Blogging Social Difference in LA: Week 5

Much of the social difference we see in urban environments is expressed spatially through physical or psychological divisions of economic classes. Unfortunately these divisions (and apparent hostility towards a lower class) have been present in cities for quite some time now. In "Mapping the Pure and Defiled" Sibley states, "By the eighteenth century, socio-spatial separation was becoming characteristic of large cities, like London, Dublin or Philadelphia, and boundary maintenance became a concern of the rich, who were anxious to protect themselves from disease and moral pollution." Today we see boundary maintenance in the form of gated communities but we also see more subtle ways in which physical access is discouraged for certain people, like communities that are only accessible by car, or neighborhoods with no sidewalks. Today I visited Bel-Air and observed the many traits of socio-spatial separation that essentially act to discourage access to the area for those who do not live there.

 Bel-Air is an affluent neighborhood just north of UCLA and is one of the points in what the LA Times calls the "Platinum Triangle of Beverly Hills, Bel-Air and Holmby Hills." I entered the neighborhood at the West Gate at Sunset Blvd and Bellagio Road. I passed the country club and many homes which were tucked away behind dense foliage or pushed up off the street with a gate and long driveway. As I continued driving I noticed that almost every house had a sign in front advertising the various surveillance or security system installed. Before arriving in Bel-Air I figured I would park and walk around the neighborhood like I had done in Beverly Hills. However, Bel-Air has little to no sidewalks, an obvious sign they do not want people walking around the neighborhood. I continued driving around spotting other signs of a highly protected neighborhood - a private security guard driving around and signs on a couple of the streets that said "Local access only, no thru traffic." 

Map of median family income for 2012 (from Simply Map)

This was my first time visiting Bel-Air and it became very clear, very quickly that not only is the area  under 24 hour surveillance but the residents don't necessarily want you there. Bel-Air is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country with a median family income ranging between $95,640-$447,720. According to the LA Times the neighborhood has a below average crime rate for the country with one violent crime and 46 property crimes over the past six months. It's generally not surprising to see surveillance systems in place in wealthy neighborhoods but in an area with such a low crime rate the cameras and security guards do seem like more of a symbolic statement of protection than a practical one. 

Michel Foucault, a french philosopher, studied the way surveillance controls social behavior in urban spaces. His term "carceral archipelago" refers to the prison like environment that surveillance creates, arguing that we are constantly being watched, judged, and evaluated. LA's many gated communities could be seen as a carceral archipelago as well - with islands of defended space that are preserved for the selected few. 

Because the physical environment of Bel-Air seems like it was designed to limit access to outsiders, I'm interested to know how much of a sense of community there is in Bel-Air (outside of the country club, of course). If the walk from your house to your car is the only time you are outside, that doesn't seem to leave much room for interfacing with neighbors or fellow residents of the area. Perhaps an atmosphere established with such a pronounced emphasis on protection and seclusion from the outside also translates into a lowered sense of community with more isolated residents. 

Unfortunately this concept of socio-spatial separation has been a feature of the urban environment for centuries now. Although it seems that now there has been an increased importance put on the seclusion of wealthy areas which has only heightened the spatial difference and discrimination. Mike Davis states in the City of Quartz, "this obsession with physical security systems, and, collaterally, with the architectural policing of social boundaries, has become a zeitgeist of urban restructuring." When taking the countless social inequalities and severe economic disparities into account, it is a bit disheartening to hear that the defining spirit of urban change is something that will work to strengthen isolation between socio-economic classes.