Beyond Zuccotti Park: Freedom of Assembly and the Occupation of Public Spaces

In the wake of the Occupy Wall Street movement, leading planers and social scientists examine public space today and freedom of assembly.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has challenged the physical manifestation of the First Amendment rights to freedom of assembly. Where and how can people congregate today? Forty social scientists, planners, architects, and civil liberties experts explore the definition, use, role, and importance of public space for the exercise of our democratic rights to free expression. The book also discusses whose voice is heard and what factors limit the participation of minorities in Occupy activities. This foundational work puts issues of democracy and civic engagement back into the center of dialogue about the built environment.

Beyond Zuccotti Park is a collaborative effort of Pratt Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment, City College of New York School of Architecture, New Village Press and its parent organization, Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility. The book is part of an open civic inquiry on the part of these organizations. The project was seeded by a series of free public forums, Freedom of Assembly: Public Space Today, held at the Center for Architecture in response to the forced clearance of Occupy activities from Zuccotti Park and public plazas throughout the country. The first two recorded programs took place on December 17, 2011 and February 4, 2012.

Ronald Shiffman (Editor)
Ronald Shiffman, FAICP, is the former director of the Pratt Center for Community Development, which he cofounded in 1964. He was awarded the 2012 Jane Jacobs Medal for Lifetime Leadership for his work to promote community-based activism over the last fifty years.

Rick Bell (Editor)
Rick Bell, FAIA, is executive director of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He was instrumental in the creation of AIA’s New York New Visions design and planning coalition, which has helped to catalyze and critique the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan.

Lance Jay Brown (Editor)
Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, DPACSA, is the principal of Lance Jay Brown Architecture + Urban Design in New York City, fellow of the Institute for Urban Design, ACSA Distinguished Professor at the Spitzer School of Architecture, CCNY, and president-elect 2014 of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter.

Lynne Elizabeth (Editor)
Lynne Elizabeth is founder and director of New Village Press. She is the past president of Architects/ Designers/ Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR), a public-benefit educational organization founded in 1981 that works for peace, environmental protection, social justice, and development of healthy communities.