Coexistence and conflicts of use
The adage “one person’s freedom ends where another’s begins” leads to competition between freedoms. This idea restricts the concept of a shared space, and establishes prohibition and obligation as the foundations of community life. On the contrary, twisting this adage to “one person’s freedom begins where another person’s begins” asserts the interdependence of our freedoms, and reaffirms rights as principles instead of exceptions. Rather than seeking to put a stop to the use of these areas in order to achieve “peace” or “security”, how can public stakeholders instead choose democracy over the neutralisation of public space? There are few places where people can meet and enter into debate, except when conflicts have already crystallised. Co-existence means being able to talk to one another, get organised and together question the rules of communal living.