#publicspaces — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #publicspaces, aggregated by home.social.
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A positively dystopian feel to Westminster Underground Station in London where steel, bare concrete and dark corners are all features of a public space like no other I have come across on my travels.
These escalators lead to the deep level platforms opened in 1999 as part of the Jubilee line extension from Green Park to Stratford.
The original station was completely rebuilt in conjunction with the construction of the deep level platforms and 'Portcullis House', which sits above the station.#london #underground #jubileeline #publicspaces #transport #photography
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Making hostile spaces The dispersal of non consumers
* At an intersection of numerous car parks, retail industry and an amusement industrial complex in Coffs Harbour there is a small green space with benches and birds. People and birds rest there and have their lunch.
Some time ago the amusement & drink giant piped ongoing unpleasant, loud music over the small green island and the abundant car parks.
The intention of the outdoor speakers distributing noise pollution is/was to engage in then 'dispersal' of ‘loitering' non customers.
This loud and repetitive ‘music’ is also known as "aggressive" or "defensive" architecture. This design in mostly public spaces is intended as a form of 'organised abandonment' (Ruth Wilson Gilmore) of the poor and the unhoused.
Often the exclusionary design acoustic ('steady-state spam’) is combined with other anti homeless devices (anti-homeless spikes furniture) which function to keep members of the public out of public spaces.
With increasing inequality, that is non spending consumers, the system is increasingly employing hostile practices. Privately owned public spaces such as walkways, plazas, arcades and small parks have to ensure the safety of their customers and staff. Non-consumers have no place in this scheme.
* "Woolworths has installed outdoor speakers at its Darwin city store to play the supermarket's 'Fresh Food People' jingle on repeat in a bid to deter loitering.” >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-25/darwin-city-woolworths-looping-jingle-anti-social-behaviour/107073330
* "The NSW Police Force is currently running an Australian-first trial in Moree (an area with a high Indigenous population) using rooftop drones to "fight crime" in the area, controlled by people hundreds of kilometres away at Bankstown Airport." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-26/automation-and-repression-the-two-go-hand-in-hand-daron-acemoglu/107063582
#HostileArchitecture #PublicSpaces #inequality #privatisation #ShoppingCentres #dispersal #FirstNationsPeoples #biopolitics #surveillance #CCTV #PervasiveTechnologies #UAVs #NoisePollution #IndigenousPeoples #DesignApartheid #governance #CoffsHarbour -
Where Did All the Public Bathrooms Go?
https://daily.jstor.org/where-did-all-the-public-bathrooms-go/
Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49422800
#HackerNews #publicbathrooms #urbanplanning #accessibility #hygiene #publicspaces
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Dear #photographers have you seen the new #UK pamphlet telling people not to take public photos? It strangely then seemingly links *all* public photography with sexualized photography and then tells you to report any photo taken of you in public to the police (because they're not busy enough?)
Note: if you're in the UK, consider writing to someone in your area about this messaging.
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@crazyeddie @aworkinglibrary
It is probably about car dependency, car-centered areas. Like in the US where in many towns without a car one would struggle to do anything: getting to the grocery store, getting back from the store, reaching the other river bank as many bridges are motor vehicles only.People can’t live without cars in such places. Even food banks have huge lines of cars, four "lanes". Some homeless people drive cars as well. Imagine the closest grocery store being 1 hour walking distance away, and the weather may be extremely hot/cold.
Many such areas don’t even have sidewalks or anything for walking at all. At the same time so called "jay-walking" is prohibited by law. The term "jaywalking" actually was invented by the cars lobby in the early 20th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaywalking
Moving around by walking is extremely inconvenient, dangerous, taking ridiculous amounts of time, basically incompatible with everyday activities.Also the parking lots, roads, intersections take up huge chunks of the city. Consider how much longer it takes to walk somewhere compared to what it could be without all these. Urban areas could look very different if they were human-centered and Points Of Interest were packed tightly.
And the bigger the city, the more space car infrastructure takes up. More lanes, wider intersections, parking lots can have up to many thousands spots, highways, freeways, interchanges of ridiculous sizes and shapes.
