Wednesday 22 October 2014

Chapter 2: How to Relieve People? -- Elimination of Uncertainty and Fear (Partial)

Believing that those who lives in the city could not be any less familiar with concrete walls, steel structures or fences surrounding every parts of the streets, divides away areas, sets boundaries, creates back alley and forming dark passages. Uncountable architecture and planning of this century are designed upon fear, in order to fulfill human desperation of protection and security. Community in certain places are even accustomed to having security system such as CCTV and alarm installed to feel protected. But truth to be told, we have neither equipped as well as the other technology-driven country does, especially in public spaces that does not belong to any entity, nor armed with strict social security force to ensure public safety at all times. 

City build walls, installs systems, classify zones, tending to provide security to the people, but not entirely successful. Unfortunately, it has instead waken the sense of self-protection of people, being aware to be cautious and attentive being in public spaces, leading to an expansion of uncertainty and tension among community. One of the main factor that generate fear would be the rising numbers of crime around us, that we are uncertain of the possibilities in becoming the victim of the next criminal case. We became skeptical towards strangers, while ourselves are strangers to others, doubtful of the space and surrounding, question the ability of it to protect us. 

American psychologist B.F.Skinner stated that, people's behavior is shaped by the impact given by an environment, that the consequences of an action were more important in shaping behavior than any stimulus that has coincide with it. Thus, the repeatedly happening of crimes that leads to negative consequences has planted a negative-reinforcement to the society, encouraging the user to distrust and shun from others, avoid certain places and became ignorance towards the community within. Over time the neighborhood will fall into decay, no matter how good is the geographical value of the place, insecurity pushes people away.

The very first step to prevent social isolation, is to draw people together in sharing a space, an activity, makes it possible to open up conversation and interaction. Security, as stated in Maslow's hierarchy of human needs, range as second basic needs of being despite physiological necessity such as food and water. But who could keep a place safe? One might be doubtful to depend solely on the police or law enforcement, but we should not be surprise that ourselves, as the users of these spaces, are responsible and capable of ensuring of it's safety. 

People are the eyes of the street, and community are able to form a network of civilization enforcement within a neighborhood, by constantly using space, ensuring of it's livelihood and be involve in the happenings around. (The Death and Life of Great American Cities, 1961) We can't agree more that there is no better control than building network of trust among people, could keep people feeling secure.

By implementing the same ideology of B.F.Skinner, he quoted that " the idea of behaviorism is to eliminate coercion, to apply controls by changing the environment." Architectural planning that causes alienation should no longer be promoted.

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Psychologist Kenneth B. Clark has found out that racial segregation happens to children, that they are taught to form prejudice and racially aware at the age of 3. All of city with diverse racial community happens to encounter with similar issue, we are told to internalize racial attitudes since we are young. But it was not the only influence that causes social separation, we have also comes to encountering social hierarchy classification and social inequality. For instance, the classification of horizontal and vertical social structure has caused an individual to caged between a comparative environment, whether that he is born to be certain social class, or to be classify later of his community based upon capability. 

While society has caused segregation, architecture marks a critical role as a medium in empowering the separation, urging people to maintain within their own social circle, triggering an individual's inferiority towards people or places of a different class. 

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