By Robbie Gonzalez
In March, Donald Trump made a menacing prediction about what would happen should the Republican Party not grant him its nomination at the upcoming Republican National Convention in Cleveland: “I think you’d have riots. I think you’d have riots. I’m representing a tremendous … many, many millions of people.”
With tens of thousands of people holding sharply opposing political viewpoints assembling in Cleveland for the convention, city officials are utilizing the physical fabric of the city itself to manage four days of intense protests, demonstrations, and marches. Demonstrators from organizations as disparate as Bikers for Trump and Stand Together to Stop Trump will gather in the same designated areas of the Event Zone. It encompasses 3.3 square miles of a city-within-a-city where tennis balls, flashlights, and water guns will be strictly prohibited, but—thanks to Ohio state law—real, loaded firearms will be legally permitted.
At the center of it all—both metaphorically and almost literally—is Cleveland’s newly redesigned and remodeled Public Square, a sprawling downtown park that serves as the site of a city-sanctioned Speakers’ Platform. The work of renowned landscape architect James Corner, who is perhaps most famous for designing New York City’s beloved High Line, this immaculate new public plaza is about to serve its ultimate democratic purpose by becoming a focal point of sustained demonstration.
The shape of a physical space inherently informs how people use it. To better understand these dynamics, experts discussed how the park’s architecture could influence how protestors, counterprotesters, and convention attendees interact with the space. Whether the demonstrations will remain peaceful or turn to violence is unpredictable, but Corner believes he understands how people will navigate his new park. Similar insights are offered by crowd control expert Paul Wertheimer, founder and head of the Los Angeles-based Crowd Management Strategies, and Greg Coleridge, director of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee and an organizer with decades of experience protesting in Cleveland. Their ideas diverge in several fascinating ways.
A Good Public Square Promotes People Flow
The old Public Square was a popular historical staging area for public marches. Greg Coleridge notes that in the past, demonstrators would circle one or two of the four distinct quadrants of the square before heading out to other parts of the city. While he believes the new Public Square will not fundamentally alter the established routes of major public marches, he notes that one could easily envision the new square significantly affecting how those crowds form and gather before setting off. The updated design makes it far easier for a large crowd to encircle the park entirely or walk directly through its center, allowing a march to attract vastly more attention before officially launching its route.
To transform the four disjointed quadrants of the old Public Square into a single, cohesive park, James Corner’s design team closed one major roadway, reduced the overall width of the remaining avenue, and surrounded the park with a continuous "promenade ribbon." This feature actively encourages visitors to walk both around and directly through the heart of the park. Corner points out that these journeys, particularly the diagonal paths across the plaza, were simply not available to the public before. He adds that these pathways are an essential feature of modern urban parks in which the interaction of a diverse mix of people is allowed to truly play out.
Visibility Is Good for Democracy
Coleridge observes that traditional circle- and square-shaped public spaces naturally lend themselves to effective public demonstrations. When people can see one another across an open expanse, everyone shares a collective sense of equality and community. However, the new Public Square is neither circular nor strictly rectilinear. Coleridge describes its unique layout as resembling an hourglass. While it is true that the new Public Square affords sightlines that the old design lacked—especially along its long diagonals—large swaths of the park are now separated by mature trees, landscaping, and elevated gardens that inevitably limit overall visibility.
For Corner, one of the great joys of a well-designed public space is the simple, powerful act of people seeing one another in a shared environment. Among Public Square’s most notable new features are its primary sightlines, which extend in long diagonals across the entire plaza. Corner explains that seeing and being seen, and being visually juxtaposed with people who are fundamentally different from you, is critically important for fostering urban tolerance and diversity. He calls it an extraordinarily social form of public life that, in a profound sense, supports the foundations of democracy. He adds that democracy in action takes many forms, noting that while its most dominant form is protest and large assembly, democracy also plays out in everyday life.
Cleveland’s Official Speakers Platform Will Attract an Audience
City officials have erected an official speaking platform at the southern end of the park, from which registered participants will be permitted to deliver 30-minute speeches between 9:30 am and 6:30 pm every day of the convention. Paul Wertheimer warns that any sizeable crowd gathered to listen to these speakers will naturally extend up to, and beyond, the decorative fountain located directly in front of the platform. He suggests that city authorities should ensure the fountain is turned off to maximize the available gathering space. Because the Public Square is relatively compact, Wertheimer emphasizes that there is a strong chance authorities will desperately need every square foot of available ground.