The topic is huge, what I mentioned is just the tip. Think of what you see around every day. Also all the noise. And danger it brings to everyone, not just drivers. The number of so called "accidents", another convenient term for the horrible things that happen everyday.
The areas which are pedestrian-friendly, bicycle friendly, have public transportation tend to have happier residents, more attraction points, more small businesses, more street life, way better air quality, less noise among other benefits.
Also social connections and interaction happen there and not on a 4-lane highway.#Cars #Car #City #Urban #Streets
#Cities #CarFree #Roads #CarDependancy #StreetLife #Safety #Bycicles #Walking #UrbanSprawl #OneMoreLane #InducedTraffic #PublicTransport #PublicTransit #Access #PublicTransportation #Accessibility #Accessible #PublicSpaces #Socialization #Capitalism #Subsidies #Lobbying #WordsMatter #History #CarsAreDangerous #FuckCars -
A New Wave of Pressure on Cyberspace and Public Spaces: Blocking Social Media Pages and Sealing Cafés
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“Open street transformations vary in duration and scale, shaping how we relate to and use a street. It shifts the way we perceive what public space in the city can be, even for a single day, and that shift feeds our collective imaginary of the city.”
#openstreets #carfree #publicspaces #road #vancouverhttps://spacing.ca/vancouver/2026/07/27/open-streets-how-often/
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RE: https://aus.social/@oscarjiminy/116966632849982993
My local library in Port Philip's always been a real pride of the community. Was designed by a bit of a rockstar architect and it's a kind of keystone community structure in the way that all libraries are but the design really embeds that dynamic in stone and glass.
This place was always, in my memory, really busy. Folks walking the shelves, sitting reading, standing reading, studying etc etc, all the things folks do in libraries.
Lately, someone decided to redesign the layout and part of that redesign was to allocate restricted areas. There is now (I would estimate) about 50% of the seating restricted and if you sit there unknowingly (signage is really minimal) you will be asked to move within about ten minutes of having sat down.
I may be cynical (it's been said before) but it strikes me as pandering to rate payers in an area with a population lousy with renters, though with the massive density developments happening here over the past 20 years I guess we're becoming a minority.
The point is (for me) that libraries can't afford to be alienating their demographic and I can say anecdotally that ever since the layout adjustments the traffic in this library has fallen off a cliff
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Very interesting first hand account of breaking in Australia and how RayGun won the female breaking crown and went on to become an embarrassment that non-Dancers use to insult the sport.
It talks about how sports and hobbies that are not popular are difficult to do because they depend on the participants having money, and how lack of competition makes it difficult to reach world class levels.
#sports #dance #bgirls #breaking #olympics #poverty #publicSpaces -
From 2023, the coming Marpole Transit Centre.
#transit #publicspaces #Vancouver -
Had a scan through the videos from the #PublicSpaces conference - this has been my subject for the last 30 years: https://video.publicspaces.net/c/pubconf/videos
My takeaway is that there is a lot of activity, but not much movement. A lot of discussion, frameworks and technical thinking, but no real questions - What kind of #openweb culture are we actually building?
Too often we end up with the same cycle of
more complexity → more infrastructure → more maintenance → more dependency → more #techshit.The problem is not that people are building things, building is good. The problem is when the culture keeps producing paths that push more mess into the commons, then the people build alternatives have to spend their energy cleaning up, mediating, and rebuilding the native social layer that was ignored.
The #OMN question is - Are we creating tools that strengthen communities, or are we creating more technical problems that communities have to carry?
The #openweb was never only about technology. It was about participation, trust, shared ownership and social infrastructure. Without that, we just keep producing more mess that someone has to compost later.
The work we need is growing the culture that makes better tech possible.
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At the #PublicSpaces conference there was a session on 'Growth and Sustainability of the Open Social Web' where I asked Rose Wang from #Bluesky a question about the $100M on VC funding.
Apparently it is a '3 year runway' that can pay for (only) 40 people and other expenses. Sounds like half a million dollar salary to me per person to me.
The other interesting part I got from this is that "they are focused on growth" and that is all. Where can I find the investors that are willing to pay millions and only have me focus on growth?
