Carceral Archipelago - Carceral Archipelago

Carceral Archipelago

Gated communities throughout urban areas also exist in a kind of carceral state. Because of the fear of urban crime, these wealthy communities separate themselves through the use of physical barriers such as wrought iron fences and gates. Some communities employ guards that act as a kind of private police force. Gated communities can also refer to poorer inner city areas that have installed barricades and checkpoints to curtail gang violence and drug dealing.

“Gates, fences, and walls are no longer reserved solely for the rich. City neighborhoods, from the wealthiest to the most poverty-stricken, are installing gates and fences, completely closing themselves off. Lower-income neighborhoods that gate are desperate to control crime and regain control of their streets. In public housing projects and very low income neighborhoods, government, police and neighborhood residents are banding together to build systems of fences, gates, and security checkpoints to control gang activity, drug dealing, and other crimes. These gates and walls are more often paid for by the city government or the local housing authority than by the residents, but the initiative can come from either. In any case, these walls differ from those discussed so far in that they are seen by their builders as an exigency rather than an amenity.”

Gated communities that exist scattered throughout the urban landscape turn the modern metropolis into a kind of carceral archipelago, in which the gated communities and defended public spaces exist as perceived “islands of security.” These perceived “islands” are often surrounded by residential areas populated by the lower class. In the book, Fortress America: Gated Communities in the United States, Blakely and Snyder describe the phenomena of the carceral archipelago:

“The drive to redefine territory and protect boundaries is being felt in neighborhoods of all income levels throughout America's cities. Much of the growth in gated communities is not created by developers but by residents of existing neighborhoods who install gates and barricades in an attempt to defend their existing way of life. These are the security zone communities, the closed streets of the city, suburb, and barricade perches. We define this type by the origin of its gates and fences: unlike the lifestyle and prestige communities, where gates are built by the developer, in security zone communities the residents build gates and retrofit their neighborhoods with security mechanisms. In the city and suburb perches, residents turn their neighborhoods into gated communities by closing off all access and sometimes hiring guards.”