Indefensible Space: The Architecture of the National Insecurity State / Edition 1

by Michael Sorkin

Overview

Showing how the upswell of paranoia and growing demand for security in the post-9/11 world has paradoxically created widespread insecurity, these varied essays examine how this anxiety-laden mindset erodes spaces both architectural and personal, encroaching on all aspects of everyday life. Starting from the most literal level—barricades and barriers in front of buildings, beefed up border patrols, gated communities, "safe rooms,"—to more abstract levels—enhanced surveillance at public spaces such as airports, increasing worries about contagion, the psychological predilection for fortified space—the contributors cover the full gamut of securitized public life that is defining the zeitgeist of twenty-first century America

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415953689
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/31/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	418
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michael Sorkin is an architect, professional writer, and professor at City College. He is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, and is generally regarded as one of the most prominent architectural writers in America.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Fear Factor Michael Sorkin 1. Cities and The War on Terror Stephen Graham 2. Empire of the Insensate Steven Flusty 3. Urban Operations and Network Centric Warfare M. Christine Boyer 4. Planet America: Empire’s New Land Grab Mark Gillem 5. Waiting in African Cities AbdouMaliq Simone 6. Border Tours: Strategies of Surveillance, Tactics of Encroachment Teddy Cruz 7. Re-Stating the Obvious Ruth Wilson Gilmore and Craig Gilmore 8. The Threat from Within: Protecting the Indefensible from the Indeterminate Kathi Holt-Diamant 9. Blank Slates and Disaster Zones: The State, September 11, and the Displacement of Chinatown Laura Liu 10. Back to Zero: Mourning in America Michael Sorkin 11. The New Emotions of Home: Fear Insecurity and Paranoia 12. Staged Authenticity Today 13. Architecture Emblematic: Hardened Sites and Softened Symbols 14. Me and my Monkey: What’s Hiding in the Security State Cindi Katz 15. Thanatotactics Eyal Weizman 16. A Short History of the Car Bomb Mike Davis