Privately owned public space

These spaces are usually the product of a deal between cities and private real estate developers in which cities grant valuable zoning concessions and developers provide in return privately owned public spaces in or near their buildings.

Privately owned public spaces may include walkways, plazas, arcades, small parks, and atriums, and are largely determined by where the property lot-line was initially drawn.

[5] Between 1961 and 2000, 503 privately owned public spaces, scattered almost entirely in downtown, midtown, and upper east and west sides of New York City's borough of Manhattan, were constructed at 320 buildings.

[citation needed] In 2017, The Guardian published a study of the phenomenon in London,[6] facing a lack of response from both landowners and local authorities they questioned on the subject.

In reaction to the report, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan promised to publish new guidelines on how these spaces are governed.