Friday, August 23, 2019
Fake "protection"
TAC still has some pretty good articles on urban planning along with the newer Sorosian crap. This article gives the history of college dormitories, which isn't really as surprising as the headline says.
Dorms were supposed to protect students from the corrupting influence of town life. They were especially meant to protect the girls.
Phillips in Enid was a small Christian college, advertising itself as a refuge from big-city iniquity. The campus was a perfect example of the alleged intention and the real-life failure.
Since I'm in blinkyGIF mode this week, here's another one.
The classroom buildings are at the north of this view. Phillips was just four square blocks containing about six main buildings. Nice compact campus, not much walking needed.
The boys dorm (lower right) was right across the street from campus (blue path), and it was a typical one-story '50s school building. From the nearest classroom to a dorm room was about one block of flat walking.
The girls dorm (lower left) was an old three-story brick building without an elevator. It was "protected" from the boys by the valley, which is a lot deeper than this view shows. The main route (orange path) went south on a rutted gravel road past the college maintenance department, then down a steep unlighted hill to the narrow bridge across the creek, then up the same hill to the dorm. The alternate path (purple) was better lit but equally hilly. You walked two blocks west DOWNhill along Maine, passed a car repair shop and a sleazy no-tell mo-tell, then turned steeply UPhill on 19th, east on Cherokee, south on Lakeview, and finally into the dorm.
Distance wasn't the problem; big campuses require all students to walk vastly longer distances. The fake "protection" was the problem. Boys could get to campus without ever leaving lighted and safe areas. Girls had to pass through an unsafe area day or night.
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City planners always believe that public parks and greenbelts are good for safety and health. Lethally false. In Spokane the planners gave us the long Centennial Trail, allegedly ideal for walkers. It's also ideal for muggers and rapists, who can hide in the bushes and watch the steady flow of traffic for a likely victim.
Walking on ordinary streets is safer for the walker, and ALSO helps to keep the neighborhood safe. Walkers who are IN THEIR OWN TERRITORY are quick to detect suspicious situations, and muggers can't find a secure hiding place on private property next to an occupied house.
The classroom buildings are at the north of this view. Phillips was just four square blocks containing about six main buildings. Nice compact campus, not much walking needed.
The boys dorm (lower right) was right across the street from campus (blue path), and it was a typical one-story '50s school building. From the nearest classroom to a dorm room was about one block of flat walking.
The girls dorm (lower left) was an old three-story brick building without an elevator. It was "protected" from the boys by the valley, which is a lot deeper than this view shows. The main route (orange path) went south on a rutted gravel road past the college maintenance department, then down a steep unlighted hill to the narrow bridge across the creek, then up the same hill to the dorm. The alternate path (purple) was better lit but equally hilly. You walked two blocks west DOWNhill along Maine, passed a car repair shop and a sleazy no-tell mo-tell, then turned steeply UPhill on 19th, east on Cherokee, south on Lakeview, and finally into the dorm.
Distance wasn't the problem; big campuses require all students to walk vastly longer distances. The fake "protection" was the problem. Boys could get to campus without ever leaving lighted and safe areas. Girls had to pass through an unsafe area day or night.
= = = = =
City planners always believe that public parks and greenbelts are good for safety and health. Lethally false. In Spokane the planners gave us the long Centennial Trail, allegedly ideal for walkers. It's also ideal for muggers and rapists, who can hide in the bushes and watch the steady flow of traffic for a likely victim.
Walking on ordinary streets is safer for the walker, and ALSO helps to keep the neighborhood safe. Walkers who are IN THEIR OWN TERRITORY are quick to detect suspicious situations, and muggers can't find a secure hiding place on private property next to an occupied house.Labels: defensible spaces, Heimatkunde
¶ 5:36 AM