Unofficial Speakers Platforms Could Attract Audiences, Too
Corner notes that it is vital to support spontaneity and the unpredictable nature of public spaces. In his view, the best spaces for free speech are everyday spaces designed for generosity, openness, and flexibility. The edges of the park’s central lawn slope inward, creating a mild amphitheater effect at the center. While Corner designed this area primarily for casual activities like picnics, sitting in the sun, and enjoying views of the city, he acknowledges that it also naturally lends itself to larger political gatherings, spontaneous speeches, and major events.
While Cleveland officials have officially forbidden the use of traditional soapboxes and other makeshift podiums, a recent revision to the city’s legal definition of a "speakers platform" indicates that individuals can utilize preexisting architectural objects and local topography to exercise their freedom of speech. Wertheimer points out that if people want to stand on a curb, a park bench, or at the top of a grassy hill to address a crowd, they are legally permitted to do so.
Coleridge worries, however, that the park’s complex design elements could easily serve as a multitude of impromptu speaking platforms that might fracture crowds rather than unite them. Instead of a single speaker addressing one unified group, he fears you could end up with three different groups and three separate sections listening to three different speeches simultaneously. In his view, this layout does not lend itself well to a single, cohesive major event.
Statues Are Rallying Points
Before Public Square’s extensive redesign, a prominent statue of early 20th-century Cleveland mayor Tom Johnson, located in the plaza’s northwest quadrant, served as a popular gathering point for anticorporate protests, including a multi-month Occupy Cleveland encampment. Coleridge recalls that Johnson was a famously populist leader. Today, the carefully preserved statue occupies a central position on the north side of the square, situated in front of what Coleridge describes as a much bigger, more attractive, and better-connected public space.
Police Should Be Present, Not Overwhelming
Wertheimer stresses the importance of having police officers and firefighters at the ready during high-stakes national events, but warns that an overly aggressive police presence can quickly make a peaceful gathering feel confrontational. He suggests that the parking lot located directly across the street from the Public Square serves as a logical staging and assembly point for Cleveland’s police and fire departments. Furthermore, he recommends that officers stationed inside the park should wear non-confrontational uniforms rather than heavy tactical riot gear. Establishing an off-site staging area for personnel, vehicles, and specialized equipment can help keep simmering public tensions effectively in check.
Reflecting on local history, Coleridge notes that police officers in Public Square have historically been helpful during times of protest, often stopping traffic for demonstrators even when marches lacked official permits. However, he worries that law enforcement will be far less obliging during the high-security environment of the Republican National Convention. Because the new Public Square is intended to serve as a major urban showcase and the crown jewel of downtown Cleveland, Coleridge imagines that the police will be exceptionally vigilant about maintaining strict order. The ultimate challenge for law enforcement, he concludes, will be finding a way to allow people—even angry demonstrators—to freely express themselves without resorting to unnecessary force or violence.
An Overflow Area Could Reduce Crowd Density
If city authorities ultimately wind up managing far more people than initially anticipated, Wertheimer suggests that a designated overflow area will be critical to keeping crowds safely contained. The wide roadways surrounding the park could easily accommodate such a space. Authorities might decide to keep at least one side of the park closed off from pedestrian overflow, or conversely, keep one of the surrounding traffic lanes open as an emergency corridor reserved exclusively for fire trucks, ambulances, police cruisers, and other official vehicles.
The street that cuts directly through Public Square, primarily designated as a bus route, offers additional flexibility. On special occasions, city buses can be easily rerouted and the street’s path through the park cordoned off. Corner visualizes that this versatile space could easily host large tents, festivals, and carnivals, allowing the two distinct halves of the park to feel much more unified during major civic events.
Because Public Square was not originally designed specifically as a site for prolonged periods of public speaking or sustained protest, Wertheimer notes that municipal authorities may need to provide additional temporary amenities. The center of the park, which remains easily accessible to crowds on foot as well as emergency vehicles via Superior Avenue, serves as an ideal central location for portable restrooms, drinking water stations, and first-aid tents.
