Privately Owned Public Spaces

Parks Departments Try to Build New Green Spaces on Shrinking Budgets
Even as the role of parks and urban green space in public and ecological health becomes more apparent, city budgets are hard-pressed to meet the costs of park construction and maintenance.

Harley Davidson Includes Community Park in Headquarters Revamp
Milwaukee is about to get a major community space upgrade thanks to one of its most recognizable hometown brands.

Predictions for San Francisco’s Public Spaces
In 2023, will the city’s public spaces be reclaimed by cars, or will pandemic-era interventions lead to permanent change?

The Return of San Francisco’s Privately Owned Public Spaces
In San Francisco, you can find respite from city life in some unexpected places—if you know where to look.
Contest: Design a Logo for New York's Privately-Owned Public Spaces
New York City is holding a competition for a distinctive logo to clearly demarcate all of its 550 privately-owned public spaces.

Making Privately Owned Public Spaces in New York City More Accessible by Mapping Them
A new map shows where privately owned public spaces are located to encourage more public use.

Report: Trump Tower Among Many NYC Buildings Not Maintaining Privately Owned Public Spaces
It's no secret that building owners often fail to maintain privately owned public spaces with any priority on the public part of that equation. A new report reveals just how widespread the problem is in New York.

Whose Comfort Matters in Public Spaces?
In overhauling the appearance and ambience of a popular mall, the Minneapolis Downtown Council and the Minneapolis City Council have promoted strategies beyond heavy-handed policing, including philanthropy, social services, and community engagement.
The Not-So-Public Legacy of New York's Privately Owned Public Spaces
More and more often, barriers have been erected between the public and POPS, as privately owned public spaces are known.
McKinney: Public, Private Divide Often Follows Race
Urbanism media noted the growing privatization of recreation facilities, such as pools, as one of the lessons to be taken from a controversial encounter between police and black teenagers in McKinney, Texas over the weekend.

The Evolving Legacy of New York City Park Design
An interview with Thomas Balsley, landscape architect and designer of hundreds of parks and plazas in New York, reveals inside baseball about the evolution of park design, planning, and approvals in the Big Apple.
San Francisco Exposes Privately Owned Public Spaces
San Francisco's 1985 downtown plan required large new office and hotel developments to incorporate public spaces, but the city is only now updating the requirements and reinforcing the initial goal of opening up privately owned public spaces (POPOS).
Website Catalogs NYC's Forgotten Public Spaces
As part of an endeavor to improve access to New York's 525 Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS), which gained notoriety during last year's Occupy Wall Street protests, a new website has been launched to help the public find and utilize them.
Guidelines on Privately Owned Public Spaces in S.F. Need Rethinking
John King authors an article examining the types of privately owned public spaces that have been created in San Francisco under the city's 1985 downtown plan and sees room for improvement.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research