Beyond Zuccotti Park ─ Freedom of Assembly and the Occupation of Public Spaces

Protests from Tahrir Square to Zuccotti Park have brought the crisis of public space to the forefront of our attention: Where can the public congregate? How can city planning, design, and policies support First Amendment rights to public assembly and free speech? Forty experts in social science, planning, design, civil liberties, urban affairs, and the arts use the Occupy movement as a springboard for original, multidisciplinary essays that address these exigent questions. This foundational book puts issues of democracy and civic engagement back into the center of dialogue about the built environment.

Roland Anglin is faculty fellow at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, and directs the Initiative for Regional and Community Transformation (IRCT). He is the coeditor of Resilience and Opportunity: Lessons from the U.S. Gulf Coast after Katrina and Rita (2011) and Katrina's Imprint: Race and Vulnerability in America (2010), and the author of Promoting Sustainable Local and Community Economic Development (2010).
Caron Atlas is a Brooklyn-based consultant working to support and stimulate arts and culture as an integral part of social change. She directs the Arts & Democracy Project of State Voices and also leads the Arts & Community Change Initiative and Place + Displaced, a community mapping project of Fractured Atlas.
Thomas Balsley is the principal designer of Thomas Balsley Associates. Among a number of local and international works, his notable projects include Leeum Museum in Seoul, Gate City Park in Tokyo, Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, and Gantry Park, Riverside Park South, and Chelsea Waterside Park in New York City.
Rick Bell is executive director of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He was instrumental in the creation of AIA’s New York New Visions design and planning coalition.
Marshall Berman is distinguished professor of political science at the City College of New York. His books include The Politics of Authenticity: Radical Individualism and the Emergence of Modern Society (2009), On the Town: One Hundred Years of Spectacle in Times Square (2009), and the groundbreaking All That Is Solid Melts Into Air: The Experience of Modernity (1988).
Julian Brash is assistant professor of cultural anthropology, geography, and interdisciplinary urban studies at Montclair State University. He is the author of Bloomberg's New York: Class and Governance in the Luxury City (2011). His work has been published in Urban Anthropology, Critique of Anthropology, Social Text, and Antipode.
Wendy Brawer is a designer, social innovator, consultant, and public educator. Based in New York and focused on sustainable design since 1989, Wendy has led the development of the nonprofit Green Map System, now active in over 700 diverse cities in 55 countries.
Paul Broches is a partner of Mitchell-Giurgola, an architectural firm in New York that focuses on developing solutions that minimize the use of non-renewable energy sources, reduce the production of pollution, and conserve energy expenditures. He is active on AIA’s Committee on Architecture for Education and Committee on Urban Design, as well as a member of the Board of Advisors of the Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility.
Lance Jay Brown is distinguished professor in the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York and was elected inaugural chancellor of the College of Distinguished Professors of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) in 2011. His publications include Urban Design for a New Century: Placemaking for People (2009).
David Burney is the first architect to hold the title of commissioner of the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC). At Mayor Bloomberg’s direction, Burney launched a Design and Construction Excellence Initiative with the goal of raising the quality of design and construction of public works throughout New York City. Prior to joining DDC, Burney was director of design and capital improvement at the New York City Housing Authority.
Susan Chin is executive director of the Design Trust for Public Space. Prior to this, she served as the assistant commissioner of Capital Projects at the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs for twenty-three years. She is an American Institute of Architects Public Architec