Nice thing about #PeerTube (which this is hosted on) is that I can give you exactly the link to the interesting part:
https://video.publicspaces.net/w/viCXYbYvkwrMaDF9EaZnsr?start=36m2s&stop=50m12s -
Schaamteloze zelfpromotie.
Aanstaande donderdag 18 juni geef ik samen met @Digi_tien vanuit @publicspaces een workshop op het Nationaal Bibliotheek Congres in Utrecht:
https://www.hetnationalebibliotheekcongres.nl/sessie/f3f45018/
Ook geef ik een inleidende presentatie over digitale autonomie voor een panelsessie op dit zelfde event:
https://www.hetnationalebibliotheekcongres.nl/sessie/2d1e659a/
Helaas is het uitverkocht. Heb je al een kaartje, kom dan vooral langs!
#Bibliotheken #Bibliotheek #DigitaleAutonomie #Utrecht #NationaalBibliotheekCongres #PublicSpaces
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1. Knitting
2. Public spaces
3. World Wide Knitting in Public Spaces Day!Yes, this exists:
https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/worldwide-knit-in-public-day/
Sorry, it was yesterday apparently but now you know for next year!
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Beneath The Enshittification, Something Amazing Is Growing
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It looks like the videos from the PublicSpaces Conference have been uploaded.
https://video.publicspaces.net/c/pubconf/videos?sort=-publishedAt
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at #publicspaces I was talking about the importance of messy human voices (w/r/t @[email protected] specifically but also in general) & one of the other panelists said "we can make ai messy too" & ok but why? I believe there are uses for this tech b/c scientists I trust have told me so. great! but
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:sqhk2ksk2hgrgf7tfdztchls/post/3mnrgbzoets23 -
@j12t Yeah, I think so too. The #PublicSPaces conference (in particular the unconference and coffeebreaks) was also inspiring to think again from different angles about what our roles may be in an online social network.
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Here are the winners of the very first #OpenSocialAwards
@newsmast, Blacksky Algorithms, and Sill
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Getting ready for the #OpenSocialAwards with @_elena
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Interesting insight from Bluesky's COO.
"I think the reality is $100 million is a three-year runway."
EDIT: Now that the live stream is over, you can find the video here:
https://conference.publicspaces.net/en/session/growth-and-sustainability-of-the-open-social-web
The relevant part is at 37:57.
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"Fediverse has completely 'radicalized' me in four years. [...] The more I learn about the culture of the fediverse, the more empowered I feel."
https://conference.publicspaces.net/en/live/3
https://conference.publicspaces.net/en/session/strength-through-diversity-1
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I will be hosting my workshop Knitting Our Internet at Hyperlink (within the @publicspaces conference) at @waag this Saturday at 14:00!
Learn more and get your ticket here. If you cannot pay for it, you are welcome to send me a private message.
#PublicSpaces #Amsterdam #workshop #ournet #KnittingOurInternet #Hyperlink #event #Internet #InternetHistory
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We Didn’t Get Ruder—We Just Stopped Noticing Each Other: A Pagan View of Everyday Harm
Rudeness isn’t just bad manners—it’s a breakdown in how we relate to each other and the spaces we share. From everyday frustrations to deeper disconnection, this piece explores how awareness—not rules—can restore balance in modern life. -
#Toronto - #EarthMonth 2026
All of April 2026
Free & Low-Cost Programming | Most Events Free
"What is Earth Month at the Brick Works?
For over 15 years, #EvergreenBrickWorks has been Toronto’s demonstration hub for sustainability: a repurposed historic site that proves what’s possible when we reimagine public space for people and planet. Every April, we open our doors to a whole month of programming in celebration of that.
Earth Month at the Brick Works brings together community organizations, environmental educators, artists, local vendors and Torontonians interested in exploring the things that matter:
How do we live more sustainably? How do we create less waste? How do we reconnect with the natural world right here in the city?"
