Crime has been one the primary forces shaping American cities over the last several decades. The most recent trend in urban developement has been towards private communities with fenced perimeters and supervised entrance gates. All the streets, sidewalks, and parks within these communities are private.
Edward J. Blakely of USC and Mary Gail Snyder of UC-Berkeley recently published an article called "Fortress Communities: The Walling and Gating of American Suburbs." In the article, they describe "security zone" communities where residents are concerned above all with personal safety, protection of physical property and maintenance of real estate values.
In contrast to "fortress communities" are "livable communities." Livable communities resemble traditional American towns and neighborhoods. They feature quaint tree-lined streets, corner stores, a variety of housing types, and a retail/business center that is is easy to walk to and is served by mass transit.
Many people, including urban planner Peter Calthorpe and archetect Andres Duany are working to revive the popularity of livable communities. They are actively promoting and building so called "new-town" communities around the U.S. such as Kentlands in Gaithersburg MD (See the May 15th, 1995 cover story of Newsweek).
While "livable communities" have a lot of advantages, it is extremely unlikely that Americans will return in significant numbers to these quaint communities of yesteryear until the issue of crime has been effectively addressed. Afterall, new-town or livable communities are essentially the same kind of communities that Americans fled from in droves during the crime epedemics of the 60s and 70s.
Until crime is brought under control and reduced to pre-1960s levels, Americans will continue to choose communities that feature guards, gates and isolation from the rest of society. The proliferation of fortress communities throughout our nation is a direct result of the breakdown of our criminal justice system.
