Richard Francis-Jones

Highly awarded Australian architect, graduated from Columbia University, New York, and the University of Sydney. Francis-Jones is a life fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects, an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He is the design director of Sydney-based fjmtstudio.

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

In October 2011, inspired by the Arab Spring revolutions, thousands of people in Australia and in many other cities in the world started to occupy public spaces. In Sydney, where I live, this occupation took place in Martin Place, appropriately enough right outside the Reserve Bank of Australia. This widely publicized protest was an attempt to promote a pro-democracy, civil liberty, social justice message, and to protest against corporate greed and economic inequality.

All of which begged a central question: Was it an occupation of our public space, or was it a reclamation of our public space from governmental and corporate dominance?

Richard Francis-Jones •••

The Global City and the (de)Evolution of the Public Realm

Richard Francis-Jones