Site report 1B pdf

Site Report Zuccotti (1A)

Franck, Huang, Golan, and Heeswijk share the belief that a space can influence the user as equally as the user can affect the space. In Occupying Public Space, 2011, Franck and Huang describe the negotiations that Zuccotti park underwent during Occupy. The negotiation of a space happens when its intended usage is altered in order to effect change for (or in) the users of the space. The authorities’ attempt to negotiate the use of Zuccotti included enforcing rules such as prohibiting the use of loudspeakers. Yet, the occupiers re-negotiated the space by using alternative ways of circulating their message. Zuccotti park is privately owned; however, it is made available for public use. Therefore, the public holds the power over the space as demonstrated by the Occupy movement. In The Office of the People, Gan Golan emphasizes that occupying a space is a not a radical, political tactic. Rather, it allows ordinary citizens to unite, to organize, and to implement change, on their own terms. Lastly, Heeswijk stresses the importance of “reconstructing” the narrative and “redefining” the usage of spaces by occupying them. He states that culture interventions force the confrontation of different cultures which is necessary to transform spaces into communal areas that benefit all.