ABSTRACT
Manhattan's increasing need for more shared space, now routinely the focus of induced change and practical research, is undeniably a source of controversy. An ongoing series of intertwined crises in the physical, social, cultural, political, and economic context of the city has forced the rethinking of architecture's relationship with its immediate public environment. The embodiment of a complex mix of urban mechanisms, supportive frameworks, legal systems, and planning guidelines for the transformation of the city's collective realm constitutes a special field of interest and concern to authorities, communities, and even developers. The production, revitalization, and commodification of public space, as a phenomenon and as a subject of study, also highlights the vicissitudes of the reconciliation of the many different agents, which are part of the process.
