Occupy which cities

Some defeated rebels, like Richard Wagner, veered hard right. Gustave Flaubert withdrew from politics. Some of the activists of Tahrir and Gezi have been murdered, jailed, hospitalised, or exiled.

Others scramble to find continuations. No grail to compensate for the isolation of passionate democrats has been found. Above I mentioned tours of Zuccotti Park. The officer testified the attack had been unprovoked. At Rikers, where she is one of more than 12, prisoners, McMillan has been denied medication. She has also been denied bail her lawyers are appealing. As to bigger pictures: what imprint have the Occupy moments and movements left on our cities?

Cascades of activism, for one thing. Inspiration wafts through the culture, bubbles of energy and precedents for other struggles and tactics. While many Occupiers returned to regular, out-of-park life, some unknowable number of these debt-saddled young people — who felt, for a moment, they could get their hands on the levers that move the world — got a whiff of a feeling some of them want to get more of. The anti-corporate spirit rides high among them.

Occupy fanned such flames. Announcements Pressing Pause in a Time of Crisis. Announcements Most Read Pieces From Volume 39 Issue 5. Volume 39 Issue 4. Volume 39 Issue 3. Volume 39 Issue 2. Volume 39 Issue 1. Volume 38 Issue 6.

Journal Current Issue. News Events Announcements. Current Issue. Written by Justin Clemens. This essay is part of the forum:. This essay is part of the book review forum:. Space of feminist hope: Notes from two acts. The Final Frontier? Money versus shit: this is the true message of the Occupy movement. Share this article. Browse essays in this forum. By Tracey Blasenheim. It is also important that exactly these spaces are becoming the bulwark of commercial private space that must be defended at all costs by armed police forces in military gear and attitude.

Over time, many municipalities have given-up on encouraging urban development through sensible planning incentives. They would rather cover the wounds of inner city devastation caused by urban renewal with dubious developments that usually favor limited access, privately controlled areas, private policing and gentrification. Classical and relaxed chill beats are piped in to encourage a calm shopping experience. Los Angeles with its lack of public space has seen poverty and homelessness spill out into public display.

One of the keys to a more egalitarian city is the chance for residents to interact and walk along sidewalks that are free for everyone rather than policed by private security guards. To demonstrate in a suburban environment poses its challenges, and it is interesting to see how these marches adapt to this reality. Instead of centralized marches in familiar locations, we find a dispersed series of smaller localized demonstrations roaming unsuspecting and unprepared neighborhoods.

Social media and limited freedom to roam has perhaps brought on an unintended benefit by mingling groups at marches that would otherwise not take on similar goals. Hopefully benches will arise to offer places of rest for weary protestors and facilitate new urban explorations.