Ali Madanipour, “Introduction,” in Whose Public Space?: International Case Studies in Urban
Design and Development, (London and New York: Routledge, 2010).
This reading discusses that public spaces mirror the changes in the urban societies they rest in. It has criteria for public spaces, accessible places and inclusive processes. It also tells about the processes of designing, development, management and use of a public space.
Cristina Moretti, “Walking,” in A Different Kind of Ethnography: Imaginative Practices and
Creative Methodologies, Culhane, Dara, and Denielle Elliott, (Toronto: University of
Toronto Press, 2017): 92-104.
This reading discusses the act of walking through a public space as means of research. The author sees walking as an ethnographic approach, a way of inhabiting, researching, and representing. Public space is an object of research, a means to make an impact on people.
Gregory Colomb, Williams, Joseph, and Booth, Wayne, “From Topics to Questions,” in Craft of
Research, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1955): 35-50.
This reading explores the steps to research, which starts with an interest, that leads to a research topic, a question that addresses a significant problem, that leads to guided and focused research. For example, it guides the reader in how to choose a topic, which are considered too broad or well-focused, as well as key words that are helpful to use when wording your statements.
Kelly Anderson, and Dean, Allison. My Brooklyn. Directed by Kelly Anderson (2012; New York
City).
This documentary tells the histories of many areas in Brooklyn such as Red Hook, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Flatbush Tillary. It gives a voice on the gentrification the area was subject to, turning the homes of African Americans into high-rise residential buildings and forcing them to evict.
Sharon Zukin, Naked City: the Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places, (Oxford University
Press, 2009).
This reading mainly focuses on the history of Union Square. In a broader scope, how public spaces are usually run by private associations of rich patrons. Prominent ones include the Business Improvement Districts and Local Development Corporation. Privatized control creates difficulty for democracy and can lead to political protest.