For at least a decade a number of social movements have been reclaiming New York City’s public spaces: from the late 1990s Reclaim the Streets, to the Critical Mass(es), to the recent struggles against the rezoning of Williamsburg, Atlantic Yards, Coney Island in Brooklyn, and the privatization of Union Square, micro-initiatives and broad coalitions, tactical displacements and organized campaigns have opposed a vision of urban development driven only by corporate interests and real estate speculations.
