This is a picture of the large open area in Fairfax Corner in Fairfax, VA. Fairfax Corner is a planned community that includes condominiums, a large movie theater, many shops, business offices, and numerous restaurants. This area pictured is located right in the middle of Fairfax Corner. This area is used for numerous things, especially during the summer. This area has tables located around the edges, so many people come to hang out here while waiting for their movie or while waiting to be seated at a near by restaurant. It is very prominent, so it is used at the designated “meeting place” for many people. This area is also a great place to bring your kids. There is plenty of room to run around, and during the summer there are fountains that turn on and kids can run through. One of the bigger events this area is used for is Concerts at the Corner. This is where live music is played every Thursday night all summer long. These concerts usually draw a pretty big crowd. Because this area is used for many things it shows what is important to the people in my area. It shows that having a communal place to meet and hang out is important, especially when the weather is nice, because it is always filled with people. Because Fairfax Corner is a “planned community” it is no coincidence that this area is set in the middle. This area was planned to be communal and accessible to everyone in the area. This area is privately owned but is meant for public use. Because it is privately owned, it is private space, yet people sometimes confuse this area with public space. The police patrol this area and if you doing something that is not approved of by Fairfax Corner you will be asked to stop. There are also rules about the fountain and the interactive chess game (located behind the Coastal Flats restaurant), located on the Fairfax Corner website. This relates to what we learned about in class, because this area makes you think you are in a public space. Yet there is no democracy here, you cannot picket here or voice your political opinions. The activities that go on here must be parallel to the ideas and beliefs of Fairfax Corner.
Fairfax corner is open to the public, but yet it is still seen as a private space. This idea connects to what we learned in class about the shopping mall. As Jennifer mentions above, the area is created to make you believe that you are in the midst of a public space, yet you have to be careful what you do or say because in reality it is not public. The definition of public vs. private is complicated. As seen in Fairfax Corner, a communal space that has dining, shopping, and entertainment values its sense of privacy. (Comment by Christina Dean)
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