The Formula for Homogeneous Space Making
As the research progressed I also had to create the space for “unlearning”practices that have continued to perpetuate injustice and inequality in public space
I first want to acknowledge the design myth of public space being universal and common to all of us. It is not - common space, it is not designed for people of color and these truths can be traced back to Lockean theories of labor and who in the American context could own land - an essential ingredient for space making, and who themselves were considered part of the land and incapable of making space for themselves
This is not new to america, from our romanticization of the wild lands ripe for the conquering, lands which were stolen and remain stolen to this day, to public space policies such as loitering laws that define how and whom should be using open space, to the heart breaking 400 yrs of oppression and injustice many black and brown bodies face in public space.
No Landscape is not neutral - rather it’s the most poignant expression of power in america.
This has led us to what I in simple terms have defined as the formula for homogeneous space making. It often starts with institutionalized or structural power in the form of firm structures, or oversight government agencies that define and enforce how public space is shaped - from standardization of pavement types, to ADA regulations that determine how one is to move through space - or protocols and requirements that determine who is deemed capable of defining space.
To the design process and education that prioritized euro-eccentric and Anglo principles of landscape architecture. Stripping their students of their lived experiences in order to be re-educated under an Anglo lens. To design and construction, because regardless of intent for good - our need for perfection, for the safely, welfare and health of communities, begs the question whom is safety, health and welfare for? When we build skate deterrents and center armrest, to deter skateboarders and the homeless - we design for an exclusion often Anglo community and not for the other. They led to spaces that are uncomfortable and unsafe for people not conforming to Anglo precepts of space.
