ABSTRACT
Property may be the law of things (Smith 2011), yet it when it comes to public things, the law (of property) is strangely silent. Public real property is an underdeveloped, underthought subject, a doctrinal and theoretical paradox disproportionate to the sheer acreage of public lands, or the equally expansive tracts of private land over which public real rights subsist. This chapter explores this curious paradox, its goal to shift property’s private-centric dial, even if incrementally, such that we better ‘see’ the public estate in all of its proportionate contexts (Rose 1994). In so doing, the chapter interrogates three threshold questions – what is public property; who ‘owns’ it; and why is its richness (or corresponding poverty) significant – canvassing considerations as diverse as public wealth, human flourishing, spatial justice, and simple happiness. It concludes by underscoring the importance of public purpose to public owning, the performative richness of public do-ings, and the ever-present need to keep a clear (public) line of sight.
