OBE #6 Davis
Mike Davis describes Los Angeles’ west side in his article “Fortress L.A.,” and explains his views on the direction this city is moving. He uses aspects such as surveillance and architectural design as the staples for this movement, which he now calls “post-liberal Los Angeles.” I wanted to use some of his ideas and observe the surroundings I live in to see if and how they apply.
One of the main points Davis focuses on, is security both public and private. Davis says that this “armed response” has spawned an “urban restructuring.” Davis looks at the increase of private home security systems, as well as policing of specific areas as two causes of this feeling. I live in the suburbs and it seems that almost every house has the sticker in the front window, or the sign in the yard that signifies that a security system is protecting the home at all times. People take extra measures to make sure it is publicly known that security is in place at the home. While I suppose there is nothing wrong with this, and if everybody could protect their house I’m sure they would, it certainly creates a false sense of worry among residents. Why are people all of a sudden in great need for full home security systems? Is crime such a problem in the suburbs that you feel vulnerable in your own home even with a security system?
Davis also talks about public space and how these once publicized places have become overshadowed with scrutiny. The overall goal of this project, he states, is to separate the pedestrians, from the urban “street walkers,” or “untouchables.” These people, simply with their presence, create unrest and unease in public places, and therefore must be relegated to side streets and empty parks. In other words, there must be “eyes on the street” in order for the common citizen to feel safe in public. When looking at my suburb in this way, there are some interesting similarities. The design of suburban neighborhoods seems to radiate a sense of isolation and privacy. If someone who didn’t live here found themselves in the neighborhood, you automatically gain a sense of displacement, which keeps individuals sanctioned to driving past within the confines of their car. This is one of the invisible eyes in the sky security systems neighborhoods create. Davis sums it up with his statement, “Security has less to do with personal safety than with the degree of personal insulation, in residential, work, consumption and travel environments, from “unsavory” groups and individuals, even crowds in general.”