When we hear the word “segregation”, we immediately think black and white segregation in America during the early 1900’s. However, segregation has existed in the human race since history can remember. The earliest form of segregation that I can think of right now was social class segregation. In ancient times, rich kings would segregate themselves from the poor citizens and the separation of both groups was obvious. Modern time segregation as we all know it is race segregation. According to history, this was determined to be illegal in the United States during the 1960’s; we all know that race segregation still exist in many forms. Race segregation is the united states can be seen in restaurants, stores, economic status, education opportunities, and in many other different ways. After reading Sarah Schindler’s piece, “Architectural Exclusion: Discrimination and Segregation Through Physical Design of the Built Environment”, I now know that architectural segregation is a huge form of segregation that we did not even know existed. In Part one of Schindler’s piece, she exposes all of her theories that she has for architecture separate people from one another. “Social norms encouraged some to threaten undesirable persons with violence if they were to enter or remain in certain spaces. And cities were constructed in ways—including by erecting physical barriers—that made it very difficult for people from one side of town to access the other side.” (Part 1, Schindler) In gated communities, people who are not part of that community might be received violently by the residents, the police, and if the community has one, the community watch person. The people who are in charge on how a new building is going to be constructed design that building in way that only a targeted group of people can access said building. Take for example Lenox Square, this is a well know shopping mall in Buckhead, Georgia. Since its creation, this shopping mall was intended for white upper class people only. However, in 2016, a large verity of people goes to that mall; some people do not like that. I was directed racial slurs once by a white female shopper at Lenox, so this is evidence that the intended shoppers for that mall once again are white upper class people. The Lenox mall is just one example to architectural segregation but bridges, walls, and even benches in parks have segregation meaning behind it as Schindler states in her piece. “Although regulation through architecture is just as powerful as law, it is less identifiable and less visible to courts, legislators, and potential plaintiffs.” (Part 2, Schindler) Laws are very important in all of the countries around the world. They regulate things in that given country and many times the laws are not just. However, the citizens will follow them just so that they don’t have problems with the law. The fact that architecture is as powerful as law is frighten. The buildings that make up our communities regulate our activities, our styles of life, and mostly every aspect of our lives. The exclusion that is done is so common that people do not take the time to analyze it and do something to end architectural exclusion.

http://www.yalelawjournal.org/article/architectural-exclusion