Fortification: the next chapter of The Great Wall of Los Angeles

My task for this term’s History M155 (History of Los Angeles) final paper has been to propose a new chapter for The Great Wall of Los Angeles. This chapter, like others that have come before, must represent a historical event, person or phenomenon that has reshaped the city. Drawing on my studies in urban geography, I proposed ‘fortification’. Coined by urban theorist and historian Mike Davis in his polemical 1992 City of Quartz, fortification captures the ‘militarisation of urban space’ in cities like Los Angeles (Davis 1992: 221).

In order to justify my proposal I discussed three processes occurring throughout the city. These were the emergence of gated enclave communities, the securitisation of space, and the use of fortress-like design in Los Angeles architecture. All of these have had a segregating effect in a city which, following civil insurrections such as the Watts Riots of 1965 and the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, no longer appears to encourage the mingling of people in public spaces.

This being a history class, I was required to use primary sources to reinforce my argument. The three sources I chose were an article published in a 1991 issue of the Los Angeles Times (McMillan 1991), the classifieds section of a 1990 issue of the Los Angeles Times (1990), and a photograph taken by Diego Cardoso (1992: 241).

The first of these sources helped to explain how and why gated enclave communities have emerged. It describes the $250,000 installation of eight electronic gates in Whitely Heights, thus demonstrating how neighbourhoods play an active role in sealing themselves off from the rest of the city. The action was justified by residents as a means of controlling ‘crime and traffic’ coming from the nearby Hollywood Bowl area. Leading to a 20% increase in property prices, the article also highlights how gates are more than a physical barrier as they keep lower income residents out.

I used the ‘classifieds’ section of the Los Angeles Times to show how, in 1990, spaces were becoming increasingly fortified through the use of private security services. This particular issue boasts 53 advertisements for private security, more than any other position being promoted in the paper. Beyond the number of advertisements was the impressive variety of services offered, ranging from ‘security guard’ to ‘armoured car crews’ and ‘experienced field supervisor’. Almost all posts offered some sort of ‘armed’ services. This clipping therefore points to the increase in securitisation and thus fortification of public and private space in Los Angeles.

A snippet from the Classifieds section of April 24, 1990 issue of the Los Angeles Times

Finally, a photograph taken by Diego Cardoso illustrates the extent to which architecture in Los Angeles has become a form of fortification. With Frank Gehry at the forefront of this design revolution, Cardoso’s photograph captures the fortress-like nature of Gehry’s Goldwyn Library. Defensively entitled ‘Dirty Harry’s Library’, the photograph depicts an introverted building with high gates, thick concrete walls and a sunken entrance. This impenetrable and unfriendly facade almost entirely resembles a fortress. This particular site is therefore a demonstrative case of fortification in Los Angeles.

'Dirty Harry's Library' by Diego Cardoso (1992)

There are many other aspects of fortification which, for the sake of brevity, I was unable to describe in this essay. It is also important to note that Davis' is not the only narrative of the city. Many other urban theorists and activists, such as Reyner Banham, have written more positively about Los Angeles' layout and its structures. However Davis' work lends itself well to studies that explore more negative aspects of the city's urban design.

References

Cardoso, D. (1992) ‘Dirty Harry’s Library’ in M. Davis City of Quartz, London: Verso, 241.

Davis, M. (1992) City Of Quartz, London: Verso.

McMillan, P. (1991) ‘Affluent Enclave Will Close Gates on the City Neighborhoods’, Los Angeles Times, February 19, 1991.

Los Angeles Times (1990) ‘Classifieds’, Los Angeles Times, April 24, 1990.

Art Review: The Great Wall of Los Angeles

Last week I visited The Great Wall of Los Angeles, formally known as The History of California. Located on the sunken wall of the Los Angeles River in Coldwater Canyon, this 840 meter public art project is one of the longest murals in the world (Rickey 1984). It was coordinated in 1976 by the Social and Public Art Resource Centre and UCLA’s Professor of Chicano Studies Judith Buca.

The Great Wall of Los Angeles

As suggested by the title, the piece illustrates the many chapters of history that have impacted and shaped Los Angeles as we know it today. Some events are local to Los Angeles, for example the 1984 Olympics and the 1962 Watts Riots. Others are national and global phenomena such as the baby boom, the space-race and the birth of rock and roll. However there is a particular focus on points of history affecting ethnic minorities and often repressed communities. Such examples include the 1871 Chinese massacre, the 1930-31 Mexican-American repatriation and the civil rights and gay movements.

The Wall itself is fantastic. While extremely informative, it also beautifully put together with each chapter flowing seamlessly into the next. Though not entirely chronological, it paints a cohesive and and intriguing story of the city’s past. I found this particularly interesting in conjunction with my M155 (History of Los Angeles) class.

The location is also noteworthy. Painted on a section of the Los Angeles River, the mural evokes a major aspect of the city’s past: the water wars of the early 21st century. This episode, leading to the river's creation, enabled the growth of the San Fernando Valley where the Wall is located.

I would deeply recommend the site to anyone visiting or living in Los Angeles.

References

Rickey, C. (1984) ‘The Writing on the Wall’, in J. Quirarte (ed.) Chicano Art History: A Book of Selected Readings, San Antonio: Research Center for the Arts and Humanities, 87-91.

The empowerment of NGOs: Looking at BRAC in Bangladesh for Geography 141

My final paper for Geography 141 (Uneven Development Geographies: Prosperity and Impoverishment in Third World) gave students great flexibility with their topic choice. This offered me the chance to build on something I had looked at briefly in last year’s GEOG2014 class at UCL. Using the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) as an example, I chose to examine how NGOs in Bangladesh have gained considerable power at the expense of government in the past few decades.

