1st Edition
Indefensible Space The Architecture of the National Insecurity State
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
1. Homelands on the Range Trevor Boddy 2. Military Operations on Urban Territory Christine Boyer 3. Border Urbanisms, Chronicles from the Edge Teddy Cruz 4. A Short History of the Car Bomb Mike Davis 5. Life Support Nan Ellin 6. The American Empire and Imperial Might Mark Gillem 7. Target Revisited: From Rodney King to Abu Ghraib Ruth Wilson Gilmore 8. The Unfolding Regime of Surveillance and Youth Culture Cindi Katz 9. Global Transparencies Laura Kurgan 10. Blank Slates and Disaster Zones: The State, September 11th and the Displacement of Chinatown Laura Y. Liu 11. The New Emotions of Home: Fear, Insecurity, and Paranoia Setha Low 12. Staged Authenticity Today Dean MacCannell 13. Back to Zero Michael Sorkin 14. Seeing through Walls Eyal Weizman
Biography
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.
