Changing public space

surveillance cameras, their operators, and the state. We want – and expect – to feel safe
at all times. American courts, in other words, are pushing towards a model of citizenship
that matches the cars we drive (…) Cocooned in a sealed chamber, behind tinted glass,
with the temperature fully controlled, and the GPS system tracking, and sometimes
dictating, our every turn, our every stop and start, we are radically isolated from each
other, able to communicate only through the false connectedness of the cell phone. We
ride high and sovereign; we are the masters of space; we are safe against all who might
intrude (and against the weather, too) …. (Mitchell, 2005: 96)
Brunt (1996: 121) states that while criminality is mostly concentrated on a few locations, fear and
feelings of insecurity are much more unbridled and spread-out. This also seems to be the case
in the Netherlands, where crime rates have not recently increased. Since the beginning of the
1990s, rates have remained at a stable, albeit high level after a strong rise from the 1960s onwards.
Nevertheless, as noted above, Dutch public spaces are increasingly monitored. The current
problem is thus not insecurity, but the fear of danger. Speller et al. (2006: 38) also acknowledge
that crime rates have not increased, in contrast to feelings of insecurity, which they define as the
safety paradox. They explain the paradox by distinguishing between safety perceptions on the
micro (i.e., experience with daily crime, such as noise nuisance or pick pocketing) and the macro
level (i.e., terrorist attacks and (natural) catastrophes). Macro level events, such as the terrorist
attacks in September 2001, might have a large impact on the micro level of safety perception,
without daily crime rates actually increasing.
The link between feelings of fear and the development of secured public space is rather
obvious. However, as well as resulting in secured public space, feelings of fear have also triggered
the development of themed public space. According to Ellin (2001: 873), a current response to
fear is escapism. This term covers extreme forms of retreat from the community and flights
into controlled fantasy worlds such as suburban shopping malls, theme parks, and other mega
structures devoted to leisure and recreational activities. The differentiation of urban lifestyles has
also increased the demand for entertainment in urban public space in another way. People show
greater dissimilarity in their consumption patterns and in the way they spend their leisure time,
in line with the prevailing socio-cultural and economic dynamics (SCP, 2004). The increase of
purchasing power and a higher average education level has resulted in an enlargement of possible
leisure activities (Mommaas, 2000). Florida (2002) emphasises that the lifestyles of people
have changed, leading to a more ‘compressed’ life in which people do more in less time. Work
and leisure therefore become more intertwined: people relax more at work (i.e., sport facilities
offered at work), but also mix leisure with work-related activities, such as business meetings on
a sidewalk café (Burgers, 2000). People also get a more reflexive stance towards themselves and
their environment (Mentzel, 1993; Asbeek Brusse et al., 2002). Their desires and demands become
increasingly differentiated, which makes it difficult to design ‘neutral’ public space. Another trend
is intensification, which derives from an increased longing for more immediate and fulfilling
experiences. Pine and Gilmore (1999) ascribe the growing importance of symbolic and aesthetic
consumption to the rise of the ‘experience economy’. Within such an economy, people search
for intense experiences, which give identity and distinguish them from the ‘mainstream’. In this
regard, life has become a ‘do-it-yourself ’ package:
In this new world, it is no longer the organizations we work for, churches, neighborhoods
or even family ties that define us. Instead, we do this ourselves (…) Other aspects of our
lives – what we consume, new forms of leisure and recreation, efforts at community-
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