A city is much more than a collection of buildings, people and cars. It is a living and constently changing organism of ideas, emotions, projections, visions and wishes packed in different shapes, traversed by layers coming from political, moral, personal, historical, cultural,ethical, religious needs which are constantly deconstruction, redefining and reshaping what we think about and how we live in a city and react on the city.

Moral: Based on culture, religion, politics and personal attitude, there are unspoken rules of behavior in public space

History: The history forms a space, gives the space a certain meaning, influences the behavior and creates emotions.

Memories:  We create a landscape of memories when using a space.

Emotions: History, architecture and as well as emotions influence, people in their way how they are using the space and the shape of the space it’s self.

Personal: We intend to extend our private space into public space, for example, a street can become our street if you connect yourself with it.

Religion: In public space you show the way how you live your religion and it can be proofed how others do.

Politic: The political situation shapes the way how people (can) use a public space and the political situation will shape the  face of a public space.

Culture: Culture shapes the way how we use public space and the way how we treat, work and think about it.

Economy: There is no economy without public space.

Architecture: How a space is shaped and build will influence the way how we us it.

Social: Our social behaviour and interactions create the spirit of a space and the form, shape, size, possibilities of communication, exchange and gathering of a space influence how our social life in public space will look like.

There is no common definition of public space. Every actor has his own definition of what a public space is and defines it for his or her needs or from his or her social and cultural background.

The economy needs public space for commercials, trade and delivery. Billboards everywhere. Also we, the people, are living billboards. Just think about the clothes and accessoires you wear, the bags from the supermarkets and shops and the mobile phones you use.

The politics need the public space to make politic happen. Where to assembly, where to meet people without public space?

The city needs public space to make money too. No tourism without public space, no space to sell for publishing commercials.

And we, the people, need the public space.

But at this point it gets complicated.

Public space is just a mind concept created for us from politicians and leaders to keep us calm.

We have to travel back in time to understand the problems which arise within the concept of public space.

Imagine a world where people were nomads. Yes, it was a very long time ago. The human race travelled and explored the world. We wandered with the seasons and the animals, we hunted in those days. There was no need for property.

 We lived together in small tribes of families. Do you think someone had the idea to name the space between their caves public space?

Something changed when we started to settle down. We created homes and property. We created cities and we started to follow leaders. Big kings and conquerors ruled the world. And we started to make politics.

The humans started to divide the world into pieces. The property of a person, the property of a tribe, the property of a kingdom, the property of a state and some people, although the most of us have no property, rent property like flats or houses.

And in between…? Our “public space” started to exist.

 So, a public space is a space between personal property and property of a kingdom or a state.

 Maybe you will now think: Okay what’s the point? I am part of the state or the kingdom, so the public space is also my space.

One might think it is a space where I am free to do what I want. I can enter it without restriction. I can speak out and think what I want. I can wear what I want. I can move from place to place how I want. I can follow my religion in the way I want. I can stay there as long as I want.

Is the public space now really your space?

One step out of your flat you enter property of somebody and this one created rules to manage the space. If you step out of your front door you step on the property of the state and this state created rules how you should behave, act and spend your time in this space, we call public space.

One might think okay we need these rules to find a way to live together. I understand that. But let’s go a little bit more further to explain to you why this public space is just a mind concept to keep us calm.

If we go back to the idea that we can enter a public space without restriction. Just think about curfews and that many parks and spaces close at night.

Facing the idea that we are free to speak out what we want in public space. Please think about people all over the world who got arrested because they have spoken freely about their thoughts in public space.

Do you really think you can wear whatever you want in public space? Try to cover your face in Vienna, you will get a fine if a police man sees you.

Moving from place to place: Yes you can maybe move from on door to the other, but why are you free to do that? Because you are born here and you or your parents pay taxes. If you do not pay your taxes you will go to jail, do you know that? Because you paid for your tourist visa or if you have no visa you have to be out of the country after 3 months. So you buy your right to use the public space with money and therefore it is not free and not your space.

Do you really think you can stay in public space as long as you want?

Did you ever recognize the benches with the steel nails on it? It’s a very new and fancy idea of some intelligent people to keep away the homeless from some places. Do you recognize that there are less and less possibilities to sit in public space? Did you ever try to sit with some of your friends on a sidewalk to hang out and chill?

The government and the economy do not want us to stay in public space for a long time. They want us to move from A to B, spend money and go home.

But why do they want us to not use the public space?

In public space we meet other people face to face, we socialize and we exchange thoughts and that is dangerous for them!

Why do we have cameras everywhere? Is it really for our safety?

Yes one might think that we now have social media platforms and that we do not need the public space to meet and exchange. But do you really think you can exchange yourself the same way digitally like in reality? For example, you can start a revolution on the internet but you need people on the streets to protest against inhuman situations.

 And last but not least:

In your space you might think you can express yourself and you are free to develop it, recreate it or redefine it.

For publishing, showing, installing, screening or presenting art in public space which will not be able to be removed without causing damages or will be placed on property which does not belong to you as traffic signs, billboards, streetlamps and so on you need a permission from the state, the church, the town or the owner. In some cases you will need to organize a permission for your own property to fix an artwork on it.

If you want to show a dance, song, performance, circus and theatre show to people, that means the people will gather around you or you invited them beforehand  you will need in most of the cities in the world a permission to do so.

You can dance and move in the streets, but you have to take care not to make a crowd watching you.

You can use chalks to draw on the streets, because the rain will wash it away

You can place artworks, without fixing it on any object that does not belong to you or you have to fix it in a way that it can be removed without causing damage and without hurting someone...