Upcoming events:
April 25th: #LitterCleanUp with Don't Mess with the Don
10am-12pm
Meet at Watershed Wall
Free
Don't Mess with the Don and Evergreen will be leading a spring clean of some of favourite places in the Don Valley. We provide everything you will need including snacks. The clean up is easy to moderate with some brush areas involved. Rain or shine. No need to register - meet at the Watershed Wall at 10am.April 26th: #EcoFair - Green Neighbours Network & Transition Toronto
11am-4pm
CRH Gallery
Free
EcoFair Toronto is a celebration of the wonderful people, environmental groups, and eco-businesses that are helping to create a greener and healthier planet for all. With fun activities for kids, industry professionals, EV and e-bike test drives, the City of Toronto Hub, and locally produced sustainable products for home, health, fashion and accessories by Toronto artisans there's something for everyone.April 26th: Drop-in: Seed Planting Demo
12-5pm
Evergreen Garden Market
Free
Stop by the Evergreen Garden Market anytime for a free seed planting demo!April 26th: WORKSHOP: Exploring #ClimateJustice through Cold Process #SoapMaking | Register here.
11am-1pm
Bricks and Bites Kitchen
$90
Learn how to create soap using plant-based ingredients while exploring the ecological benefits of this traditional method. Take the soap recipe and two lbs of your own soap home with you. Stay for a latte and conversation!"FMI [includes more events]:
https://www.evergreen.ca/evergreen-brick-work/events/earth-month-2026/#SolarPunkSunday #SeedPlanting #BuildingCommunity #MakerSpace #SustainableProducts #LocalArtisans #TorontoCanada #GardenMarkets #SpringCleanUps #EarthDay2026 #Workshops #PublicSpaces
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Urban Geometry at Night
The brutalist architecture of Bishop Lucey Park seems to suit black and white night shots. This was only my first time trying to photograph it in such a way but I’ll try again.
Apertureƒ/8CameraILCE-7RM5Focal length24mmISO400Shutter speed1s#architecturalPhotography #atmosphericPhotography #bishopLuceyPark #blackAndWhite #blackAndWhitePhotography2 #brutalistArchitecture #cityParks #concreteStructures #contemporaryArchitecture #cork #fluorescentLighting #heritageSites #ireland #modernDesign #nightPhotography #nighttimeUrban #photo #photography #publicRealm #publicSpaces #streetPhotography #urbanGeometry #urbanRegeneration #urbanSpaces
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Festive Commerce in Cork
Brown Thomas on Patrick Street, Cork, is all lit up again for Christmas. On Oliver Plunkett Street they’ve put up the usual decorations and they look fabulous!
Apertureƒ/8CameraILCE-7RM5Focal length24mmISO100Shutter speed1/6s#2025 #architecturalLighting #atmosphericLighting #brownThomas #christmas #christmasDecorations #christmasLights #cityCentre #commercialPhotography #communalCelebration #cork #decorativeLights #departmentStore #festiveAtmosphere #festiveDecoration #festiveLighting #festiveSeason #holidaySeason #holidayShopping #illuminatedFacades #ireland #irishCities #irishRetail #luxuryRetail #motionBlur #nightPhotography #oliverPlunkettStreet #patricksStreet #pedestrians #photo #photography #publicSpaces #retail #seasonalDecoration #shopping #shoppingStreet #sonyA7rv #storefront #streetLighting #streetPhotography #urbanChristmas #urbanRetail #windowDisplay
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The elegance of the essential: design for inclusive public spaces
Proportion and smoothness of form, key to a functional space that makes what is elementary a benchmark.👉 Discover MORE and SUBSCRIBE to our summary of news and updates through link: https://amusementlogic.com/company-news/the-elegance-of-the-essential-design-for-inclusive-public-spaces/
◻️ #inclusive #design #architecture #publicspaces #urbanism #inclusif #espacespublics #urbanisme #inclusivo #diseño #arquitectura #espaciospúblicos #urbanismo #amusementlogic
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Why I 💕 working at @SURF for the public sector?!
TOP-NOTCH COLLEAGUES💪👌
(Knowledge) sharing is caring!
Privilege to work with all these colleague’s within the #education, #research, #science and #NREN community!
