It's legitimate, in my view, to reclaim streets for the use of people without actually tearing up the asphalt and putting down grass. The issue is that the notion of a public space implies social encounters: friends are met and made, issues are raised and discussed, action is proposed and taken. A focus on how cars use roads whitewashes all of that because you can't do any of that from the seat of a moving car.
It's legitimate, in my view, to reclaim streets for the use of people without actually tearing up the asphalt and putting down grass. The issue is that the notion of a public space implies social encounters: friends are met and made, issues are raised and discussed, action is proposed and taken. A focus on how cars use roads whitewashes all of that because you can't do any of that from the seat of a moving car.