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A public space refers to an area or place that is open and accessible to all citizens, regardless of gender

Gender

Gender commonly refers to the set of characteristics that humans perceive as distinguishing between male and female entities, extending from one's biological sex to, in humans, one's social role or gender identity. As a term, "gender" has more than one valid definition...

, race, ethnicity, age

Age

Age may refer to:The length of time that an organism has lived:*ageing, for the social, cultural, and economic factors of human age and aging.*senescence, for the biology and science of aging.* To engage in the process of Aging...

or socio-economic level

Socioeconomics

Socioeconomics or socio-economics is the study of the relationship between economic activity and social life. The field is often considered multidisciplinary, using theories and methods from sociology, economics, history, psychology, and many others. It has emerged as a separate field of study in...

. One of the earliest examples of public spaces are commons

Common land

Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel. By extension, the term "commons" has come to be applied to other resources which a...

. For example, no fees or paid ticket

Ticket (admission)

A ticket is a voucher to indicate that one has paid for admission to an event or establishment such as a theatre, movie theater, amusement park, zoo, museum, concert, or other attraction, or permission to travel on a vehicle such as an airliner, train, bus, or boat, typically because one has paid...

s are required for entry, nor are the entrants discriminated

Discrimination

Discrimination is a sociological term refering to treatment taken toward or against a person of a certain group that is taken in consideration based on class or category. The United Nations explains: "Discriminatory behaviours take many forms, but they all involve some form of exclusion or...

based on background. Non-government-owned malls are examples of 'private space' with the appearance of being 'public space'.

Public space has also become something of a touchstone for critical theory in relation to philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...

, (urban) geography

Geography

Geography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...

, visual art, cultural studies

Cultural studies

Cultural studies is an academic field which combines political economy, communication, sociology, social theory, literary theory, media theory, film/video studies, cultural anthropology, philosophy, museum studies and art history/criticism to study cultural phenomena in various societies...

, social studies

Social studies

Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the National Council for the Social Studies...

and urban design

Urban design

Urban design concerns the arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space. It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning, landscape architecture, or architecture and in more recent times has...

. Its relevance seems to become more pressing as capital

Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic and social system in which the means of production are privately controlled; labor, goods and capital are traded in a market; profits are distributed to owners or invested in technologies and industries; and wages are paid to labor...

encloses more and more of what were thought of as 'commons'. The term 'Public Space' is also often misconstrued to mean other things such as 'gathering place

Gathering place

A gathering place is any place where people are able to congregate. Gathering places may be public; for example, city streets, town squares, and parks; or private; for example, churches, coffee shops, stadiums, and theaters....

', which is an element of the larger concept.

Areas of usage

Most streets

Street

A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...

, including the pavement

Sidewalk

A sidewalk , pavement , footpath , platform or footway is a path for pedestrians that is situated alongside a road or a paved...

are considered public space, as are town square

Town square

A town square is an open area commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, Platz , plaza , piazza , place , and "maydan" A town square is an open area commonly...

s or park

Park

A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment. It may consist of, rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas....

s. Government buildings, such as public libraries and many other similar buildings are also public space. However, not all state-owned buildings fall under such a definition. Although not typically considered public space, privately owned buildings whose walls face sidewalks and public thoroughfares visible from our shared public spaces, affect the public visual landscape. With the rise of outdoor advertising in major metropolitan cities, these private walls are being used to affect public audiences. This problem begs a reconsideration of what might be thought of as public when addressing not only the physical, but the visual landscape of our shared public environments.

Some parks, malls, waiting rooms, etc, are closed at night. As this does not exclude any specific group, it is generally not considered a restriction on public use. Entry to public parks can be restricted based upon a user's residence.

In Nordic countries like Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...

and Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...

, all nature areas are considered public space, due to a law, the allemansrätten (everyone's-right).

Related rights

In the United States, one's presence in a public space may give him or her certain rights not otherwise vested. In a public space, known as a public forum

Forum (legal)

A public forum is a United States constitutional law term that describes a government-owned property that is open to public expression and assembly.-Types:Forums are classified as public or nonpublic....

, the government cannot usually limit one's speech beyond what is reasonable (that is, screaming epithets at passers-by can be stopped; proselytizing one's religion probably cannot). In a private—that is, non-public—forum, the government can control one's speech to a much greater degree; for instance, protesting one's objection to medicare reform will not be tolerated in the Pentagon. This is not to say that the government can control what you say in your own home or to others; it can only control government property in this way. In some cases, privately-owned property can be considered a public forum.

Social norms in public spaces

In some cultures, there is no expectation of privacy

Expectation of privacy

In United States constitutional law the expectation of privacy is a legal test which is crucial in defining the scope of the applicability of the privacy protections of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution....

in a public space.

Eating and drinking in an outside public place during Ramadan in an Islamic country is sometimes not appreciated.

Controversy and Privatization

Public space is commonly shared and created for open usage throughout the community, where as private space is individually or corporately owned. The area is built for a range of various recreation and entertainment. The physical setting is socially constructed which creates a behavior influence. Limitations are imposed in the space to prevent certain actions from occurring; public behavior that is considered to obnoxious or out of character (i.e. drug and alcohol consumption, urinating,indecent exposure

Indecent exposure

Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure by a person of a portion or portions of his or her own body under circumstances where such an exposure is likely to be seen as contrary to the local commonly accepted standards of decency , and may in fact be a violation of law...

, etc...)are supported by law ordinance

Ordinance

Ordinance may refer to:* A law made by a colony, or a municipality or other local authority, see also Local ordinance* A law or decree made by any authority or authoritative body:...

. Through the landscape and spacial organization of public space, the social construction is considered to be privately ruled: by the implicit and explicit rules and expectations of the space that are enforced.

