ABSTRACT
This chapter and the one that follows take a detailed look at well-known and iconic civic spaces to explore how a management regime impacts on users’ experience of those spaces. The discussion centres on the greater involvement of private interests in the management of public space and its associated trends towards commodification, control and exclusion. The first part of this chapter outlines the recent history of Times Square in New York and puts its transformation into a business improvement district (BID) into context. It summarises what this has meant for the management of that space. The second part looks at the physical and symbolic characteristics of the space, the way it is used, and how these aspects are affected by the management regime. This part first explores the shape of the place, its legibility, land uses and signage as the system of codes that structure the visual and sensorial experience of Times Square. A micro-analysis of the public space is then undertaken including of the uses and activities it fosters, and how management affects the traditional roles of fostering a sense of civility and community. The chapter highlights the complexity of the relationship between private-led management and the use of space, and the varied and to some extent unpredictable outcomes that result.
