The privatisation of public space, and the democratic alternative

Attempting to regulate development and planning so as to secure the existence of central, highly exposed, public centres for civic organisation, mobilisation and debate, would no doubt raise the ire of the massive industry which has grown up around shopping centre development.

This, however, should not prevent us from taking a principled stand, and from putting into concrete practice some of the rhetoric that has arisen, in recent years, around the term 'civil society'.

The goal of promoting a vibrant, active and diverse civic sphere can also be well complemented by incorporating an active and critical citizenship agenda in the curricula of our schools.  Here, the role of the humanities and social sciences – including history – is core. Such an issue is well-deserving of an article in its own right, but for now we will focus on the concern of physical civic space.

As a priority, Australia's political parties need to establish planning legislation, accounting for the compulsory provision of high exposure, centrally positioned public space for the purposes of free civil expression, mobilisation and organisation.

Experts in the field should be commissioned to assist in the drafting of such legislation, with the intention of providing, through planning and development legislation, the regulatory foundation for the creation of civil space, and thus of an invigorated, participatory civil society.

Finally, across the political spectrum, activists and policy makers need to reconsider the role of the public sector, especially in the provision of social and public space. Were new developments to be provided and owned by local government, with the benefit of state and federal funding, it would be far easier, in the public interest, to argue against the corporatist logic that results in the marginalisation of public activity outside of consumption.

For some of us this may seem a trifling concern, say, compared with ongoing assaults on worker’s rights, public health and education. The question of public space, however, is at the core of who we are, how we organise and live, and how we relate to each other on a daily basis.

The Internet provides many new channels for ‘virtual mobilisation’, as evidenced by the rise of web-based movements such as Avaaz and GetUp. But while ‘virtual space’ provided through the Internet is important,  bringing people together in common cause on a ‘face to face’ collective basis: can still be tremendously powerful.

Along with the provision of participatory online media, any revivification of active citizenship in Australia and elsewhere, depends at least partly on the provision of the actual physical and public infrastructure and space necessary for its realisation. Now is the time for courage and policy innovation: to promote a participatory public sphere that reaches beyond the stifling limits of mere consumption.