The legal definition of public space in the USA has a long
history, beginning with the 1939 case of Hague v. CIO (307 US
496), which affirmed the importance of public spaces as key sites
of those activities protected by the first amendment. Of
particular significance is the decision of the US Supreme Court
in the 1983 case of Perry Education Association v. Perry Local
Educators’ Association (460 US 37), which established the threetiered
legal concept of public space known as the public forum
doctrine (Kalven, 1965; Massey, 1999).