ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a closer critical look into the current transformations of public space in different parts of the world through which fundamental changes of contemporary society have been displayed. The politicization of public space is expressed not only in the emergence of an almighty global elite, imposing their visions on city development, management and usage, but also in the appearance of new kinds of global activists on behalf of the powerless and deprived 'new poors', reclaiming not just their rights on the city but their lives as before – their lost jobs and foreclosed homes. The reclaimed and regained public spaces as a product of 'power-filled social relations' give evidence of these trends connected to the globalization of protest. The revalorization of the civic functions of public spaces embodies the emerging civic society and, in many cities, becomes a sign of a new civic urban landscape.
