Photography and the blurring of public/private spaces

In June, Marc Fisher wrote an article about the privatization of seemingly public spaces, in this case: the Washington D.C. suburb of Silver Spring. The article focuses on a developer's policy that restricts the rights of photographers to take pictures of the outdoor built environment, even from a street. An excerpt:

[The developer] insists on treating downtown Silver Spring as if it were an indoor mall. They set and enforce rules that would never pass legal muster on a public street. Political candidates have been stopped from handing out fliers. And photographers such as Py are regularly stopped and told to move along. (para 9)

As a number of images intended for my forthcoming book on omnitopia will depict that blurred relationship of public and private spaces, I will follow stories such as these quite closely.

Learn More: Fisher, M. (2007, June 21). Public or Private Space? Line Blurs in Silver Spring. Washington Post, B01.