Wall and Tower – our very own gated community

Examples abound of communal habitations that arose from the basic human need of security.

Upon visiting the opening of Mur i Wieża (Wall and Tower) by Yael Bartana in Amsterdam, I found it impossible to ignore the link between Bartana’s reinterpretation of the Jewish "Homa ve Migdal" settlement in Poland with its obvious association to the Israeli post-1967 settlement, and the world-famous form of residence known as the gated community. Comparisons have been made between the Wall and Tower settlements that were founded in Palestine in the 1930’s and their more sinister descendants. But looking more closely at all three types of exclusive enclosures raises some interesting issues that most of us planners feel strongly about but do not expressly mention. Here are some points in brief:

1) Typology There’s nothing astonishing about the local-global strategy of establishing an enclave. More interesting, or sobering if you will, is the fact that the building typologies of gated perimeters the world over are no less than Israeli history repeating. In this day and age, when high-technology is harnessed by security experts, the wall, gate and tower still combine to offer the most comforting image of a place free of outside threats, an ideal home. Insiders are distinguished by their common identity. Outsiders are the subject of the guard’s gaze.

reconstruction of Wall and Tower (Homa ve-Migdal) settlement, Negba, IL

MathKnight & Zachi Evenor

Lighthouse tower at Lavigna community, Santa Maria gated community, CA

Vandenberg AFB Homes Blog

Some ‘security villages’, or gated communities in South Africa, use a mode of initial development closely resembling that of the Wall and Tower - staking out a large land claim, building a high wall surrounding the entire zone, then gradually adding roads, dwellings and other infrastructure.

2) Narrative The settlement and gated community strive to nourish and foster a sense of pride and prestige – be it for the national cause or as a result of one’s socio-economical status. The mode of communicating or marketing this old/new lifestyle is by names and allegories that draw on a common, easily-recognizable heritage. Nature and History equals Romance. Think of the parallels in the names of some of the newer Israeli settlements and the names of their capitalist counterparts all over the English-speaking world: Alon Shvut (Oak of Return) vs. Oakdale, Nof Harim (Mountain View) vs. Ridgeview, Mitzpe Keramim (Vineyard Vantage Point or Settlement) vs. Carmel, and Derekh Ha’avot (Path of the Fathers) vs. Kingswood.

3) Territorial consequences Well, the comparison usually ends at this point - the settlements redefine territorial and political borders by pushing the perimeter. Though many gated communities are also located at the urban periphery, this form of habitation is usually represents a means of quiet withdrawal. Their main territorial effect is the added network of roads, infrastructure and suburban sprawl that follows in their wake.

4) Irregular Both settlement and gated community, whether past or present models, offer “a strategy for organizing private infrastructure and services in situations where the state cannot provide them” (Monterescu). In Israel this is usually associated with far-off locations where populations feel threatened and need to fend for themselves. Enter the gated project of the Andromeda Hill residence in Old Jaffa, aka the alliance of private real-estate market with ethnocentric planning. Alas for the Wall and Tower of old!

References:

Bartana, Yael Building Memory: Mur i Wieża

Blank, Yishai The Gated Community as a Private City: Fragmentation of Public Space in Israel

Grant, Jill Challenging the public realm: gated communities in history

Monterescu, Daniel To Buy or Not to Be: Trespassing the Gated Community

www.andromeda.co.il/project.html

wikipedia: gated communities