During our class discussion on public spaces, I started to think of how public space is represented in the city of Athens. As a general assertion, it is very difficult to find spaces in a particular location that are truly public and allow for individual and group thoughts to thrive. Public arenas are often those in which people have certain freedoms, such as that of free speech, and can promote political democracy. As Don Mitchell discusses in his article on public space, those that have rights and have their voices heard in public spaces have historically been “carefully selected and homogeneous in composition” (Mitchell 116). In this example, Mitchell is referencing the Greek democracy in which women, slaves and foreigners had no freedom to exercise citizenship and the characteristics that come with that status.
Certainly not as extreme as the denial of citizen rights in Greek politics, the “public spaces” in the community of Athens have an unspoken culture of what type of people are welcome in certain spaces. As an avid explorer and walker, I have traveled around many parts of the areas in the immediate Athens area by foot. During these excursions, I have noticed that specific parts of town are more welcome to students, while as some have the audience of community members not directly affiliated with the university in mind.
Comparing Baker University center and the Athens Community Center, there are distinct audiences and services that are inclusive to some, and exclusive to others in those spaces. Walking through the floors of Baker you find the student-centered cafeteria area with relatively expensive meals that students with certain meal plans can use, and conference rooms and centers for student professional development. The size and varied activities that take place at the Community Center on State St. differ from Baker because of the inclusion of ages and physicalities of members (birthday parties, gym, room rentals for events) (City of Athens, 2019).
These two community spaces have their differences, but they have the overall similarity of exclusivity and definitions of their publicness. The Community Center appears as a public center for members of the Athens community, but many of the services the center provides require money and resources. The same can be said for Baker center, as many of the services and programs that are offered in that space are geared to university students and faculty, which are both groups of people with higher access to Baker center. As Mitchell claims, situations like these may be a sign of the end to public space, due to capitalistic ideals (Mitchell 121). However, there is still hope for people’s voices to be heard in arenas such as these two community centers that although private, spaces, can create public awareness.
Mitchell, Don. 1995. “The End of Public Space?: People’s Park, Definitions of the Public, and Democracy.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 85:108-133.
I appreciate your comparison of these two spaces in Athens! I think what you're touching on here is the town-gown dynamic that characterizes and organizes much of Athens and other college towns. I've lived in Athens for most of the last seven years, many of which I have spent as an OU student. But, the time I spent not affiliated with OU dramatically affected how I moved through town, which spaces I used/had access to, and where I felt a sense of community and belonging. The issues raised by Mitchell about the end of public space are even more salient in the context of the university's ever-encroaching development throughout a town (and region) that is largely economically depressed. On one hand, the university does have and provide many resources (albeit often restricted to students/faculty/staff) in the are. However, the exclusionary/elitist nature of the university makes this expansion detrimental to some spaces and communities in the area.
ReplyDeleteKaia, thank you for sharing your thoughts about public space in Athens. I like how you compared the Athens Community Center to Baker Center. It also got me thinking about the comparison between the community center and Ping. Both of these places are used for recreation and host community events. As an employee at Ping, we discuss the affect the Community Center has on our facility. There is a sense of competition between the two places, especially in the summer when students are no longer given free access to Ping; this is then when they choose which gym they want to go to. Also, in the summer both places had a summer camp which were constantly competing with each other for business, as well as the use of public space throughout the community. This relates to Mitchell's discussion of how our capitalist society drives the use of public space. Depending on the price and services offered by each facility is usually where the majority of people tend to go.
ReplyDeleteYour post also made me examine how I have experienced Athens differently at times. Up until this summer, I had only ever been in Athens when school was in session. This summer, I felt like I was able to blend in more with the community. I got to know some of my neighbors who are "townies", I went to the Farmer's Market and the County Fair, and overall I felt like I became closer to Athens. I didn't feel like everyone saw me as just a student at the University, but part of the community.
This two, very similarly created spaces have such different environments. I have never thought of these two as interchangeable simply due to the different uses I have personally for these two buildings. I have a dear connection to Baker Center because of the experiences had both within the building and at OU over the years but the community center working with local populations with health screenings and after-school workshops.
ReplyDeleteLooking at these two spaces had made me realize how I view Athens with different lenses based on my intentions in the moment. While I see OU's campus as a home, I see the exclusion of a group I have worked closely with in the surrounding areas where spaces like the community center or the public libraries that have no institutional connection to the university often feel more open and accepting of more populations.
This was a very relatable take on the use of public space here in Athens. When I was reading the post I began to try to think of any other public spaces and really the only other thing I could think of is places out in nature. This could be places like Radar Hill or other hiking areas. Even though these are public, it would be frowned upon to stay there longer periods of time than the intended use. When we try to think of public places it gets a little harder. Our capitalistic society makes space that is used for consumerism which makes it difficult to just be. The career and leadership development center on the fifth floor in baker is an example where everyone is allowed to be in that space to get your resume improved or take advantage of different mock style interviews for you next big internship. All of these resources are actually free for the students, but the catch is you have to be a student at Ohio University. Not everyone is allowed to take advantage. This is just another example at hand when we think of public space.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very relatable take on the use of public space here in Athens. When I was reading the post I began to try to think of any other public spaces and really the only other thing I could think of is places out in nature. This could be places like Radar Hill or other hiking areas. Even though these are public, it would be frowned upon to stay there longer periods of time than the intended use. When we try to think of public places it gets a little harder. Our capitalistic society makes space that is used for consumerism which makes it difficult to just be. The career and leadership development center on the fifth floor in baker is an example where everyone is allowed to be in that space to get your resume improved or take advantage of different mock style interviews for you next big internship. All of these resources are actually free for the students, but the catch is you have to be a student at Ohio University. Not everyone is allowed to take advantage. This is just another example at hand when we think of public space. -
ReplyDeleteSorry for the double post, somehow I wasn't signed in!