The Evolving Spatial Form of Cities in a Globalising World Economy pot

business-friendly,฀ urban฀ regeneration฀ strategies฀ that฀ curry฀ favour฀ with฀ large-scale฀global฀ corporations฀ by฀ creating฀ cocooned฀ sites฀ of฀ luxury฀ entertainment,฀ shopping฀and฀

The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀ in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy฀

The฀ Democracy฀ and฀ Governance฀ Research฀ Programme฀ of฀ the฀ Human฀ Sciences฀Research฀ Council฀ publishes฀ an฀ Occasional฀ Paper฀ series฀ which฀ is฀ designed฀ to฀ offer฀timely฀contributions฀to฀debates,฀disseminate฀research฀findings฀and฀otherwise฀engage฀with฀the฀broader฀research฀community.฀Authors฀invite฀comments฀and฀responses฀from฀readers

of฀ this฀ particular฀ kind฀ of฀ urbanity,฀ they฀ do฀ constitute฀ its฀ central฀ elements.฀

Concentrating฀ on฀ the฀ extent฀ to฀ which฀ these฀ characteristic฀ features฀ of฀ postmodern฀

‘global฀ cities’฀ paradigm.฀ Scholars฀ operating฀ within฀ this฀ framework฀ have฀ sought฀ to฀

reassess฀ the฀ importance฀ of฀ large฀ metropolises฀ as฀ key฀ command฀ and฀ control฀ centres฀

within฀the฀interlocking฀globalising฀dynamics฀of฀financial฀markets,฀high-level฀producer฀

services฀ industries,฀ corporate฀ headquarters฀ and฀ other฀ associated฀ business-services฀

industries฀ (telecommunications,฀ business฀ conferences,฀ media,฀ design฀ and฀ cultural฀

head฀ offices.2฀ While฀ globalisation฀ has฀ affected฀ all฀ kinds฀ of฀ geographical฀ localities฀in฀ a฀ variety฀ of฀ ways,฀ it฀ assumes฀ particular฀ significance฀ in฀ those฀ key฀ urban฀ centres฀that฀scholars฀have฀labelled฀‘global’฀or฀‘world฀cities’.฀In฀short,฀globalisation฀precedes฀and฀ largely฀ determines฀ urban฀ spatial฀ and฀ sociocultural฀ restructuring,฀ inexorably฀transforming฀emergent฀global฀cities฀by฀disconnecting฀them฀from฀their฀local฀ties.3

In฀ its฀ original฀ formulation,฀ the฀ ‘global฀ cities’฀ thesis฀ laid฀ particular฀ stress฀ on฀ the฀historically฀ specific฀ functions฀ of฀ London,฀ New฀ York฀ and฀ Tokyo฀ at฀ the฀ apex฀ of฀the฀ world-scale฀ urban฀ hierarchy.฀ At฀ the฀ outset,฀ discussion฀ focused฀ on฀ clarifying฀terminological฀ disputes฀ (‘world’฀ versus฀ ‘global’฀ cities),฀ refining฀ initial฀ definitions,฀and฀ postulating฀ about฀ which฀ cities฀ might฀ be฀ included฀ under฀ the฀ rubric฀ of฀ ‘global฀cities’฀and฀what฀criteria฀might฀be฀used฀to฀determine฀their฀rank฀order.฀Over฀time,฀the฀

‘global฀cities’฀debate฀has฀moved฀away฀from฀its฀relatively฀narrow฀focus฀on฀a฀few฀leading฀urban฀centres฀to฀a฀much฀more฀nuanced,฀sophisticated฀and฀broader฀theorisation฀of฀the฀changing฀functions฀of฀cities฀in฀a฀globalising฀world฀economy฀increasingly฀dominated฀by฀informationalised฀economic฀activities฀(Castells฀1996;฀Lo฀&฀Yeung฀1998;฀Marcuse฀

&฀Van฀Kempen฀2000a;฀Sassen฀2000a,฀2000c).฀Taken฀as฀a฀whole,฀the฀‘global฀cities’฀model฀ –฀ with฀ its฀ particular฀ stress฀ on฀ the฀ evolving฀ network฀ of฀ interconnected฀ urban฀centres฀–฀has฀sparked฀a฀great฀deal฀of฀substantive฀research฀that฀has฀greatly฀advanced฀our฀understanding฀of฀the฀place฀and฀function฀of฀certain฀strategically฀located฀cities฀in฀the฀spatial฀geography฀of฀the฀contemporary฀world฀economy.฀By฀situating฀large฀metropolitan฀regions฀ within฀ a฀ common฀ ‘globalising’฀ framework,฀ this฀ approach฀ has฀ opened฀ up฀unique฀possibilities฀for฀fruitful฀comparisons฀that฀promise฀to฀yield฀new฀insights฀into฀the฀changing฀roles฀of฀cities฀in฀the฀contemporary฀world฀economy฀(Abu-Lughod฀1999;฀Abu-Lughod฀2001;฀Nijman฀1997;฀Portes฀&฀Stepick฀1993;฀Sassen฀&฀Portes฀1993)

