Like many people who care about the role that public space plays in supporting democratic society, I have mixed feelings about Drexel Square’s origins. The park, built on land leased from Drexel University (hence the name), can be seen as another example of government’s retreat and the privatization of everything. Brandywine wasn’t obliged to hold any of those annoying outreach meetings in which the public gets to offer its two cents. There are no rules about when the park can be closed to the public or whether Brandywine can exclude political protesters. One imagines it as a setting for many corporate events.