From a public re-creation to private recreation: The transformation of public space in South Street Seaport

This article documents the development process involved in transforming South Street Seaport, on the east side of Lower Manhattan, from an open-air museum and public space to a privately controlled and commercialized space. It criticizes the "Disneyfication" literature that has attempted to describe this type of transformation for its focus solely on the designs of spaces - and not on their social production. The article then describes the political and economic forces that have led to the production of spaces like South Street Seaport in American cities in the last 20 years. It concludes by discussing the nature and role of public spaces in democratic societies.