In our class discussions about using public spaces, we
talked about concepts such as the Right to the City (i.e. Right to Appropriate
Space and Participation), and Lived and Planned Spaces. We explored these
concepts in various real world examples such as the Franklin Park case that we
saw in the video. The Franklin Park case and the concepts reminded me of a
community of rappers who were pushed out of Washington Square Park (Greenwich,
New York), by the city government and law enforcement.
In the episode, “Pass the Mic”, of Netflix series, Hip-Hop Evolution, Washington Square
Park was said to have been a “sacrilegious” site of artistic expression for
local rappers, where they could utilize their Right to Appropriate Space. In
the park, local rappers would gather and form ciphers or “spontaneous freestyle
sessions” to demonstrate their ability to improvise and create rap lyrics over
hip-hop beats. This was a social space where people interested in the art of
hip-hop could come together and express themselves. However, their Right to
Appropriate Space was forbidden by NYC mayor, Rudy Giuliani, and enforced by
the NYPD to prevent the distribution of drugs at the park. Rather than allowing
the Lived Space to continue to flourish with ciphers, people with power like
Giuliani and institutions of power like the NYPD used their ability to control
the Planned Space under the guise of drug prevention. Thus, the “magical” and
“friendly” place of gathering, belonging, and artistic expression was broken up
and removed, because it was deemed a “quality-of-life crime” or, in other
words, a non-criminal activity that would lead to other crimes. In the episode,
this policing method is illustrated with the sounds of sirens, a police officer
shouting, “There’s too many of you,” and local rappers walking away in
frustration. As a result of this policing method, rapper Talib Kweli said that
his first arrest was because of this “quality-of-life” crime. Another rapper
highlighted the racist implications of their removal when he said that, “they
figure any time the darker toned, or just hip-hop generation, gather together,
it’s something negative.” In the end, not only was their Right to Appropriate Space
diminished, but their Right to Participation was also undermined.
From the Washington Square Park case, we get a sense of how
people in positions of power do not include park users into the discussion of
how space should we used; therefore, undermining their Right to Participation
in the decision making process. In the episode, Talib Kweli lamented that, “When
Giuliani became mayor, they were trying to bring more tourists in from the
outer Burroughs and other states.” Although mayor Giuliani was trying to develop
a tourist economy and bring revenue back to NYC, I am almost certain that he
did not include the community of rappers, who used the space, into the
discussion of how the park should be utilized for tourism. Thus, the appropriation
of this space in the name of tourism occurred at the expense of a community
rappers and their artistic expression. This instance reminded me of the
Franklin Park case, where we saw an Black social space turn into an inauthentic
and superficial flower garden in the name of tourism for economic revenue. Instead
of creating an inauthentic space of tourism, like we saw in the case of Franklin
Park, I think Giuliani and his administration could have supported the cipher
activities in this Lived Space. Then, tourists may have gotten an authentic
view of a type of social life in NYC and, at the same time, an artistic
community could have flourished in the public eye. Moreover, perhaps, revenue may
have been generated from the ciphers if tourists paid to attend and view such
an activity and the revenues may have gone to the development of the local and
public community. The funds could have also gone to the support of forms of
artistic expression such as hip-hop.
In conclusion, this Lived Space was prohibited, because it
was not an acceptable activity in the public realm and it was considered a
gateway to criminal activities. In addition, it did not fall in line with the
vision of the NYC government to make the park a tourist destination (Planned Space).
However, the repression of such an artistic expression did not halt the
notoriety that hip-hop would hold in the NY community and the world. In fact,
rappers like Talib Kweli were aware of the “cultural currency” that was
inherent in this art form. So, the ciphers were moved to rented spaces like the
Lyricist Lounge, where future
renowned hip-hop artist would hone their art form and share it with the world.
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