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Black Public Joy: No Permit or Permission Required
From one of North America’s most influential public space experts comes a compassionate, powerful treatise on how urban planning, design and policy inform how much joy we experience as our bodies navigate the world.
How do you feel when you walk through a park? A parking lot? A main street at night? Now, how much do you know about how history and design impacts those feelings? For a couple of decades, Jay Pitter has been thinking about public space, and the ways it can be designed to not only contribute to social equity but also inspire joy for everyone. Her award-winning work helping cities navigate complex issues such as reimagining Confederate monument sites, the creation of cultural districts, and the adoption of gender-responsive street design make her one of our foremost thinkers on the way bodies exist in a space, and what a space can do to bodies.
In this book, Pitter specifically focuses on how Black bodies are perceived—from the history of the slave auction block to the way many Black mothers burden their children with public space rules to protect them—tracing a vital cultural history and deeply personal narrative that looks at both the complication and beauty of Black public joy. Through compelling prose interwoven with expert analysis, Pitter guides the reader through Black people's public space pageantry, sacred spaces, powerful protests, and intimate yearnings for public joy. She also reveals vulnerable personal stories as ground for the book’s journey. The themes of the book—our collective desire for safely exploring places, feeling belonging, and freeing ourselves from fears of judgement— are universal. Every reader will find space for learning, pause, and affirmation in these pages.
Pitter has worked with the United Nations, lectured at Cornell, MIT, and Princeton, and edited a collection of writing about cities, but this is the first time readers will experience her stunning breadth of knowledge in her own intimate both deeply researched and deeply personal, it promises to be a definitive work on public spaces and our collective negotiation of them during unprecedented urban development and our divided times.
How do you feel when you walk through a park? A parking lot? A main street at night? Now, how much do you know about how history and design impacts those feelings? For a couple of decades, Jay Pitter has been thinking about public space, and the ways it can be designed to not only contribute to social equity but also inspire joy for everyone. Her award-winning work helping cities navigate complex issues such as reimagining Confederate monument sites, the creation of cultural districts, and the adoption of gender-responsive street design make her one of our foremost thinkers on the way bodies exist in a space, and what a space can do to bodies.
In this book, Pitter specifically focuses on how Black bodies are perceived—from the history of the slave auction block to the way many Black mothers burden their children with public space rules to protect them—tracing a vital cultural history and deeply personal narrative that looks at both the complication and beauty of Black public joy. Through compelling prose interwoven with expert analysis, Pitter guides the reader through Black people's public space pageantry, sacred spaces, powerful protests, and intimate yearnings for public joy. She also reveals vulnerable personal stories as ground for the book’s journey. The themes of the book—our collective desire for safely exploring places, feeling belonging, and freeing ourselves from fears of judgement— are universal. Every reader will find space for learning, pause, and affirmation in these pages.
Pitter has worked with the United Nations, lectured at Cornell, MIT, and Princeton, and edited a collection of writing about cities, but this is the first time readers will experience her stunning breadth of knowledge in her own intimate both deeply researched and deeply personal, it promises to be a definitive work on public spaces and our collective negotiation of them during unprecedented urban development and our divided times.
264 pages, Hardcover
Published January 27, 2026
4 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 17, 2026
Can I give this 10 out 5 stars!?! Amazing!! A book not focused on Black trauma but restoring Black joy! Black people are complete people, filled with beauty… this book is very impactful and encouraging and should be required reading for all. This book will be a household name for the culture and part of our own declared classics! So proud of the author for providing our world with this literary excellence! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Honestly, I finished The Narrative of Sojourner Truth right before this book. When I finished it, there was a heaviness in the world from recent (political) events. I told a friend I needed to read something lighter—admittedly, I love nonfiction and historical fiction. I saw “joy” on the cover and thought it would be a lighter read…
I love the book so much that I went online looking for more info (😂). I also was hoping the author might have the affirmations and meditations somewhere separately.
Another thing that resonated with me was the “gaze”!! 😮💨 The way the author wrote about that! Too powerful—and with the added affirmations? I was so overjoyed!
I just want to name that I planned to either listen to it again or buy a hard copy! The end where the author describes black joy in great detail, especially from the lens of our elders, empowered me so much I went to social media with some quotes!
