Project for Public Spaces

Preserving the Commons

Public Spaces and Scenic Landscapes

In our cities and towns, public spaces are the primary source of local identity and a vital component of the commons -- those areas of the civic realm that are shared by all citizens. In the countryside and between urban centers, the commons include our public lands and scenic vistas that give character and identity to the national landscape. Increasingly, these two distinct aspects of our shared wealth -- our public spaces and scenic landscapes -- face a common threat: commercial intrusion and usurpation of the public interest. You see it every day in commercial events that restrict access to our parks and squares, and in the proliferation of billboards that obscure natural beauty and destroy the character of our historic and scenic landscapes.

PPS has joined forces with the foremost advocate for the preservation of the national landscape, Scenic America, to advocate for the integrity of our public spaces and scenic vistas. It is crucial that the commons be preserved for the public good, so that people know their public spaces and public lands do indeed belong to them. If commercial interests gain too much influence over the commons, it will destroy our sense of shared stewardship and further erode our civic identity.

With this urgent task in mind, PPS and Scenic America are proud to present a joint campaign to preserve the commons from invasive commercialization. Through this campaign, we aim to show how unchecked commercial activity threatens our public spaces and scenic vistas -- and what you can do to fight it.

We're beginning the campaign with an essay, "Keeping the 'Public' in Public Space," that explores how places can reap the benefits of commercial activity without sacrificing accessibility, community involvement, or local identity. The next article in this series will be about billboards and scenic blight. A third article on franchise design is also in the works. For now, be sure to visit Scenic America for more information on how to preserve the visual character of our historic landscapes and scenic vistas.