#surf #geant #kennisnet #unl #vh #mbodigitaal #ukb #nwo #knaw #publicspaces #sivon
https://www.computable.nl/2024/01/10/wie-komt-er-na-neerlands-trots-asml/
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Having lived in both countries for a reasonable time in my life: If I ever had the option to pick, I'd really like to combine Dutch cycling culture with the public space infrastructure of Australia.
I'd love to have a cycling culture in Oz.
Australians really need to let go of the 'exercise' idea of bikes and just use it as transport. As commute. Get comfortable bikes instead of these aerodynamic light spacecrafts. Stop putting lycra on before you go out. Don't drive to the schools or train stations, just cycle there.The Dutch could really learn by looking at Australian parks and trails. Water fountains everywhere - for humans AND dogs -, free public toilets, free barbeques, with picnic tables and covered gazebos for all to use.
Oh, and the Dutch might have to learn not to vandalise everything in their eyesight. That might help too.
#cycling #publicspaces #cyclingculture #urbanpark #urbanparkdesign
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Having lived in both countries for a reasonable time in my life: If I ever had the option to pick, I'd really like to combine Dutch cycling culture with the public space infrastructure of Australia.
I'd love to have a cycling culture in Oz.
Australians really need to let go of the 'exercise' idea of bikes and just use it as transport. As commute. Get comfortable bikes instead of these aerodynamic light spacecrafts. Stop putting lycra on before you go out. Don't drive to the schools or train stations, just cycle there.The Dutch could really learn by looking at Australian parks and trails. Water fountains everywhere - for humans AND dogs -, free public toilets, free barbeques, with picnic tables and covered gazebos for all to use.
Oh, and the Dutch might have to learn not to vandalise everything in their eyesight. That might help too.
#cycling #publicspaces #cyclingculture #urbanpark #urbanparkdesign
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Having lived in both countries for a reasonable time in my life: If I ever had the option to pick, I'd really like to combine Dutch cycling culture with the public space infrastructure of Australia.
I'd love to have a cycling culture in Oz.
Australians really need to let go of the 'exercise' idea of bikes and just use it as transport. As commute. Get comfortable bikes instead of these aerodynamic light spacecrafts. Stop putting lycra on before you go out. Don't drive to the schools or train stations, just cycle there.The Dutch could really learn by looking at Australian parks and trails. Water fountains everywhere - for humans AND dogs -, free public toilets, free barbeques, with picnic tables and covered gazebos for all to use.
Oh, and the Dutch might have to learn not to vandalise everything in their eyesight. That might help too.
#cycling #publicspaces #cyclingculture #urbanpark #urbanparkdesign
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Having lived in both countries for a reasonable time in my life: If I ever had the option to pick, I'd really like to combine Dutch cycling culture with the public space infrastructure of Australia.
I'd love to have a cycling culture in Oz.
Australians really need to let go of the 'exercise' idea of bikes and just use it as transport. As commute. Get comfortable bikes instead of these aerodynamic light spacecrafts. Stop putting lycra on before you go out. Don't drive to the schools or train stations, just cycle there.The Dutch could really learn by looking at Australian parks and trails. Water fountains everywhere - for humans AND dogs -, free public toilets, free barbeques, with picnic tables and covered gazebos for all to use.
Oh, and the Dutch might have to learn not to vandalise everything in their eyesight. That might help too.
#cycling #publicspaces #cyclingculture #urbanpark #urbanparkdesign
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Having lived in both countries for a reasonable time in my life: If I ever had the option to pick, I'd really like to combine Dutch cycling culture with the public space infrastructure of Australia.
I'd love to have a cycling culture in Oz.
Australians really need to let go of the 'exercise' idea of bikes and just use it as transport. As commute. Get comfortable bikes instead of these aerodynamic light spacecrafts. Stop putting lycra on before you go out. Don't drive to the schools or train stations, just cycle there.The Dutch could really learn by looking at Australian parks and trails. Water fountains everywhere - for humans AND dogs -, free public toilets, free barbeques, with picnic tables and covered gazebos for all to use.
Oh, and the Dutch might have to learn not to vandalise everything in their eyesight. That might help too.
#cycling #publicspaces #cyclingculture #urbanpark #urbanparkdesign