The Tate Modern privacy ruling could lead to a worrying future for cities | Oliver Wainwright

The landmark decision, that luxury glass-walled flats opposite the museum's new viewing gallery are being disturbed, could lead to a shift in how public life in cities operates

The verdict is in: people who live in glass houses may thrown stones with impunity. After six years of legal battles, the highest court in the land has ruled that the residents of the luxury glass-walled flats opposite Tate Modern's viewing gallery face an unacceptable level of constant visual intrusion". They bought into the dream of living in an overpriced goldfish bowl next to one of the most visited museums in the world, and now they have decided they've had quite enough of being looked at, thank you very much.

The unprecedented ruling marks a hugely damaging step for the future of public life in our cities. It suggests that the mere ability of others to look through your windows is enough to have those people banished, that space shut down, and the surrounding urban environment regulated so that nothing may impinge on your own personal bubble. The residents of Neo Bankside enjoy a panorama of the London skyline, replete with telescopes adorning their glass-walled terraces, but it appears they only want their crow's nest views to work in one direction. With this ruling, the view of just five wealthy flat owners trumps the enjoyment of that very same view by millions of other people a year. The insistence of a few to live without curtains quashes the use of one of the capital's most thrilling public spaces.