{"170761":{"#nid":"170761","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Privatizing Parks","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EParks, plazas, and other public spaces serve as epicenters of democratic expression and communal interaction. \u0026nbsp;However, governments across the country are transferring ownership of public spaces to private entities in an effort to reduce costs. In the 2012 Georgia Tech applied research paper \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/smartech.gatech.edu\/xmlui\/handle\/1853\/43465\u0022\u003EUsing Public Spaces Freely: Ownership and Management of Public Spaces\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d Allison Buchwach (MCRP \u201912) identifies a lack of direct comparisons between publically and privately developed and operated spaces and their ability to serve the public.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo explore the effects that ownership and management structure can have on the ability to use public space freely, Buchwach chose 12 outdoor spaces around the City of Atlanta including Piedmont Park and One Atlantic Center\u0027s plaza. The strength and weaknesses these two locations plus\u0026nbsp;five other\u0026nbsp;publically owned and managed spaces and\u0026nbsp;five other\u0026nbsp;privately owned and managed spaces were evaluated using an adjusted Nemeth index that focused on access, security, rules, design, and amenities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn an effort to offer the most accessible environment possible for any member of the public and to accommodate a large diversity of public activities, Buchwach recommends that municipalities keep an open mind to private ownership of public spaces. She argues that while private entities are less likely to create public space in the absence of regulation, differences in ownership status play little role in the creation of successful public space. Private entities can create public spaces just as effectively as the public sector, and therefore governmental bodies should incentivize public space creation in the private sector. The most important factor in determining if a space maintains a public nature, argues Buchwach, is not who built it and who controls it, but rather the geographical size of the space.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022title\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAllison Buchwach is a 2012 graduate of Georgia Tech\u0027s School of City and Regional Planning, and\u0026nbsp;currently works as the \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cem\u003ETransportation and Community Development Intern at the Center for Neighborhood Technology. Associate Professor Brian Stone served as her applied research paper advisor. \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn a financial and political\u0026nbsp;climate\u0026nbsp;in which\u0026nbsp;municipalities are selling off public space to private entities,\u0026nbsp;a 2012 Georgia Tech applied research paper questions the damage that will be done to public space as we know it.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27714","created_gmt":"2012-11-13 00:26:30","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:10","author":"Kyle James","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-11-12T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-11-12T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"155721":{"id":"155721","type":"image","title":"Parking Day Snapshot","body":null,"created":"1449178872","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:12","changed":"1475894789","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:29","alt":"Parking Day Snapshot","file":{"fid":"195287","name":"parkingday_snapshot.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/parkingday_snapshot_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/parkingday_snapshot_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":37131,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/parkingday_snapshot_0.jpg?itok=aSf_cGTo"}}},"media_ids":["155721"],"groups":[{"id":"1224","name":"School of City \u0026 Regional Planning"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"50191","name":"allison buchwach"},{"id":"5291","name":"Applied Research"},{"id":"45481","name":"applied research paper"},{"id":"44151","name":"public space"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}