Who owns the square?

Mara: The square was empty most evenings until traders began paying for stalls. The rent now pays for cleaning and lamps. Critics call this privatisation, but the square still has no gate and no entry charge. A public space must be usable before its public character means much. I would reserve seating for non-customers, but without income the argument about ownership concerns a dark and dirty place. Ivo: The lamps are welcome. Yet a person can be allowed into a space and still have little say in what happens there. The stall contracts permit the traders' association to veto events it considers bad for business. Last month the association cancelled a tenants' meeting while approving a product launch. This does not show that trading is incompatible with public life. It shows that financing a place should not purchase the power to define legitimate uses of it. Mara: I would remove that veto if the cleaning and lighting could be funded reliably. I do not defend the traders' judgment. I am asking who will pay when we reject their terms.