The City Between Freedom and Security: Contested Public Spaces in the 21st Century

The publication "The City between Freedom and Security" addresses the contested territory between the state and corporate drive to 'securitise' contemporary urban space – and the principle of the city and its public spaces as fundamental yet fragile sites for enacting open civil society, participatory democracy, and the freedom of speech and assembly. From the starting point of the disputed redevelopment of the Oslo Government Quarter in the aftermath of attacks in 2011, the book functions as a broader discursive platform mediating a range of opposing actors and positions at the intersection of architecture/urbanism and security/democracy. The book interposes theoretical texts, interviews, cross-disciplinary and intercultural dialogs, detailed documentation of international case studies, discursive design proposals, a glossary of terms, and photo essays documenting fieldwork in locations such as the UK, USA, Israel, Palestine, and Spain. Contributors include: Stephen Graham, Michael Sorkin, David Harvey, Yuval Yasky, Leopold Lambert, CPNI, Ronald V. Clarke, Jon Coaffee, Oscar Newman, and Giorgio Agamben.