Which is generally considered that everyone has a right to access and use public space, as opposed to private space which may have restrictions, there has been some academic interest in how public spaces are managed to exclude certain groups - specifically homeless people and young people.

Measures are taken to make the public space less attractive to them, including the removal or design of benches to restrict their use for sleeping and resting, restricting access to certain times, locking indoor/enclosed areas. Police forces are sometimes involved in moving 'unwanted' members of the public from public spaces. In fact, by not being provided suitable access, disabled people are implicitly excluded from some spaces.

Further, beginning roughly in the 1960s, the wholesale privatization

Privatization

Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector...

of public space (especially in urban centers) has become a fact of western society, and has faced criticism from citizen groups such as the Open Spaces Society

Open Spaces Society

The Open Spaces Society is a UK campaign group to protect public rights of way and common land. It was founded in 1865. The Open Spaces Society is critical of the present trend of privatisation of UK city centres taking place as a part of urban regeneration, which it sees as a form of enclosure of...

. Private-public partnerships have taken significant control of public parks and playgrounds through conservancy groups set up to manage what is considered unmanageable by public agencies. Corporate sponsorship of public leisure areas is ubiquitous, giving open space to the public in exchange for higher air rights

Air rights

Air rights are a type of development right in real estate, referring to the empty space above a property. Generally speaking, owning or renting land or a building gives one the right to use and develop the air rights...

. This facilitates the construction of taller buildings with private parks; accessible only to those deemed fit. In one of the newer incarnations of the private-public partnership, the business improvement district

Business improvement district

A business improvement district is a public-private partnership in which businesses in a defined area pay an additional tax or fee in order to fund improvements within the district's boundaries. BIDs may go by other names, such as business improvement area, business revitalization zone, community...

(BID), private organizations are allowed to tax local businesses and retail establishments so that they might provide special private services such as policing and increased surveillance, trash removal, or street renovation, all of which once fell under the control of public funds and thus public interests. Clearly these services are necessary; the methods by which they are provided can be debated but not their ultimate utility. Additionally, public areas facilitate public interaction, and their existence can scarcely be questioned in democratic states; we may debate how they are provided, but to question their utility would seem to question our basic rights. Privatization of public amenities should not go unnoticed, whether in this form or the tacit co-opting of sights and sounds known as advertising

Advertising

Advertising is a form of communication used to influence individuals to purchase products or services or support political candidates or ideas. Frequently it communicates a message that includes the name of the product or service and how that product or service could potentially benefit the consumer...

'Semi-public' spaces

A broader meaning of public space or place includes also places where everybody can come if they pay, like a café

Café

A café , also spelled cafe, is an informal restaurant offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches. This differs from a coffee house, which is a limited-menu establishment which focuses on coffee sales. Depending on the jurisdiction, a café may be licensed to serve alcohol. The term...

, train

Train

A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport freight or passengers from one place to another. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway....

, movie theater

Movie theater

A movie theater, movie theatre, picture theatre, film theater or cinema is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....

or brothel

Brothel

A brothel, also known as a bordello, cathouse, whorehouse, sporting house and various other euphemisms, is an establishment specifically dedicated to prostitution, providing the prostitutes a place to meet and to have sexual intercourse with clients.-Legality:Today, brothels are illegal in the vast...

. A shop is an example of what is intermediate between the two meanings: everybody can enter and look around without obligation to buy, but activities unrelated to the purpose of the shop are not unlimitedly permitted.

The hall

Hall

In architecture, several things are commonly known as Halls or halls. A hall is fundamentally a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age, a mead hall was such a simple building and was the residence of a lord and his retainers...

s and streets (including skyway

Skyway

In an urban setting, a skyway, catwalk, sky bridge, or skywalk is a type of pedway consisting of an enclosed or covered bridge between two buildings. This protects pedestrians from the weather. These skyways are usually owned by businesses, and are therefore not public spaces...

s) in a shopping center may be declared a public place and may be open when the shops are closed. Similarly for halls, railway platform

Railway platform

A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...

s and waiting room

Waiting room

A waiting room is a building, or more commonly a part of a building where people sit or stand until the event they are waiting for occurs.There are generally two types of waiting room. One is where individuals leave one at a time, for instance at a doctors surgery or outside a school headmasters...

s of public transport

Public transport

Public transport comprises passenger transportation services which are available for use by the general public, as opposed to modes for private use such as automobiles or vehicles for hire.Public transport services are usually funded by fares charged to each passenger, with varying levels of subsidy...

; sometimes a travelling ticket is required. A public library

Public library

A public library is a library which is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and may be operated by civil servants...

is also more or less a public place. A rest stop or truck stop

Truck stop

A truck stop is a commercial facility predicated on providing fuel, parking, and often food and other services to truck drivers. Truck stops are usually located on or near a busy road and consist of a diesel grade fueling station with bays wide and tall enough for modern tractor/trailer rigs, plus...

is a public space.

For these semi-public spaces stricter rules may apply than outside, e.g. regarding dress code, trading

Trade

Trade is the voluntary exchange of goods, services, or both. Trade is also called commerce or transaction. A mechanism that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and services. Later one side of the barter were the metals, precious...

, begging

Begging

Begging is to request a donation in a supplicating manner. Beggars are commonly found in public places such as street corners or public transport, where they request money, most commonly in the form of spare change...

, advertising

Advertising

, propaganda

Propaganda

Propaganda is communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience...

, riding rollerskates, skateboard

Skateboard

A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a quad wheeled, dual "truck" and quad bearing system designed for both movement and stunts, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The modern skateboard originated in California in the late 1950s...

s, a Segway, etc.