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Book Review
Open Access
Why Public Space Matters
Setha Low
Oxford University Press, 2022
by Cole Von Feldt
40 Texas Architect
1/2 2024
population and workforce, and an increasing crime
rate in recent decades. The longest elevated footbridge in the world, Walkway is a former railway
that has shared similar success to the High Line in
Manhattan in its revitalization e昀昀orts, albeit at a
drastically more modest scale.
Low, along with her colleague Suzanne Scheld,
conducted “walking interviews,” during which
they recorded feedback from local users without
interrupting their use of the bridge. Two young
mothers were amongst Low’s first respondents
and expressed that Walkway allows them to
solidify “their sense of health and well-being”
while strengthening their friendship through
consistent activeness. Another user agreed that
Walkway enables exercise, as he runs religiously
to “prevent another stroke.” While the incentive
to exercise was omnipresent, Low and Scheld
were pleasantly surprised to 昀椀nd that public space
improved health and well-being in numerous ways
in Poughkeepsie.
Low progresses to discuss the necessity of streets
and sidewalks as an enabler of the informal workforce. Informal work is often unfairly stigmatized
as illegal; however, Low notes that “most informal
workers [such as domestic workers and street vendors] pay taxes and obtain municipal licenses.”
While informal work is common in the developing
world, it is also visible in the United States, such as
throughout Manhattan, where sidewalks are 昀椀lled
with vendors that sell everything from hot dogs to
counterfeit luxury handbags. A lack of public space
would severely limit their ability to earn a wage.
Cole Von Feldt is a designer, photographer, and writer
educated in Austin and Copenhagen and trained in
New York and Houston. He currently lives and works
in New York.
COVER IMAGE COPYRIGHT OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
For the past number of decades, Setha Low has
conducted ethnographic research to study the
importance of public space within cities. This
approach led to her newest book, “Why Public
Space Matters,” which centers around New York
but also highlights pertinent examples in Europe,
Latin America, and Asia.
Considering the question “What if public space
was not public?,” Low analyzes Jones Beach, one
of New York’s most popular state parks. Located
close to the city on Long Island, this region retains
its hauntingly iconic Robert Moses-led infrastructure that disincentivized poorer, minority populations from utilizing its public amenities. While
Jones Beach remains a di昀케cult destination to reach
without the use of an automobile, the diversity of
its current users stands in profound contrast to the
design intentions of Moses 100 years prior.
After two years of research, Low finds Jones
Beach remarkable in the unique sense of belonging it
cultivates, which “is a critical component of democracy and public space.” An interviewed user pointed
out that Connecticut, as well as towns farther east
on Long Island, struggles with maintaining publicly
accessible beaches due to constant privatization and
fears Jones Beach will befall a similar fate as them.
While accessibility and inclusivity are foundational to public space, infrastructure for recreational exercise promotes its use. As with Jones
Beach, the constant use of Walkway Over the
Hudson — a pedestrian bridge in upstate Poughkeepsie, New York — enhances a community that
has struggled with limited investment, a declining
Low then shifts to the recent overtaking of
public space when New York restaurants occupied
streets and constructed shelters for outdoor dining
during the COVID-19 pandemic. The privatization of space “changed the way the media, urban
planners, and city o昀케cials reacted to spatial incursions during the crisis” in an e昀昀ort to save businesses
from permanent closure. While the discussion over
the privatization, or publicization, of space is constantly debated, Low turns to an Argentinian context where the con昀氀ict “is about who has the ‘moral’
right” to occupy public space: the trash collectors —
an honorable informal workforce position that has
existed for decades — or the unhoused who gather
refuse as scavengers desperate to feed their families.
At a minimum, the seemingly constant battle over
public space — who it belongs to and how it should
be used — emphasizes its societal importance.
In general, Low has written a masterful overview of why public space matters to the health of
individuals, cities, and society. Her writing explores
various topics concerning the public realm and provides thoroughly researched examples, both domestic and international. The ethnographic approach to
Low’s research, and consequently this book, yields
a manageable read that isn’t cluttered with overtly
academic jargon. While Low was certain to mention a variety of topics, including how public space
facilitates places for healing, re昀氀ection, and protest,
there was room for further exploration. The lack of
examples from mid-sized cities within the United
States weakened the book in terms of its connection
to an American audience that might not frequent
New York, especially given the strength of public
design projects in such cities in recent decades.
Low successfully ends her book with a lengthy
yet critical last chapter that serves as a “how-to”
for analyzing public space, providing agency to the
reader regardless of their background or familiarity
with the subject. This helps distinguish her book
from other similar publications and remains consistent with her ethnographic approach to identifying
and understanding the world around us. While this
is a pleasant conclusion, there is no mention of the
potential future in昀氀uence of public space, and Low
instead entrusts the reader with the power to determine that. “Why Public Space Matters” should be at
the forefront of the bookshelf for anyone who is even
marginally curious about the public realm and how
spaces designed for public use a昀昀ect our daily lives.