COMMONspace

In an effort to provide more public space downtown, the City of San Francisco has partnered with private developers to create a number of privately-owned public spaces. Some of these spaces are open and inviting - activated by public use. Others are under heavy surveillance, difficult to find, appear private, or are fundamentally inaccessible. To date, these spaces have not been systematically evaluated.

The goal of COMMONspace is to evaluate, activate and reclaim these spaces as a critical part of the public realm and as a valuable component of San Francisco's intellectual and artistic commons. We aim to determine just how public are these privately-owned public spaces?

Rebar has partnered with Snap Out Of It to conduct a series of events and paraformances in these spaces. To learn more about the paraformances, watch the videos!

Jan. 2009 update:

In Collaboration with Rebar, the SF Urban Planning & Research Association (SPUR) has released a report on San Francisco's "POPOS."