What Makes an Inclusive Public Square?

A Space With the Right Infrastructure Can Support, Welcome, and Empower Everyone

The public square is the meeting ground where people make society happen. In these spaces, physical or metaphorical or digital, we work through our shared dramas and map our collective hopes. Ideally, the public square provides room to solve the problems we face. It is also where new, thorny issues often arise.

This “Up for Discussion” is part of Zócalo’s editorial and events series spotlighting the ideas, places, and questions that have shaped the public square Zócalo has created over the past 20 years.

For this fourth installment, our contributors think about how we …

‘We Put the Ultrasound Machine in the Local Pharmacy’ | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

We Put the Ultrasound Machine in the Local Pharmacy

Physician Assistant Luz Garcia Is Bringing a Family Practice to Where Her Community Is

If you walk into the local pharmacy in downtown Gonzales and turn to the right, you’ll see an examination room with an ultrasound machine. It represents more than just a …

Don’t Be So Snooty, Small Towns Have Museums and Performing Arts, Too

The Problem Is That Too Many People Feel Unwelcome in Galleries and Theaters

Growing up, my siblings and I were surrounded by art. In our house, jazz and opera were always playing, literature lined the shelves, and the work of local artists hung …