theory:01

"gates construct and manifest social relations - in this case , segregation." - Bickford

The manifestation of segregation, as noted in "ghettos" and "CID's" by Bickford, is a result of cultural and social viewpoints. In my opinion, segregation is not "constructed" or derived from our built environment, rather our built environment is constructed to serve the purposes of the culture it houses.

The rich build to keep the poor from taking what they have: greed. Social inequality is seen everywhere in our society and it's polity. The point that it exists within the notion of public spaces cannot be denied and this discussion serves to bring attention to those built inequalities, but thus far Bickford implies that architecture is one of the causes of such segregation. I would argue that this is not true. While I do not have the data and research to back such a counterpoint at this time, I still believe it to be closer to the truth.

In my experience, daily practice of architecture is reactive to the needs and desires of the client; it is not the proactive force that we would like to believe. Could it have this power? Possibly. It has in the past. But the daily practice of our profession does not embody this power or thought process on any level other than a contrived notion to justify someone's creative desire. However, I do believe that the built envirnoment can do just what Bickford suggests, but I do not believe that the majority of the profession embraces this notion. There are individuals and groups of individuals that take architecture to this level of social/cultural/economic responsiblity.

~R

As a side note, I found the beginning of Bickford's discussion disturbing and difficult to relate to given that I am a middle class white suburban male. I have a tendency to focus on the specific items in a discussion and understanding the overall message is sometimes a difficult task. In the end I agree with the authors viewpoint. I just do not agree with some of the specific arguements she uses.

edit 1.04.2007