Public space, private place: The contested terrain of Tompkins Square Park

Main finding
Tompkins Square Park was observed to be segmented in formal and informal ways, subject to different uses and negotiation over where certain activities take place. Basketball courts, a playground, and a dog run serve as formally partitioned space, while the open spaces of the park are shared with visitors and homeless residents, whose claim to semi-private space is constantly negotiated with other uses and mediated by rules and flexible enforcement from park security.

Description of method used in the article
The authors spent three months in 1990 conducting participant observations and unstructured interviews with park patrons.

Verdict
Of some practical use if combined with other research