“The old city downtowns, whether planned or unplanned, were public spaces...The outer-city malls, for all their open courtyards, fountains, benches, and play spaces, are fundamentally different. They are private property. They are not governed by elected representatives, but by executives appointed by corporate boards...Fundamental questions, such as who can be in a mall and what they can or cannot do while they are there, are determined by corporate policy rather than ordinances passed by elected representatives...The new outer cities are cities administered by decree. They are not controlled by citizens, not even nominally. Such places may be safe, but they are not democratic. In many ways, the edge cities’ privatization of public space and activities represents a shift back to the medieval and Renaissance concept of a city as a collection of essentially privately managed places controlled by an oligarchy...The once public city has been privatized.” (187-188)

(Palen, J. John. The Suburbs. Graw-Hill, 1995. Print.)