Nemeth - Controlling the Commons

Risk of prioritizing security and private interests over broader social concerns can threaten
liberties, turn public spaces into highly regulated spaces.
Three axes: fairness, innovation,and democracy
If private, people can monopolize it and limit usership
Conditionally free: assuming a patron meets legal norms or the expectations of managers, he or
she is allowed to occupy the space.
inductive/external - what is out there external to the person. What interactions are facilitated by
the space?
deductive/internal - investigate the socially constructed meanings of public space, eye of the
beholder. Access is key
Models of publicness should account both material and conceptual realms
Internet layers: physical, code, content
Can relate to real world - however things that are not required to allow universal entry are not
considered to be commons. So the internet model can fall short in the material world.
Code layer: laws, regulations, policing/enforcement, and cultural/behavioral norms
Public comments are an important component of the code layer
Content layer includes actual use, behavior, symbolism,and meaning
Splitting them into three separate layers shows how much one layers affects the others
For example, visitors toINHP perceive (content layer) these material artifacts (physical layer)through a
variety of different means (code layer). In the fence proposalexample itself, the material imposition of the
fence (physical) would cut offvisual access to Independence Hall, which necessitated changes to the
wayin which the space would be regulated and policed (code), which wouldthen impact the use, behavior,
and perhaps even the popular imagination ofthe structures contained within the park (content). So while
the tool alsoallows us to more easily disaggregate perceived impacts on freedomsacross these layers, it
also exposes the interplay between the layers. Indeed,Lessig argues that the point of the schema is to
help one visualize the rangeof trade-offs across layers.
How much control is too much? We need to prevent the tragedy of the commons.

What does a police state mean? If everything we do is monitored, is there public space?
Cameras, etc
Relate to changing of space in nyc and desire to protest