ABSTRACT
The power of property owners, businesses, and residents of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile was obvious enough. They prevailed over the buskers who performed there in legitimizing their own, in many ways private, interests in governing the streets and sidewalks. This is not unusual. But it is important. How particular private interests prevail in public space is a crucial issue for understanding how publics are formed, and for understanding what is and is not legitimate to do on publicly-owned property. Likewise it is crucial for understanding how, and especially by whom, public spaces are governed, even though they may remain publicly-owned property. Examining how particular private interests predominate, in other words, is important for understanding the restructuring of downtowns and the changing mix of people who can and do populate them.
