The Neoliberalization of Public Spaces and the Infringement of Civil Liberties

Abstract

We have the largest number of millionaires, the largest number of mansions, but also the most acute poverty in the country" (L'Obs 2014). With this statement, Gary Blasi, a Law Professor at UCLA, highlights urban segregation as a particularly striking contradiction that lies at the heart of the city of Los Angeles. Wealthy neighborhoods, such as Beverly Hills, are famed for their luxurious villas and expensive hotels, yet they stand only a few miles away from one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of the nation: Skid Row, which concentrates the highest number of homeless people in the country in a very confined area of the city. For homeless people, enjoying daily access to public space to perform life-sustaining activities is a necessary condition for their survival. However, several anti-homeless laws have been passed in Los Angeles in recent decades. In 2006, the municipality implemented a program called the Safer Cities Initiative (SCI) to secure the streets. Its primary goal was to eradicate misdemeanors such as sleeping or urinating in public.

Pandemic Encampments: A Case Study of Toronto’s Homeless Encampments (Through a Human Rights-based Approach) During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…While the distinctions and depth of neoliberalism go beyond the scope of this paper, this case study of homeless encampments reveals how these analyses prove useful in understanding the predominance of neoliberal ideology in Canada. Neoliberalism goes beyond political and economic theory and instead has clear urban implications with often harmful consequences on the most vulnerable individuals living in the city (Dassé, 2019). In respect to this case study, these harmful consequences can be witnessed in access to basic human rights, employment and social inequality, public spaces and exclusion determining who has right to the city, and the treatment of individuals based on the different intersections that make up their lived experience (i.e.…”

“…Marxist thinker and philosopher, Henri Lefebvre sheds light on the link between urban planning and sociology. He demonstrated the way cities are laid out can be used as a means of social control by segregating individuals (Dassé, 2019). He coined the term the "Right to the City" (in French: "droit a la ville") to counter the notion of socio-spatial segregation.…”

“…Public spaces such as parks also have a large role in democracy in making sure a common space is available to all. Democracy suggests access for everyone to a neutral, free, and accessible place, where individuals could express themselves (Dassé, 2019. Most often under tyrannical, authoritarian regimes, demonstrations in public spaces are forbidden.…”

Keep off the grass

“…Public spaces, characterized by public and collective participation, are beginning to transform into spaces of trade, consumption, and political surveillance (Dassé 2019), as illustrated by numerous examples of the removal of non-citizens who are considered illegal from ''shared'' places. Political surveillance in public spaces, marginalization, and exclusion is a common practice in EU countries, whereby under the pretext of public safety, security, cleanliness, e.g.…”

Toward Civic Co-production: Using Worldbuilding to Go Beyond Participation in Urban Planning and Enact More Equitable Cities

“…Unless greater change in development systems occurs, it is possible that a more widespread use of worldbuilding may merely upcycle notions of solidarity economies and community collaboration for continued modes of exclusion (Diamond, 2018;Miller, 2018). On its own, the approach is not enough to change entrenched inequality, social divisions, and rising rates of civic tension (Van Deusen, 2002;Dassé, 2019). To realize the full benefits that worldbuilding can provide, development and planning must be reframed to promote greater systemic support of collaborative process (Hoch, 1994;Allen et al, 2012).…”