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privatising public space

As it happens young man..
There was a fantastic piece in (i think the ecologist) a number of weeks ago dealing with this very subject. It took as its main example the decesion by Liverpool City Council to hand control of several areas of the city over to a private contractor who will be responsible for the security and maintainence of those areas.
Now at first glance this make seem acceptable..however there is always a sting in the tail with these things. The council of course where only to happy to allow in a private contractor to do work which they themselves are supposed to be legally responsible for and which saves cash from their streched budgets. The downside however is that the private contractor will have carte blanc to " bar, refuse access to or indeed physically prevent" given individuals from entering any given area that the company so wishs to prevent them from entering.
Of course the cleansing of public areas of " street life " which gves any area its own particular ethos takes away they very indivudality and specialness that made it popular in the first place.
Public space has to be cleansed in order for private profit to succeed...
 
Do you have a link for that/ actually imo, the privatisation of public space is one of the most important domestic/global issues we face in the future..
 
That sounds like a v promising article - I've been hearing a lot of criticism about Liverpool's BID recently. If you've got a link or anyone knows where it comes from that'd be great. Not entirely sure it's in the ecologist though. . .



I agree that it's a really important subject, mainly because the privatisation seems to be happening without anyone noticing, or if noticing then not doing anything about it. The PR for these business proposals is so damn sleek that no-one is complaining.
 
Is it The Palace, oops no that's an 'urban splash' development isn't it?

The privatisation of public space has gone on unchecked in Liverpool since the 'Garden Festival',the planting of trees on Princess Avenue and more importantly the selling off of council owned property to the bloodsuckers. But where were the students and 'artists' when that was happening? Nowhere to be seen.
 
I'd say the USA has some much better examples - esp LA. When you MUST drive everywhere, because the provision for pedestrians is poor or nonexistant, then you exist purely in private space. Your home, the parking lot, the shopping mall, the office - none of these spaces are public.
 
sleepwalking?

Yeah there are good examples in the US, but what about what's happening here? Things that will likely just get worse?

Sure there's Reclaim The Streets, but there's nowt recent by them, at least nothing significant I can find. . .I can't find any proper protest to a single BID anywhere! Is that cos there hasn't been any?
 
Crispy said:
I'd say the USA has some much better examples
Click to expand...

Google up "gated communities" for one example of these - though one that'll have been picked over by academics. Malls, train stations and Canary Wharf in the UK I find more interesting...

There was a wonderful piece of Newspeak published by the US Army War College concerning possible internment camps in Iraq - see around this post.
 
.. here it is ..


But a report just published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has
highlighted the creeping privatisation of the public realm in our towns and
cities that is going almost unnoticed by large sections of the British public.

The RICS are keen to stimulate a public debate on this important issue. The
following article examines the issues raised by their report.

IS THE UK SLEEPWALKING INTO A PRIVATISED PUBLIC REALM?


Control of our urban centres is being handed over to private, commercial
interests in a trend that could change the face and character of UK towns and
cities forever, says a report published by RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors) today, 23 March 2006.

"What Kind Of World Are We Building? The Privatisation of Public Space" examines
how the private sector is gaining control of large city centre sites previously
under local authority control to create the biggest change to the British urban
landscape since the 1950s. The result is space that is policed by private
security guards and governed in an entirely new way.

In Liverpool, for example, a huge new regeneration scheme is to see 34 streets
in the heart of the city entirely privatised, with traditional rights of way
replaced by ‘public realm arrangements’ policed by US-style ‘quartermasters’ or
‘sheriffs’. In an echo of mega-mall Bluewater’s recent banning of ‘hoodies’, the
Liverpool scheme is to ban begging, skateboarding and rollerblading, while
alcohol and food consumption will only be allowed in certain designated areas.

The centrepiece of the Olympic Games - Stratford City (London), 67 acres around
Kings Cross station (London), Sheffield city centre and Hove (Brighton) are just
some of the other areas earmarked to come under private control.

The report also raises concern that the introduction of Business Improvement
Districts (BIDs) means putting control of public space into the hands of
unelected business leaders. BIDs have proved controversial in the US, with
critics claiming they create sterile, identikit environments and fail to deal
with social problems by simply displacing them to neighbouring areas.

Anna Minton, author of the report, said:


‘The UK is sleepwalking into a privatisation of the public realm and this needs
urgent public debate. Are we happy to move to a society that controls where food
can be consumed?


‘An increasing number of local authorities are finding this type of investment
an attractive proposition to help balance the books and keep council tax rates
under control. But the trade-off is losing space that is truly public, as land
ownership patterns begin to resemble those of the Victorian era when private
landlords ran large parts of our cities.’

RICS chief executive, Louis Armstrong, said:

‘In recent years we have seen how our cities can be revitalised on a dramatic
scale. This transformation would not be possible without massive private sector
funding and the attendant risks taken by developers, working alongside local
authorities. There are many advantages to these public-private partnerships, but
the wider consequences of the transfer of public space to private interests are
as yet unknown. We need an informed debate on this important topic.’
 
the other area of interest is the Labour Party inspired redevelopment of public Housing Estates .. whenever this happens we are seeing that from 30% up is being handed over to the private sector .. they argue this income generated is used to provide quality public housing ..

of course the deal is here is that the (labour) govt is sitting on billions of pounds from the right to buy that it will not release for social housing .. Labour are also argue in favour of mixed tenure .. this is supposes to mean all classes mix together and we all live happily ever after .. in fact it means yuppies live temporarily in their starter homes in expensive flats next 2 piss poor people in er less expensive flats and there is no mixing .. no community

another are of interest is how when these schemes happen, how the social housing get the worst parts of the development .. a classic in hackney is by Haggerston Studios .. 'luxury' flats on Kingsland Road .. under and at the back of these luxury flats on a cobbled backstreet overshadowed by the railway viaduct are 4 social houses presumably built by the developer for some qouta .. has to be seen!!! ..
 
That is truly terrifying,perhaps RTS needs reviving, i bet the response to them would be a lot more severe now.

any link to that RCS article?


In Liverpool, for example, a huge new regeneration scheme is to see 34 streets
in the heart of the city entirely privatised, with traditional rights of way
replaced by ‘public realm arrangements’ policed by US-style ‘quartermasters’ or
‘sheriffs’. In an echo of mega-mall Bluewater’s recent banning of ‘hoodies’, the
Liverpool scheme is to ban begging, skateboarding and rollerblading, while
alcohol and food consumption will only be allowed in certain designated areas.
Click to expand...
 
Ooops. I misread the OP as "essay" not article. So I've been thinking "handy footnote". Though that would apply to Do or Die too... :)
 
Does anyone have any experiences (personal or not) where this kind of privatisation has affected you? Eg. can't campaign on a street or being treated badly by private security or being 'moved on'. . .
 
in housing estates the remaining tenants are usually so desperate to get rehoused they do not care about the privisation part of the redev. and other temporary residents likewise do not care ..
 
honestly you lot

a 'student anarcho journalist extraordiaire' asks you to do his homework for him and you all jump up to help the cunt out

you should be ashamed
 
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