Table of ContentsSummary:Introduction:Public Space: A Change of culture and the birth of social media: public space and protests: case study: references: summary: public space provides a sphere for the public to express their opinions and objections on issues surrounding the government, the status quo and historical events. As the shrinking of public space becomes a real notion, the public sphere has adapted and shifted its outlet to social media. This article will discuss the movement away from the physical ground and towards social media in the context of protests and examine one particular protest, the Occupy Wall Street movement, as a case study to understand how protests have changed and the new era of social media. used to create a sense of community during protests. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayIntroduction:Space is needed throughout society in order to perform actions, a specific action performed in public space is protest. Protests are happening all over the world in an attempt to oppose something that many people do not agree with. Historically, these protests have taken place in public spaces or gathering areas where many people are present, but with a change in the way people interact and the presence of social media, there has been a shift in the how protests are conducted and perceived. In the modern era, social media is able to provide a means for groups to express their opinions, making it more difficult to hold a protest on physical grounds due to geographic barriers. Social media is changing the way protests take place and protesters are having to adapt to the changes and re-evaluate how they express their issues. Public space: Public space has continually changed throughout the formation of the public sphere. The public sphere can be defined as public events and occasions open to all (Habermas). The public sphere serves as a conduit for citizens, providing them with a place to obtain information and discuss issues. In theory, the public sphere can be seen as something beneficial and achievable, but even in the 18th century Habermas explains the difficulty of rejecting the prejudices of private interests and the diminishing of the public sphere as a neutral source for the public to learn and interact. . This difficult situation has allowed many different public spheres to surface. It can be argued that the public sphere should not just be a single sphere, that there are many, and that while there will be overlap, there will be multiple spheres with which people can interact. Habermas blames the change in the public sphere due to media control and newspaper publication; he explains that newspapers are the media that are manipulated to write certain things due to private influence. This statement that the media controls the “news” is very true today. Public space has shrunk considerably as people no longer need to leave their homes to understand what is happening around the world. Many issues are discussed on the internet and social media, which changes the platform on which issues canbe discussed. This idea that a change in the public space has caused changes in the discussion of issues will be a guiding factor for this article. The size and scope of public space is changing due to a new public sphere. A change in culture and the birth of social media: The media constitute a form of mass communication; which means important information can be processed and disseminated quickly. But the media has snowballed into something that cannot be controlled. The platform on which people receive their information is very different from what it used to be. In the context of protests, much of the mentality of bringing people together for a common cause is done on the Internet. For example, the Occupy Wall Street movement was able to gain momentum through the use of Twitter, using the hashtag #OCCUPYWALLSTREET (Berger 2016). Efforts to launch the Occupy Wall Street movement failed in the early stages due to lack of interest and lack of communication. But when officials started using social media as a way to plan, the movement began. For example, movement leaders made call-to-action videos and posted them on various social media sites (Berger 2016). Once the movement began to gain widespread attention, the physical protest aspect was introduced to Zuccotti Park in New York. Public space and protests: The changing public space environment brings about a change in the way people express their ideas and challenge the status quo. Protest can be taken from the Latin word protestari meaning to present and testify; a protester is someone who serves as a witness or bears witness to an event (Protest 2014). Originally, protests would gather in public spaces where large masses of people were known to be in the area and the protest or movement would express disdain for the issue and start a conversation among observers. The hope would be that the conversation sparks change or at least an attempt to understand the side of those protesting. All these changes were motivated by the demonstration which took place in a public space. But as we mentioned, public space is diminishing and so is the need for a physical public sphere. Urban social movements began to arise online and sometimes remain only in this sphere. Some movements resulted in physical protests. This article will discuss the Occupy Wall Street movement which occurred throughout the United States and Europe, but was rooted in New York. I will discuss the timeline of the protest, how media played a role in the protest, and the use of public space for the movement. In current times, the meaning of protest has changed, but the act of protesting has also changed due to different public spheres; the ability to adapt to this and pass the movement successfully led protesters to be more creative. Case study: The Occupy Wall Street movement began on September 17, 2011 in Liberty Square in New York's financial district. The movement claims to fight against the corrosive power of big banks and corporations over the democratic process and the role played by Wall Street in the economic recession and in the fight against the richest 1% of the economy (About). While the movement was rooted in New York, it spread to 82 countries and exploded on social media. The movement in New York was centered in Zuccotti Park and lasted about three months. The place ofThe demonstration was essential to its success due to the encampment in the financial district but also the private space allowed for long-term demonstrations. The movement gained support from many journalists, unions and other media outlets (Occupy Wall Street 2012). The movement raised the profile of corporations and big banks and disrupted an industry that disrupted the lives of many Americans during the 2008 financial crisis. References:**Dee, J. (2015). Dreams of sleeping in public spaces: the Occupy Wall Street movement and sleep as symbolic expression. First Amendment Studies, 49(2), 126-137. This reading describes the struggles The Occupy Wall Street went through to protest without being evicted. Dee mentions that the movement has had almost no luck protesting in a private space, as many New York City parks require a permit to demonstrate. Although it wasn't necessarily the perfect scenario, the private company Brookfield ultimately ordered the Occupy movement to move out. The need for a permit left many in the movement angry and frustrated that they could not take their movement to the places they wanted to go. This article will connect the gray area of ​​public space and private space that exists. Even though the demonstrators needed a permit to access public space, they had no rights to claim private space. It's a struggle between being restricted and following the law. Erickson, A. (2011). How Occupy Wall Street is reinventing public space. Accessed March 1, 2016, from http://www.citylab.com/politics/2011/11/How-Occupy-Wall-Street-Reinventing-public-Space/398/Occupy Wall Street was able to change the way people perceived public space, because it was not technically public but became public because of the actions that took place there. This article will help to contextualize the relationship between the movement and public space. Even if the movement is over, the debate on public space is still relevant. In order to show the inner workings of the relationship, one needs solid evidence from sources like Habermas, but also from sources like this one, which can provide context for the public and private space debate and protests. Habermas, J., Lennox, S., & Lennox, F. (1974). The public sphere: an encyclopedia article (1964). New German Criticism, (3), 49-55. http://doi.org/10.2307/487737Habermas's idea of ​​the public sphere will help guide this article as he argues that public space is necessary to support the public sphere. The public sphere was originally used to share ideas and inform the public about important issues that could be discussed. Although the article has attracted criticism, it does justice to the definition of public sphere and will help explain the need for public space. Without the public sphere, there begins to be a one-sided media and people do not receive all the information. This may be related to the need for the “99%” to get their message across about corporate America. Kohn, M. (2004). Courageous neighborhoods: the privatization of public space. New York: Routledge. Kohn's work will help to reiterate the fact that space must be accessible, have an element of intersubjectivity and an element of appropriation. She explains that private property can be a good thing depending on accessibility and purpose and that meeting people you don't meet in your private spaces can actually contribute to a better public space. Public space is not always a park or a street, it can be a hybrid zone like these private public spaces and Kohn's article will help define it based on the three principles she defines .**Lubin J. Le..