The Politics of Public Space

The Politics of Public Space Volume Five collates the all four previously sold out volumes along with nine new conversations with; Gary Foley, Alison Young, Lily Éire Parsons, Uncle Dave Wandin, Wendy Steele, Polly Stanton, Kelsie Nabben, Olivia Daw, Genevieve Quinn, Lewis Orgar, and Carroll Go-Sam. The Politics of Public Space began in 2018 as a public lecture series curated by OFFICE. These discussions took place outside the conventional spaces of the university, held on Melbourne’s street corners, laneways, parks, shopping strips and plazas. Meeting in different locations around the city allowed these perspectives to be directed at the city’s forms and the issues at stake in their development. The project evolved from a series of short talks and interviews to the release of four volumes of transcripts that capture the perspectives of 39 speakers. These diverse opinions demonstrate the distinct and often contradictory views on what public space is, how we occupy it and how it should be designed and governed.

The previous four volumes of The Politics of Public Space set out to reveal the growing inequality within cities, and we hope these additional nine texts identify ways forward to more equitable public spaces. These range from the inclusion of diverse and marginalised communities in planning and design, to the combination of bottom-up approaches and top-down policy to enact change. This new volume expands on these ideas and approaches, to advocate for better outcomes in the built environment that consider environmental, social, economic and culturally equitable experiences in public spaces. Across all of the volumes of The Politics of Public Space, we have sought new ways to communicate the critical value of public spaces: both for shaping how we live now, and in informing just and equitable futures. We hope that this collection of texts adds to the growing discourse around public space and becomes an ongoing resource to those interested in the city and the forces that shape it.