Landscape Taste as a Symbol of Group Identity

The landscape taste writing is strong evidence of the socio economic groups of past and today’s societies. Duncan’s writing is a perfect example of segregation without physical barriers. In this case segregation is not viewed as ethnic, but rather of financial status, therefore establishing social boundaries - social boundaries that could only be penetrated through filtering levels of acceptance. Both, the Alpha and Beta create their own interpretation of “Utopia”, these utopias established rules their societies follow, similar to what we see today in Planned Unit and Common interest developments known as “Associations”.

The analogy to the Associations is not to define color or regulations for the Architecture per se, but to make reference and comparison do’s and don’ts - who lives here and who doesn’t. I remember when we bought our first home in a PUD; we had to have a credit check to see if we were able to afford the association’s fee!, work information to see our stability, and also a background check to see if had any previous problems with the law.

The similarity between Duncan’s and Bickford’s writing about what is considered the outside vs. the inside is exposure to the unexpected, seen from each group as the exposure outside their Utopias and a different democratic citizenship. Their reactions to each other’s social networks are comparable to oil and water. Who is to say what is correct?

How would each of these societies treat the laborers, the person with the minimum wage or food stamps? They will probably be more acceptable to each other if there is a third element introduced (the less fortunate).

The Abject or less fortunate is a term commonly used for people who are of low income and of less opportunity. That label creates a level of guilt, but why should we feel guilt or remorse towards this group of individuals? Some of them have chosen to be part of that society. As people on past posts have mentioned, I would feel vulnerable in their Dystopias.

Who controls the political decisions of the town at the Village Hall if Government is a single entity for both? The Alpha’s or the Beta’s? Who should look after our rules and regulations of our Utopias, Republicans or Democrats? Ralph Nader? Working in Architecture for the publicly funded projects vs. the private sector is also a good example to where we belong. Who do we want to be as Architects or Planners?

A few years ago I worked in Architectural practices that catered to the Government projects (Airports, schools, etc). They were very exciting projects and made me feel I was contributing to the society where the project was located. But frustration set in when politics got involved and projects were canceled from one day to the other. I always felt it was such a waste of tax payers’ money. Since then I moved to work for the private sector where I see more fruition to Architecture.

That said, since my job is involved with multi-family residential, we still experience a form of Government. I frequently attend public zoning hearings and meetings with the planning and zoning department for project approval.

As I meet with planning and zoning departments, social networks come into play. Immediate neighbors to the projects have a saying on what should be built or not. “Neighborhood compatibility” does not necessarily define a style of Architecture, but if you try to place a contemporary building on a street where the Spanish revival predominates, then you might as well throw money in the garbage.

As Duncan states “Although the newer buildings are traditional in design, they fail to appear old enough for many residents of the alpha landscape”. This is always frustrating as an Architect. A common term in Florida is Mediterranean Architecture; I always challenge people and ask them to specify which type of Mediterranean. It could be Greek, Moroccan, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, etc. The Real estate market is also affected by the Alpha’s and the Betas. Florida’s real estate market and project sales are by far more solid with the older generation, the baby boomers. A house or condominium building has better chances of selling their property to the affluent than if it was a contemporary structure. The Real estate market argues that this type of Architecture is more secure, that they don’t have to worry about the unexpected. In this case, the unexpected will be, “What if it doesn’t sell because is not traditional?” “Love of the old, no matter how ugly, seems to be characteristic of Yankees as well of Englishmen”, this is something that has been picked up by many other ethnic groups as well.

The Architecture is creating a hostile environment for the development of democratic imagination and participation. As a result, segregation is created. The outside as a dimension of human experience is an extent of our inside behavior and upbringing.

This reading raises a question for me in regards to the location of the Landscape State within our cities. The north vs. the south! In this case, living in New York City and its density. The Alphas will be located on smaller buildings with a larger footprint adjacent to East of Central Park, and the Betas closer to the Hub because they could not afford the less dense structures. If we were to take the same roles and place it in the urban portion of Miami, then the Alphas will be in the more dense building structures to take advantage of the view. The Betas will have to settle for the smaller structures with less density, and for views, you will have to hop in your car and go east.