather to be avoided. Citizens and visitors begin to think twice about taking their children to the park or square, or taking a walk to the lake, the coffee shop, or the corner store, due to the unwillingness to want to face solicitors because of the frequent intimidation, intrusion, and oftentimes violent and coercive nature of panhandling. Because panhandling threatens the community, as well as personal security, it must be regulated in order to maintain attractive and secure public spaces. Id. at

Welcome to Genezon, a city of 650-thousand people located in northwest Italy. We have created a city that not only maximizes safety and provides almost endless amounts of resources, but also a city that keeps in mind the happiness of the everyday citizen. Public space provides a plethora of benefits if used correctly, however, in the increasingly digital society, precise utilization will be key to success. Now in 2138, we have not only developed Genezon to be an independent, safe, and technologically advanced metropolis but also a culture-, society- and person-orientated public space experience.

Anderson begins his book by saying that across the country many people have this incredible fear of public places in the city. Anderson states “Around the nation, urban residents feel intimidated by their streets, parks, and other public places, particularly after dark or when too many strangers are present. The national problem of safe streets has become especially acute in the city, particularly in underclass ghetto communities and adjacent areas undergoing

In today’s world, the majority of society still get uneasy and nervous around colored people at vacant locations, mostly due to the overrepresentation of black citizens being connected with violence. Written by Brent Staples, “Black Men and Public Space” explains life from a colored man’s perspective on how he is perceived by others and treated differently as compared to a random white man in a dark alley. Staples elaborates that his impression from others was “of a mugger, a rapist, or worse,” making him feel humiliated and gloom because apparently nobody could recognize the difference between him and a real crook. In reality, Staples is an educated, musically-inclined person who is not looking for rambles, but working a job, living life,

When approaching public restrooms, most look at the gender on the door that associates with their own gender. However, some stare at those labels wondering which one they belong in. These types of people are often referred to as transgenders. Transgenders are people who identify themselves with the opposite gender of their biological sex. Therefore, for this category of people, entering a restroom is not so easy. They often wonder whether they should go into the bathroom of their biological sex or of their gender identity. The debate has spread throughout America today. Transgender bathrooms have been discussed in politics, education, and even criminal cases. Both sides of the debate offer valid evidence to support their claims. The only compensation

In Brent Staples’ personal essay “Black Men and Public Space”, he tells the readers what happen to a young black man in an urban setting. He pinpointed that people often stereotype you because of color, race, gender, culture or appearance. In addition, the author expresses to us that he notices the space between him and other people, such as women on the street. Some people may disagree that women set a certain amount of space when walking by a black man on the street. This statement is not true and public space is not about race, gender, color, culture, or appearance.

Coming out as a transgender, identifying with a gender expression that differs from the assigned sex, has proven to be quite difficult through the ages. While the acceptance of transgender people has grown significantly higher throughout the years, people’s stance on them are still quite divided, and the uphill battle for transgender rights has proven this. Just giving transgenders the right to simply go to the bathroom they identify with has shown to be controversial according to the TIME cover Battle of the Bathroom. The TIME magazine makes sure to note the problem defiantly “far more than public facilities” (Scherer par. 9). Transgender rights are a problem that Jamison Green, president for World Professional Association for Transgender Health, thoroughly addresses in a report written by Alan Greenblatt for CQ Researcher. Jamison Green’s specific purpose in that report is to justify why transgender people deserve basic human rights like everybody else, as shown in society, through his use of facts, qualifiers, figurative language, counterarguments, and appeals to logic and values.

The privatization and fragmentation of space in post-industrial urban America is a widespread social problem. As society becomes even more globalized as a result of technological advances, the rampant spread of a privatized public realm is ever-increasing. Public space is needed as a center in which to bring people together to share a common place. It is within public spaces that public life unfolds and without public spaces such as parks, streets, and buildings, the mixing of classes will become increasingly uncommon. Society is made up of two sectors: the private and public, and it is essential that both remain separate entities. However, through the use of fear tactics especially the threat of