Paper short abstract:

In Malta, the State spends little in the maintenance and upgrading of public spaces when it is not selling big pieces of public land to companies or states. In this light, who owns public space in Malta?

Paper long abstract:

The category 'Public' in land regulations presumes its ownership by the state who acts as the garantor of its free access.However the Maltese example shows that numerous areas are closed or difficult to access. In this light it is legitimate to think that public land is regarded in Malta as a dormant investment that can become a source of wealth when sold to companies or other states (like the recent sell of coastal land to People's Republic of China). The sad state of most municipal parks in the urban districts for instance illustrates clearly that public gardens are not considered an important space fostering social cohesion and well-being. In fact the keen observer will notice that local inhabitants often water plants in public gardens themselves in the same way as they build up small huts that eventually solidify and congregate to form secondary summer villages.

If the state does not anymore act as the guarantor to preserve public land for all, who owns public space?