01_Summary

This article explored the impact of defensive landscape architecture in public space in terms of historical, social and cultural aspects. Given that the basic function of public space should provide an accessible, safe, and inclusive environment for the public including women, children, elderly and people with disabilities. However, the public space is not really open to all public with the increasing privatization and privileging only the interests of middle- to upper-class consumers rather than marginalized users. From the historical perspective, public spaces have not been fully accessible to all public and involved a certain degree of exclusion manifesting the implied social hierarchies. Such exclusion depleted the true diversity of public space and only welcomed tourists or visitors while further marginalized others. This article examined the idea and application of Defensive landscape architecture, which originated from Oscar Newman’s publication of Defensible Space in 1972. Such design involves how to make use of the elements in environments to enhance the sense of security and thus reduce the chance for crime. This defensive environmental design measures have been evolved in response to advanced technology and social dynamics including the application of closed-circuit television, anti-skateboarding devices, homeless deterrent spikes and so on. The article also mentioned the critique on defensive landscape architecture including but not limited to loss of diversity and vibrancy of the public space, stigmatization as well as introducing false sense of security by minimizing the opportunities for unwanted behaviors and crimes in public spaces.

02_Response

In my opinion, I think the real social problem, for example the issue of homelessness, should be directly addressed with the social and housing policies rather than using defensive landscape architecture to eliminate their existence in the vision of public space.  If the city would like to solve the homeless problem, then affordable housing should be greatly developed while the policy of rehabilitation should also be encouraged to assist people in gaining back a normal life with work. However, I partly agree with the intention of defensive environmental design to eliminate the persistent and undesirable behavior to use the public space. Similar to some social norms about how people behave themselves in real life, a bench is designed for the public to be seated to take a rest for a while or an afternoon instead of letting people to sleep for consecutive days and nights. This is one of the example of persistent undesirable behavior because such action excludes other people to use it as common norm allow and depleting the original purpose of the seating. That is why a long-term occupation of a seating is undesirable and thus defensive landscape architecture should work to defense other’s right to use it in a public space.

03_Application

The first image showed a public bench which is made of concrete and composed of a wavy vertical surface and a horizontal surface with egg-crate like undulation. This seating is definitely belong to defensive landscape architecture as the wavy vertical surface is not only to divide the seating area into at least three area for three people to take a seat but also to provide not a really large flat area for people to sleep on. The whole concrete bench at a first glance provides a sense of concrete sculptural form making people to think of it as street art. However, one of the ‘functions’ of the wavy elements is to stop people from sleeping onto the whole bench and thus discouraging homelessness to persistently stay and occupy this seating as bed or refuge area.

Figure 1. physical rejection of the homelessness in public space
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/homelessness-and-the-fierce-hostility-of-the-urban-landscape/
“Homelessness and the Fierce Hostility of the Urban Landscape”

Figure 2
Defensive Landscape Architecture for Dwelling
“House Beautiful 1951, no. 3, p.3”
“A new concept of comfort”

The second image was originally from the magazine ‘The House Beautiful’ showing the primitive form of defensive landscape design, for example, the trees around the house to provide certain protection to the house, while the planting to the south of the house also provide a buffer zone, which is similar to the trough around a typical historical castle. Meanwhile, one of the advantages of the full glazing of the house is to allow residents to look around and see if there are any signs of danger outside the house as well as to stay inside the comfortable and safer area of the house. In other words, defensive landscape architecture is indeed literally a defensive design measures in terms of landscape elements from the historical perspective protecting people from potential threats.