Chongqing People’s Square after 1997: situated publicness of municipal squares in reform-era China

ABSTRACT The publicness of publicly owned public spaces is an important concept that needs further examination, especially in countres like China where most urban public spaces are publicly owned and managed. This case study of Chongqing People’s Square reveals that the transformation of municipal squares’ publicness in reform-era China is closely linked with the country’s shifting political and sociocultural contexts. We argue that despite traditionally valued public ownership and planning-design qualities, the crucial role of governance management in shaping the publicness of publicly owned and managed public space is not yet fully understood.