“Public spaces in Britain’s cities fall
into private hands” – Guardian

Dezeen Wire: Guardian journalist Jeevan Vasagar discusses the privatisation of public space in the UK and how paths, square and parks are increasingly owned by private companies – Guardian

Vasagor cites the soon-to-open Granary Square in London’s Kings Cross as the latest in a string of spaces that appear to be public but which are actually privately owned and managed.

He explains how the rise in privately owned spaces can be beneficial to local councils, who often struggle with maintenance costs, but also gives the companies in question power to to impose restrictions about who can use the areas and what they can be used for.

Related: see our stories on the newly opened Western Concourse at King’s Cross Station nearby and the Central Saint Martins art and design college campus. Also close by is a temporary restaurant and events space in an abandoned former petrol station.

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