When thinking about public space in cities such as New York City, the way it is constantly ‘shared’ by people of various ethnic backgrounds, the way it is policed by law enforcement and how it is negotiated by private property owners in lieu of building restrictions and exemptions; I have a difficult time imagining cities being completely saturated in a culture where it is normal for public space to be truly utilized in ways which serve the public.

One approach to such a utopian concept would start with the employment of transparent definitions on the usage or public space, especially public spaces branded as privately owned. Reassessment retraining or possibly the abolishment of broken windows policing would also be conducive of the new cultural narrative regarding the sharing of service public space.

However, biased perception of dis-valued communities  as well as the distrust between law enforcement and underprivileged youth within those communities serve as one of the biggest road blocks towards the possibility of changing the culture of sharing and using service oriented public space.