Elated to be the first to review of this book on Goodreads! 🥳
Honestly, I finished The Narrative of Sojourner Truth right before this book. When I finished it, there was a heaviness in the world from recent (political) events. I told a friend I needed to read something lighter—admittedly, I love nonfiction and historical fiction. I saw “joy” on the cover and thought it would be a lighter read…
I love the book so much that I went online looking for more info (😂). I also was hoping the author might have the affirmations and meditations somewhere separately.
Another thing that resonated with me was the “gaze”!! 😮💨 The way the author wrote about that! Too powerful—and with the added affirmations? I was so overjoyed!
I just want to name that I planned to either listen to it again or buy a hard copy! The end where the author describes black joy in great detail, especially from the lens of our elders, empowered me so much I went to social media with some quotes!
Elated to be the first to review of this book on Goodreads! 🥳
Review of advance copy
Recommended for all place-makers wishing to be uplifted and emboldened by this wise and moving narrative -- in part a memoir for the author and also celebrating many others' successful community spaces. I hope many community activists and urban planners take this know-how to heart!
Much gratitude to Jay Pitter, publisher, and Libro.fm!!!
Much gratitude to Jay Pitter, publisher, and Libro.fm!!!
January 29, 2026
I was so very moved by this book! There were times I paused to reflect, times I got angry, times I felt icky, and times I wanted to debate a bit. I loved it. “Public space performance” is a new to me phrase, but it is definitely a concept we’ve all been familiar with at some point or another. I was fascinated to take the deep dive into it! This book is for people of all colors, genders, beliefs, etc. YOU should read it.
Review of advance copy
What took me 20 years to figure out on my own through self-study and exploration is now in a book - Black Public Joy: No Permit or Permission Required by Jay Pitter.
Young people, preorder it. Request it at your local bookstore. You need this book.
For the others, as you prepare to step into your role as an elder, carry joy with you. Tell stories that hold laughter and light, and if you don’t yet have joy to share… go make some.
What brought me to tears was the care Jay Pitter took in unpacking the history of Mardi Gras. Years ago, my husband and I traveled to New Orleans to learn its history. Museums, meals in Tremé, and time spent far beyond the tourist routes. That trip sparked my deep love for NOLA culture. The people are the best part. I’ll never forget how lovingly they shared both the struggle and the wins in their stories.
The history and stories in this book are eye-opening, but more importantly, they all lead back to finding, protecting, and sharing Black public joy. We deserve it.
@jay_pitter I felt the love you are offering our community. Thank you!!
@librofm @penguinrandomhouse and @mcclellandstewart thank you for the ALC. My smile is bigger and my dance moves are more defined after reading this book. #drpoughbookshelf #poughreview #civilrights #culturalstudies #JanuaryPagesChallenge @the.storygraph
Young people, preorder it. Request it at your local bookstore. You need this book.
For the others, as you prepare to step into your role as an elder, carry joy with you. Tell stories that hold laughter and light, and if you don’t yet have joy to share… go make some.
What brought me to tears was the care Jay Pitter took in unpacking the history of Mardi Gras. Years ago, my husband and I traveled to New Orleans to learn its history. Museums, meals in Tremé, and time spent far beyond the tourist routes. That trip sparked my deep love for NOLA culture. The people are the best part. I’ll never forget how lovingly they shared both the struggle and the wins in their stories.
The history and stories in this book are eye-opening, but more importantly, they all lead back to finding, protecting, and sharing Black public joy. We deserve it.
@jay_pitter I felt the love you are offering our community. Thank you!!
@librofm @penguinrandomhouse and @mcclellandstewart thank you for the ALC. My smile is bigger and my dance moves are more defined after reading this book. #drpoughbookshelf #poughreview #civilrights #culturalstudies #JanuaryPagesChallenge @the.storygraph
February 3, 2026
Thank you to Libro.fm for access to this audiobook. It was a bit jarring how much I resonated with this book. It gave insight into why I have felt so guarded moving in the world. It gave me validation and the ‘green light’ to live fully and freely. To show up authentically and unapologetically. Here is the book I didn’t know I needed. Loved it😊
January 31, 2026
"Surely if inter-generational traumas can exist, so can inter-generational joy." This was the perfect transition into Black History Month. *ALC from Libro.fm
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews