The Summary of Sarah Schindler’s Article “Architectural Exclusion: Discrimination and Segregation Through Physical Design of the Built Environment

Sarah Schindler’s article focuses on the practice of architectural exclusion. Schindler gives us a brief abstract of what her article was about. She also gives a brief summary about herself.  In the introduction, she mentions Robert Moses as the “Master Builder” of New York. Moses shapes New York’s infrastructure. She also mentions the MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Regional Transit Authority). She states “… opposed efforts to expand MARTA…”. (pg .6)The wealthy opposed it, because they believe it would lead to unwanted crime and violence. She introduces a couple forms of exclusion that wasn’t widely acknowledged. Architectural exclusion was practiced from physical barriers. It was built to control human behavior. It was also built to separate people according to their race and wealth. Because of some architectural barriers, certain groups of people couldn’t get access to different places. She states “Bridges were designed to be so low that buses could not pass under them in order to prevent people of color from accessing a public beach.” (pg.1.Abstract) Schindler’s argument was it should be better legal awareness for discrimination through infrastructure. Public transportation to certain places became limited due to architecture because of discrimination. Discrimination playes a big part in history that caused a lot of controversial.

Part 1 of Schindler’s article focuses on the way the built environment regulates people behavior. She states “…people have used varied methods to exclude undesirable individuals from places where they were not wanted.” (pg.24) She gives an example that Lessig provided. He states “That a highway divides two neighborhoods limits the extent to which the neighborhoods integrate…These constraints function in a way that shapes behavior…”. (pg.50)  Schindler discusses the infrastructure in the design and talks about the symbolic contributors. She mentions the practice and effects of architectural exclusion and of the built environment. She states the built environment does not fit with the definition of regulation.

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“Heaven´s gate, Gehry Buildings, Medienhafen Düsseldorf (series I)”

Part 2 of Schindler’s article mainly focused on examples of where architectural exclusion occurred in the past.She stated “This Part details a number of ways that states and municipalities—through actions by their residents, police force, planning staff, engineers, or local elected officials—have created infrastructure and designed their built environs to restrict passage through and access to other areas of the community. ” (pg. 80)  She mentioned a lot of examples in her article. One example she mentioned was how a physical barrier were used to separate a white neighborhood from a black neighborhood. Another example she mentioned was walled ghettos. Schindler also gave a present day example of architectural exclusion which is transit stops. Schindler stated “The examples of architectural exclusion identified in this Part are concerning in that they reveal a number of underlying problems.” (pg.194)

Schindler, S. (2015, April ). Architectural Exclusion: Discrimination and Segregation Through Physical Design of the Built Environment. Retrieved September 13, 2016, from Yale Law Journal, https://via.hypothes.is/http://www.yalelawjournal.org/article/architectural-exclusion

 

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