Indefensible Space

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