Boundaries and Surveillance in Astoria

Abstract

Urban public spaces are ostensibly open to all. Yet, many of these spaces fail to reflect the diversity of the people in the neighbourhood around them. In this chapter, I describe direct and indirect exclusion mechanisms in two public spaces that structure who uses them and how. These mechanisms include physical elements of the public space, as well as social patterns and practices. The first space I consider is a small waterfront sculpture park in Astoria that is run by a public-private partnership and features outdoor art exhibits. Located in a rapidly gentrifying and extremely economically polarized section of the neighbourhood, the park fosters cultural consumption patterns typical of the affluent. A confluence of physical elements, such as tall fences and gates, entry tents and lack of benches, as well as social practices like private and public policing, lead to the partial exclusion of the poor, people of colour, and immigrants. The second space is a community garden mere blocks away from the sculpture park. While the physical set up of the garden serves as a means of indirect exclusion and some attempts of direct exclusion take place, it is a far more inclusive space where people interact and cooperate across lines of difference.