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Citizenship is a contested subject in political geography, as a quick review of the literature suggests considerable differences in the way it is conceptualized and its importance is understood. This report reviews debates on the salience of citizenship in the context of broad social, political, and economic changes. Rather than attempting to assign a relative importance to citizenship as status as compared to citizenship as membership, it focuses on the continual rearticulation of the relationships and sites through which citizenship is constructed.

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In North American cities, shopping malls are heralded as the new town square. Historically, the town square was a place where diverse people came together and where politics, economics and sociability were intermingled. However, shopping centres, which are separated from the old downtown by distance or design, seem for many people to be the new heart of public and social life. It is argued in this article that the regulation of the spaces of the mall is intended to create 'community' rather than a 'public'. In the process of creating community, the political potential of public space and the quality of publicity created are contorted so as to muffle political opposition and critique in the name of civility. This argument is illustrated through an examination of the Carousel Center Mall in Syracuse, New York.