Visual Mixed Messaging: The Role of Signage in Public and Private Governance of New York City Interior Privately Owned Public Spaces

New York City’s Interior Privately Owned Public Spaces (IPOPS) provides developers with bonus floor area in exchange for the urban amenity of publicly accessible space. Many issues can arise in jurisdictional overlap when city authorities and private owners govern space. Upon entering the front door of an IPOPS, one may encounter signage placed by private owners stating explicit rules discouraging specific uses, while city-mandated signage must state that the space is “open to the public.” Given recent efforts to replace publicly regulated POPS signage, this study provides a timely assessment. The research question is: Do private owners’ signs communicate in a manner that narrows the definition of “public”? Our research method includes transcribing all externally visible signage, including city-regulated signage and owner signage and performing a text analysis with R to discover the prevalence of language inviting use and regulating behavior. We analyze the data to discover how in contrast to city-mandated signage, owner signage tends to narrow the definition of “public.” We explore the implications for the governance and administration of public space.