COMMONspace is Supported by

San Francisco's Privately Owned Public Open Spaces (POPOS):

 

	100 First Street
	055 Second Street
	101 Second Street
	235 Second Street
	150 California Street
	200 California Street
	600 California Street

	199 Fremont Street
	500 Howard Street
	525 Market Street
	560 Mission Street
	505 Montgomery
	235 Pine Street
	343 Sansome Street

How Public?
San Francisco’s privately-owned public open spaces (“POPOS”) have multiplied in the last twenty years, and as major new development is poised to begin downtown, they promise to become even more common. Taking the form of courtyards, plazas, rooftop gardens, and corporate atriums, fourteen POPOS have been created since 1985. But what appears to be a win-win for developers, citizens, and open space advocates masks a deeper question: just how “public” are these spaces?

To find out, REBAR initiated COMMONspace. Starting in May 2006, REBAR began mapping and exploring the explicit and unspoken rules of San Francisco’s POPOS.

Read on >>

Part 1: Survey and Mapping
Need to know which public space could fit 200 people comfortably for an indoor nap? Already investigated one of the spaces and want to discuss? Click on the map locations, or strap on your walking shoes and:

Download a map >>

Part 2: Paraformance
REBAR has partnered with Snap Out of It to create performance actions inspired by the field reports and designed to probe the spaces’ implicit social codes. Paraformances begin as playful, “plausibly deniable” actions by single individuals can culminate in full scale, “flash mob”-style occupations that engage the participation of their accidental audiences.

Read on >>

Sign me up!

To see where things are headed, check out the POPOS discussions. For volunteer information, shout out to [howpublic] at [gmail] dot [com].

Resources and further reading

Download POPOS map
Reading list

For the latest info on upcoming Paraformances, call the REBAR hotline:

1-877-YO-REBAR (877-967-3227)