They look like the police, but are they? The worrying rise of Britain’s pseudo-cops
Samira Shackle
Private security firms are increasingly being used to patrol shops and private open spaces. What happens if they overreach their powers, asks journalist Samira Shackle
August 2022
Underfunded, rusting and fenced off, Britain’s parks are under attack
Dan Hancox
They are our last truly public spaces, but the scale of their neglect by this government is becoming clear, says freelance journalist Dan Hancox
November 2020
'Regeneration' is too often an unfair fight between local people and global finance
Anna Minton
On Tuesday a London council decides over a 20-storey tower in Brixton – a tale familiar to cities from Manchester to Sydney, says author and academic Anna Minton
May 2020
Coronavirus has emptied public spaces – but it could reinvent the high street
Anna Minton
Business models reliant on maximum footfall are at odds with social distancing, says author and academic Anna Minton
September 2019
Brief letters
Memories of a dark and polluted Thames
Facial recognition technology scrapped at King's Cross site
August 2019
People at King’s Cross site express unease about facial recognition
Regulator looking at use of facial recognition at King's Cross site
July 2019
Pseudo-public space
Revealed: creeping privatisation of London parks in summer
Exclusive figures show extent to which London councils are using parks for ticketed music festivals such as Wireless to plug budget gaps
March 2019
If this public land sell-off continues, there could be none left by 2050
Brett Christophers
The privatisation must stop before all we have left are gated communities and golf courses, writes Professor Brett Christophers of Uppsala University in Sweden
November 2018
Stockholm says no to Apple 'town square' in its oldest park
Plans for the company’s vast new ‘gathering place’ have been shelved after a backlash. But Apple is growing bolder in its designs on public space
January 2018
Architect Patrik Schumacher: 'I've been depicted as a fascist'
He has proposed eliminating social housing and privatising streets – so is Zaha Hadid’s successor the most hated man in urbanism?
December 2017
From parasite architects to pseudo-public space: 2017's best Cities stories
The numbers are in for our 15 best-read stories of the year. Now’s the time to check if you missed any – and let us know what you want us to cover in 2018
November 2017
London mayor to draw up charter regulating pseudo-public space
Sadiq Khan will set out responsibilities for owners of public spaces after Guardian investigation which uncovered growing corporate control of parks and squares
September 2017
'It's really shocking': UK cities refusing to reveal extent of pseudo-public space
City administrations in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow and seven others decline to outline the spread of privately owned public areas, or their secret prohibitions – which may include protesting or taking photos
July 2017
Legacy, what legacy? Five years on the London Olympic park battle still rages
Family-friendly utopia or part-privatised nightmare? Revitalised wasteland or monument to social cleansing? The story didn’t end once the Games were over
Corbyn joins calls to reclaim UK pseudo-public space from corporate owners
Labour leader among those voicing concern after Guardian revealed secretive world of privately owned public spaces in London
'It's all very Orwellian': readers on creeping pseudo-public space
These squares are our squares: be angry about the privatisation of public space
Bradley L Garrett
Revealed: the insidious creep of pseudo-public space in London
