Privatization and Protest: Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Toronto, and the Occupation of Public Space in a Democracy

Abstract

This article examines the legal and normative debates about the Occupy Toronto movement in order to illuminate the issues raised by Occupy Wall Street. It challenges the view that the occupation of parks and plazas was an illegitimate privatization of public space. In both New York City and Toronto, the courts relied on a theory that Habermas called “German Hobbesianism.” This sovereigntist theory of the public was used to justify removing the protesters and disbanding the encampments. The alternative is what I call the populist model of the public, a term which describes the political mobilization of the people outside the institutional structures of the state. While my focus is on public space, I suggest the appropriation of space was the most visible aspect of a broader call for collective control of the common wealth of society. In other words, we should understand the occupations synecdochally as struggles over the meaning and power of public and private.

The post-political trap? Reflections on politics, agency and the city

“…They are not elected, but they act in the name of a large collectivity or social group. They signify a particular public in the sense of darstellen, even though they do not represent (vertreten) this public (see Kohn, 2013). The creation or staging of a collectivity unrepresented before is, from this perspective, a genuine political act.…”

Public space in the Soviet city: A spatial perspective on mass protests in Minsk

“…Also relevant is Howell (1993) on historical geography; and Parkinson (2012) on public space, political institutions and democracy. 5 See Kohn (2013);Mitchell (1995);Mitchell (2017);Köksal (2012). 6 See for instance Örs (2013) on the history and symbolic importance of the Taksim square in Istanbul; Hansen (2016) on the Maidan square's perceived role as a safety valve in the Ukrainian society; Gillham et al (2013) on the policing of Occupy protests; Ramadan (2013) on the importance of Tahrir square in Egypt; Lee (2009) 14 I use these data to describe the city and the elements of its main squares, and I identify instances where the elements of the squares have affected the opposition's conduct.…”

An Exploration into the Creation of ‘Privately Owned Publicly Accessible Spaces’ in Toronto, Ontario

“…Public spaces are areas within cities that foster recreation and leisure, community and social relationships and places for political activism, displaying concealed conflicts and differences (Kohn, 2013;Francis, Giles-Corti, Wood & Knuiman, 2012;Talen, 2000).…”