Poolside Austerity
On Benches, Boulevards, and the Beauty of Belonging
One of the things I’ve always admired about life in Spain is how public public space truly is. A square is not something to pass through—it’s something to dwell in. A bench belongs to whoever needs a rest. A park, a pool, a plaza: these are shared extensions of daily life, not fenced-off amenities with wristbands and surveillance.
And most striking of all? There’s no shame in simply being there. No sideways glances. No sense that you’re “loitering.” That concept—so ingrained in Anglo-Saxon cultures—has never taken root here. Until now, maybe.
In my latest Camino a Ítica pieces, I reflect on the creeping encroachment of privatization into Spanish public life—how the very spaces that have long defined a more open, inclusive way of living are now being reshaped by the quiet return of austerity, market logic, and the ever-watchful eye of exclusivity. Read the piece in English in SUR in English or the Spanish version in the HOY.
Because once we stop noticing the velvet ropes going up around us, it might already be too late. (PDF en castellano abajo)
