Hailed by the Wall Street Journal as a "juicy little time bomb of a book", Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience examines for the first time, New York City's 39-year mixed experience with the production of more than 500 plazas, parks, and atriums located on private property yet by law accessible to and usable by the public.

Until now, comprehensive, systematic knowledge about this vast collection of public spaces has not existed, either for experts or members of the public. To remedy this gap, Harvard University professor Jerold S. Kayden, The New York City Department of City Planning, and The Municipal Art Society of New York have joined forces to research and write Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience.

Through words, photographs, scaled site plans, maps, and analysis of newly assembled data, they examine history, law, design, and use of the city’s privately owned public spaces. Each of the more than 500 spaces is individually discussed to provide far-reaching comparative information about this unique category of public space.

In reading this book, designers, planners, lawyers, and academics will gain greater understanding about the possibilities and problems inherent in the design, management, and enforcement of privately owned public space. Public officials, private owners, and civic group representatives will learn more about their roles in ensuring public access and vitality of such spaces.

Contents

THE CONTEXT

History
Law: Design, Operation, and Enforcement
Record
Research

THE SPACES

Lower Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Upper Manhattan
Brooklyn and Queens

Table: Privately Owned Public Spaces, by Address and Classification

Index.

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