When I first commented on the Trayvon Martin murder, I noted that few people emphasized the fact that Martin wasn't murdered in a city like Baltimore, but rather in a gated community. Ironically it's called "The Retreat." A week later, Richard Benjamin examined the siege mentality produced by gated communities in a New York Times op-ed.
Kofi M. Boone is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at North Carolina State University. Below, he goes into a bit more depth.
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Along with the rest of the country I am horrified and outraged by the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, as well as the conspicuously prejudiced (in)action of the Sanford, Florida police department. Beginning with a little reported altercation that occurred on the night of February 26, 2012, and currently a national movement for justice, the Trayvon Martin case has challenged the popular trend in considering the election of Barack Obama as the tipping point in the construction of a "post-racial" America. It turns out that America is not color blind at all just "blind" when considering the lingering effects of race, gender, and class. Especially with regards to the perceived threat of young black men to non-black people when encountered in places where "young black men shouldn't be."
However as a designer and educator I am also struck by the place of Martin's death. I can't help but wonder if and how the environment where this crime occurred impacted the perceptions of Zimmerman that Martin was engaged in suspicious behavior, that in turn led to the lethal encounter. I'm also struck by the "witnesses" that have come forward, piecing together events from non-visual cues: cellphone calls, sounds through walls, glimpses through windows. Surely, crimes and even murders occur in all types of communities, but the juxtaposition of the mounting evidence of wrong doing by Zimmerman with the inability to deliver a clear picture of what actually occurred begs a question; does where this occurred matter??
Trayvon Martin was killed in The Retreat at Twin Lakes, a gated community in Sanford, Florida. I've watched the news coverage of the area for weeks and I'm struck by the many cues in the community layout itself that contribute to a lack of public community life, and possibly to a lack of perceived security. The Retreat is not extraordinary in any way from a design perspective. After penetrating the gate and fence, one travels along streets with chopped up or no sidewalks. There are few trees, benches, lights, or fences. Houses face the streets but they are dominated by large driveways and garage entries. There are front doors and stoops, but they are recessed and lack any connection to the street. Townhomes are close together, but with side yards separating units, which creates no real line demarcating public space from private space; a hallmark of community security. Rear yard space is continuous, lacking any boundaries to separate ones' rearyard from another. I have observed a few people on any sidewalk of street during news coverage; not a child playing in a park, or people using this community for more than their homes.
Place Matters from an Design Perspective: The Retreat and the Trayvon Martin murder (Kofi M Boone) http://t.co/aQwFNmKw
They call anything a community these days.. Maybe the only things that are, are those where you can control who comes in and out – I mean very strictly speaking as in the rules for Augusta, or the Hunger Games for that matter. You need a sponsor.
Funny, If a black youth in a hoodie gets murdered in Brooklyn, it will get blamed on the ruthlessness of the community. But its not over a question of belonging. In this regard, outrage is reflective of a feeling of isolation in upward mobility.
Very insightful and accurate.
The Retreat and the Trayvon Martin murder (Kofi M Boone) http://t.co/sIVARPUd
i found this interesting technique while researching my 2nd home:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suginami,_Tokyo
“To combat burglaries, which reached a record number of 1,710 in 2002,
the ward created an unconventional anti-crime program called Operation
Flower. The ward urged residents to plant flowers facing the street,
with the long-term goal of increasing neighborhood watchfulness
(necessitated by watering and otherwise attending to the plants). In
addition, 9,600 volunteers were recruited for neighborhood safety
patrols, 200 security cameras were placed at crime-vulnerable areas, and
a daily email update was created for residents. Subsequent to the start
of the program, burglaries were down 80% to 390 in 2008.”
BTW, i never heard of a neighborhood watch with just one person doing the patrol and usually they have radios talking to each other and walk in groups.
wise. would never have come up with something like this.
I enjoyed reading your post very much. I am a caucasian female, living in a gated community in the Virgin Islands (where the population is predominately Afro-American). I also serve as head of a neighborhood watch group to an area that has been repeatedly burglarized. The police guides specifically state to watch for activity that is out of the normal. Most of our arrests have come from citizens calling in reports of “the wrong type of person” being in a place they shouldn’t be, with no good reason for being there. Somehow instinct tells you how to recognize the difference between the authentic rastafarian gardener and the random kid, never seen before in the neighborhood, hanging around with a weed wacker that he doesn’t know how to use. What I feel needs changing is this notion by young Afro-American males that dressing like a “gangsta” (aka thug) is cool. Even if the person is not a thug, dressing like one makes society suspicious that he is. The image that is promoted by main stream media and the music industry is appalling. I have to wonder: Had Trayvon been dressed in a polo shirt and khaki’s, looking like Tiger Woods, would this have happened?
Wait. Why is it okay for the CEO of a major corporation to dress like Trayvon was dressed (Mark Zuckerberg), however somehow a teenager has to observe your “polo shirt and khakis” dress code? Please rethink.
From the Archives: The Retreat and the Trayvon Martin murder (Kofi M Boone) http://t.co/tQw61PKp