rural idiocy

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Wed May 6 12:45:35 PDT 1998


At 01:16 PM 5/6/98 -0400, Rosser Jr, John Barkley wrote:
> It should be kept in mind (if somebody hasn't already
>pointed it out) that the model of "rich in the suburbs,
>poor in the central cities" is largely a
>US/Canada/Australia/New Zealand model. In most of Europe,
>Asia, Africa, and Latin America it is the other way around,
>with the poor in "working class suburbs" or shantytowns,
>with the rich in long-established downtown neighborhoods
>(or way out in the much farther out countryside).

-- snip ---

Barkley:

Your observation is correct, however, it does not mean that US and Europe simply swap places where haves and have nots live. Urban space is much much more than a residential area for rich or poor. It is, above all, the public space open to everyone -- by contrast to the private space in the suburban shopping malls where you can be denied access if the owners do not like your appearance. The destruction of the cities means much more than rich and poor swapping places -- it means the destruction of the public space.

In the French film "Hate" the plot takes place in downtown Paris where three "suburban" characters: a Jew, and Arab, and a Black (all three immigrants) wander looking for a cop to kill in revenge for the death of their friend. I am afraid the film's plot would be awfully unrealistic in the US -- if the charcaters shown in the film showed up in a 'town center' (an euphemism for a suburban shopping mall) around Washington DC or Baltimore, private security guards would simply asked them to leave. And they would have every right to do so, beacuse malls are private property.

One of the most paradoxical things when I talk to a Homo Americanus Suburbanicus is that most of them hate New York City (which I happen to love). If I ask why, they cite crime. The fact is, however, that based on crime rate statistics, NYC is probably the safest of all big cities in the US. So what it really is that the Homo Americanus Suburbanicus hates?

My guess is -- the public space that NYC offers. Most of the US cities are hollow like donuts, urban wasteland in the middle surrounded by suburbs with private malls, private spaces, and private security guards. New York (and perhaps even more so Boston) are different -- they offer a viable public space where everyone can walk, shop, hang out, hand out flyers, sing, perform, demonstrate and, as Doug correctly observed, encounter people different than oneself -- a big big scare for the Homo Americanus Suburbanicus.

So it much more than mere location, it is public space that is at stake here.

Regards,

Wojtek Sokolowski



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