My findings suggested that NGOs like BRAC are taking power from government through both local and global forces.

Locally, BRAC has become empowered through its relationship with Bangladeshi people. This has occurred due to its involvement in healthcare, education and other service-based programmes. As a result many people have become directly involved with the NGO. It now has over 3 million members from over 15,000 villages (Newnham 2000). This extensive relationship with Bangladeshi people has given BRAC a far greater public image than state agencies, prescribing them more power over local political and social issues.

Globally NGOs such as BRAC have achieved increased power through two main streams. The first of these is the ‘new policy agenda'. Dictated by the doctrines of the Washington Consensus, this encourages a withdrawal of the state and a consequent increase in power and autonomy held by NGOs and private enterprises. The second is the increased support BRAC and other NGOs receive from development agencies and donors who see them as a more effective form of development and democratisation than governments.

The impacts of this empowerment on development have been felt on a local and global scale. Locally it allows NGOs such as BRAC to expand their operations and to act under their own terms. This has allowed BRAC to efficiently train over 130,000 farmers to use modern agricultural techniques, provide over 12,000 people with legal and human rights information, and to establish over 300 new schools across the country (BRAC 2015: 12-15). Globally, increased power and autonomy has allowed BRAC to expand its development agenda to other countries including Sri Lanka, Haiti and Afghanistan. BRAC’s empowerment and a greater global image has also led to it being used as a template by other NGOs around the world with similar aims.

This was a great opportunity to independently research something that has always interested me. It has also challenged my views of both NGOs and the development industry as a whole.

References

BRAC (2015) ‘BRAC Annual Report’ (WWW), BRAC (http://brac.net/sites/default/files/ar2014/BRAC-annual-report-14.pdf, 29 February 2016).

Newnham, J. (2000) ‘The BRAC Poultry Programme in Bangladesh: A Performance Measurement Framework.’ Paper presented at the International Conference on Business Services for Small Enterprises in Asia, 3-6 April, Hanoi.

Wildflower Bloom: El Niño brings life to Death Valley

Wildflower 'superbloom' in Death Valley

I recently wrote about how UCLA is not only a brilliant place to study Geography, but is also located in fabulous region to study the geography of. Having learned about the marine layer in my EPS 9 class, I was thrilled to wake up one morning and experience the weather event firsthand. Another such phenomenon I have been fortunate enough to witness while studying in Southern California has been the El Niño Southern Oscillation.

Occurring roughly every two to seven years, El Niño is characterised by abnormal weather conditions. These include increased temperatures and rainfall on both coasts of the Pacific, alongside other unusual weather events around the world. This is caused by prolonged heating of the central and east-central band of the Pacific Ocean which replaces the cool surface waters of the Humboldt Current. Arguably as a result of climate change, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA 2016) has reported the current El Niño episode as being the strongest in history.

El Niño weather conditions are known for having severe impacts on agriculture and health, especially in developing countries in Central and South America. Thus a stronger episode will likely have a harsh outcome for many. However in Southern California a silver lining has appeared in El Niño's thick clouds: an unprecedented amount of unseasonal rainfall has caused a rare wildflower bloom in Death Valley, covering it's usually barren desert landscape with a glorious sea of glowing yellow.

A 'superbloom' of this scale is exceptional and relies on a selection of rare weather events occurring in perfect conjunction with each other. These include strong desert winds early on to spread the seeds, light winter rainfall to clear a layer of mud and expose them for growth, and heavy spring rainfall to hydrate them and encourage growth. All enabled by the strength of the current El Niño episode, these factors have resulted in a magnificent bloom which has drawn people from across California and even the rest of the US to bear its witness.

Desert Gold (Geraea canescens)

As the current spell of El Niño weather conditions bring life to Death Valley, I am once again reminded of how fortunate I am to study abroad and experience the subjects of my geographical studies first hand.

References

Ashok, K. and T. Yamagata (2009) 'The El Nino with a difference', Nature, 461, 7263: 481-484.

NOAA (2016) 'February 2016 El Niño Update' (WWW), Silver Spring: NOAA (https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/enso/february-2016-el-niño-update-q-a…and-some-thursday-morning-quarterbacking; 7 March 2016).

Learning about and experiencing the marine layer

My EPS 9 (Solar Systems and Planets) class has taken a recent break from astrology to focus on Earth’s atmosphere. In doing so we have looked at the marine layer. This occurs when an air mass forms over the surface of a cool ocean or lake. Because this body of air is higher in density than the warm air above, it becomes trapped below forming a flat layer (NOAA 2011).

This is not a rare phenomenon in Southern California where cool waters moving down from Alaska allow the marine layer to form. Due to a high pressure gradient from desert heating, the marine layer often moves inland engulfing much of the coast in heavy fog.

Last week exactly this happened. For two days Los Angeles became grey and cloudy with poor visibility. While locals find this deeply disturbing, I found it fantastic for two reasons: first it gave us a respite to the glaring sun which has been belching out days with high’s of 27ºC. Secondly because it was very exciting to experience a weather event that, only a few days prior, we had learned about in class.

Un unusual view of UCLA with the marine layer blocking out the Sun

UCLA is not just a brilliant place to study geography; it is also situated in an extraordinarily interesting region to study the geography of, both human and physical. This was one of my key motivations for choosing it as my host university for studying abroad. I am glad that, through my EPS class, I have had yet another chance to engage with my geographical studies first hand.

References

NOAA (2011) ‘The Marine Layer’ (WWW), Silver Spring: NOAA (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/ocean/marine.htm; 26 February 2016).