Vestal talks about the meaning of the Los Angeles fence


Marques Vestal, an assistant professor of urban planning at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Luskin School of Urban Planning, wrote a Los Angeles Times column about the use, meaning, and politics of Los Angeles’ ubiquitous fences. Made of wrought iron, chain link, and the ubiquitous horizontal planks of wood, the so-called “gentrification” fences are also equipped with cameras and serve as literal and actual gatekeepers to Los Angeles’ various enclaves. This simple structure has several functions and meanings, including a perceived need for security and a shift in how we think about our neighbors, neighborhoods, and communities as a whole. “People have been moving into neighborhoods with no expectation that they’ll get along with the people who live there. They buy the land and they fortify it,” Vestal said, explaining the shift toward “inward-looking homeownership.” Vestal also noted the historical role fences have played in the city, citing the proliferation of fences throughout Southern California as attention to crime and gangs increased during the “war on drugs” of the 1970s and 1980s.

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