A Planner’s View of Political Unrest- From the Middle East to Wisconsin

While media reports have stressed the role of social media in the political movements unfolding in the Middle East, planners are stressing the role of public spaces in these movements. Jay Walljasper at the Project for Public Spaces notes that from the Middle East to Madison, Wisconsin, people gather in public spaces to voice their discontent and celebrate their victories. Walljapser contends that, “the exercise of democracy depends upon having a literal commons where people can gather as citizens- a square, Main Street, park or other public space that is open to all.”