December 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 28

Who, What, Where & how Around the Parks

of their right to assemble and demonstrate for their principles.
From the outset, though, numerous cities willingly or benignly overlooked that
such encampments violated city and park
regulations. Their failure to require protesters to adhere to the law and regulations has led to criticism of favoritism and
unequal treatment, and will make eventual resolution of these unauthorized encampments that much more difficult.
Most Occupy encampments were established in public parks and squares

in central urban locations ill-suited for
camping and for which overnight permits are not issued. Some cities, such as
Des Moines, Oklahoma City, Nashville,
and El Paso, early on granted temporary,
limited permits and have accommodated
protestors. Other cities, such as Portland,
Atlanta, Chicago, and Oakland, have had
a rocky relationship with Occupy protests
and revoked permits, citing public health
and safety concerns, which have grown
in a number of cities. Although they
have moved protestors from the parks,

dismantled their tents and structures,
and arrested some, these cities have still
allowed protesters to assemble in parks
during hours open to the public. Otherwise, there have been surprisingly few
arrests nationally, although that is changing as the patience of city officials wears
thin and more mayors direct law enforcement agencies to disperse encampments
and prevent their re-formation.
No matter how the cities have responded, the Occupy encampments have become a vexing problem for city officials

interview

Portland Parks Commissioner Nick Fish balances
freedom of assembly with park stewardship

S

eldom are those who theorize about the role of the
public square in democratic
societies also charged with
caring for public squares.
Portland Parks and Recreation Commissioner Nick Fish is one of those people. In
an open letter he wrote in October to the
Occupy Portland protesters encamped in
the city's historic Chapman and Lownsdale squares (excerpted in accompanying article), Fish identifies himself as
" someone who spent a legal career fighting for the civil rights of others. "
And indeed he has-in his professional life, Fish has represented health
care workers and labor unions; and as
a volunteer he has worked to create affordable housing in New York City for
people with HIV/AIDS, and formerly
homeless individuals.
Moreover, Fish's personal history is marked by " privileged relationships with great parks systems, " as he

22	 Parks & Recreation   D E C E M B E R

describes it. He recounts growing up
a block from New York's Central Park,
years in Washington, D.C. enjoying the
National Mall, and time as a Northeastern University law student exploring
the necklace of historic Olmsted parks
in the Boston area. And, when he moved
to Portland, Fish delighted in the Olmsted origins of its parks system.
Now, even as he and his staff assess
the tens of thousands of dollars of damage done to two of those historic city
parks, Fish does not dwell on particulars of worn turf, compromised tree
roots, and trashed restroom facilities.
Instead, he grapples with larger questions about the functions-and limits-
of public parks in preserving freedom
of speech and assembly.
" The key question, " he posits, " is how
do we encourage constitutionally protected activity while protecting our parks? "
Even in an age rich with social media outlets and connections, he continues, " the

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public square remains an important element for coming together.... The problem
is, our traditional parks are simply not designed for camping. "
The first week into the occupation,
Fish wrote his letter as an appeal to the
protesters to cooperate with parks and
recreation professionals. His appeal met
with mixed reactions, including criticism
from many in the city and a polite reply
(but little cooperation) from the protesters. The letter, he says, was part of his
effort to strike an appropriate balance
between protecting protesters' rights
and protecting the parks. " I concluded
early on that the balance had tipped, and
that these parks were being hurt. "
While Lownsdale and Chapman
squares were finally cleared by police nearly a month later on November 13, Fish states proudly that " we
did avoid confrontations like the one in
Oakland-and we kept it all relatively peaceful. " He believes the peaceful
December 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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