Mock Public Space
(1) Description of the pattern
Mock [adj]: not authentic or real.
Public Space: Areas or structures that are open to the public, commons,a third place. This can be private or publicly owned.
Mock Public Space: This could be characterized as places were people come and gather without physically being their. In most cases this occurs over the internet.
(2) Why the pattern is good (i.e. bad)
Mock public space is generally physical or virtual space that people perceive as "public" but in reality disallow many aspects of "publicness" that are important to democracies.
This could be an opposing pattern to "Greater Good Place" pattern card. In that pattern it describes a need for a place for people to gather and be social. it also addresses the fact that "that people need the physical presence of others and that virtual spaces however important and vibrant they can be, have not made physical meeting places obsolete".
With that in mind, a Mock Public Space would replace the public spaces that people come together and share.
(3) How it Works
With online social networks and online gaming becoming more prevalent within our society, more and more people are replacing their time spent with friends and family with this new form of virtual connectivity. The therapeutic value of personal relationships as it pertains to communication,social behavior, and physical health may be impaired by the present of a Mock Public Space. It has been argued that people, especially kids, are less healthier than they were before the introduction of online communities. There are many factors to this argument, including diet and social demographics, but the time spent sitting in front of the monitor replaces the time spent playing or other forms of activity. The physical idleness may be a key factor in the rise of poor health within our society.