Nevertheless,฀ despite฀ its฀ considerable฀ strengths฀ as฀ an฀ orienting฀ framework฀for฀ empirically฀ grounded฀ research,฀ the฀ ‘global฀ cities’฀ approach฀ is฀ not฀ without฀ its฀theoretical฀ limitations฀ as฀ an฀ overarching฀ paradigm฀ for฀ studying฀ contemporary฀cities.4฀By฀identifying฀certain฀key฀urban฀centres฀as฀material฀manifestations฀of฀the฀structural฀processes฀of฀globalisation,฀the฀‘global฀cities’฀approach฀has฀incorporated฀a฀certain฀functionalist฀and฀economistic฀bias฀into฀its฀theoretical฀reasoning.5฀This฀way฀of฀thinking฀has฀inadvertently฀contributed฀to฀a฀narrowing฀of฀the฀field฀of฀vision฀for฀urban฀studies.฀By฀analytically฀privileging฀the฀functional฀roles฀and฀specialisations฀of฀large฀metropolitan฀centres฀in฀the฀global฀marketplace,฀and฀by฀categorising฀cities฀into฀a฀ranked฀hierarchy฀roughly฀in฀accordance฀with฀the฀economic฀power฀they฀command,฀

By฀ directing฀ attention฀ primarily฀ to฀ transnational฀ business฀ and฀ financial฀ networks฀that฀link฀leading฀metropolitan฀centres฀in฀a฀global฀hierarchy฀defined฀primarily฀by฀market฀relations,฀the฀‘global฀cities’฀literature฀tends฀to฀downplay฀or฀overlook฀the฀evolving฀spatial฀dynamics฀ of฀ large฀ cities฀ that฀ aspire฀ to฀ ‘world-class’฀ status.฀ In฀ contrast,฀ urban฀ theorists฀such฀as฀David฀Harvey,฀John฀Hannigan,฀Nan฀Ellin,฀Michael฀Dear,฀Steven฀Flusty,฀Diane฀Ghirado,฀Michael฀Sorkin,฀Mike฀Davis,฀Christine฀Boyer,฀Sharon฀Zukin,฀Edward฀Soja,฀Christopher฀Jencks฀and฀many฀others฀have฀focused฀instead฀on฀the฀changing฀morphological฀characteristics฀ of฀ urban฀ landscapes฀ and,฀ in฀ particular,฀ on฀ the฀ use,฀ management฀ and฀regulation฀of฀city฀space฀(Boyer฀1998;฀Davis฀1985;฀Dear฀2000;฀Dear฀&฀Flusty฀1998;฀Ellin฀1996;฀Ghirado฀1991;฀Harvey฀1989;฀Hannigan฀1998;฀Jencks฀1993;฀Soja฀1989;฀Soja฀1992;฀Sorkin฀1992;฀Zukin฀1998).฀In฀looking฀at฀the฀fragmentation฀of฀the฀urban฀realm฀into฀what฀David฀Harvey฀calls฀‘a฀patchwork฀quilt฀of฀islands฀of฀relative฀affluence฀struggling฀to฀secure฀themselves฀in฀a฀sea฀of฀spreading฀decay’฀(Harvey฀2000:฀152),฀these฀scholars฀have฀drawn฀our฀attention฀to฀the฀spatiality฀of฀contemporary฀cities.฀By฀highlighting฀such฀spatial฀features฀as฀

‘edge฀cities’,฀gated฀residential฀communities฀and฀other฀privatopias,฀fortified฀office฀citadels,฀

downtown฀ renaissance฀ zones,฀ festival฀ marketplaces฀ and฀ other฀ enclosed฀ shopping฀ mall฀extravaganzas฀as฀they฀appear฀in฀cities฀around฀the฀world,฀these฀urban฀theorists฀have฀drawn฀our฀attention฀to฀the฀evolving฀patterns฀of฀spatial฀restructuring฀associated฀with฀a฀distinctive฀kind฀of฀polynucleated฀and฀fragmented฀city฀form,฀one฀which฀some฀scholars฀have฀called฀

‘postmodern฀ urbanism’.6฀Unlike฀ the฀ ‘global฀ cities’฀ paradigm฀ that฀ takes฀ urban฀ political฀economy฀as฀its฀point฀of฀departure,฀the฀theorists฀of฀‘postmodern฀urbanism’฀look฀upon฀the฀cityscape฀as฀a฀contested฀terrain,฀where฀spatial฀politics฀involve฀struggles฀over฀the฀use฀of฀urban฀space,฀particularly฀in฀regard฀to฀who฀belongs฀where฀and฀with฀what฀entitlements฀or฀citizenship฀rights฀(Borden,฀Kerr,฀Rendell฀&฀Pivaro฀2001;฀Dovey฀1999;฀Harvey฀2000;฀Holston฀1999;฀Leach฀2002;฀Sandercock฀1998;฀Westwood฀&฀Williams฀1997)

As฀ a฀ distinct฀ urban฀ form,฀ postmodern฀ urbanism฀ expresses฀ the฀ confluence฀ of฀ a฀multiplicity฀ of฀ macrosocial฀ trends,฀ including฀ deindustrialisation฀ of฀ the฀ metropolis฀(where฀post-Fordist฀‘flexible฀specialisation’฀has฀replaced฀Fordist฀mass฀production฀as฀the฀ main฀ engine฀ of฀ economic฀ growth),฀ the฀ widespread฀ middle-class฀ abandonment฀of฀urban฀residence฀coupled฀with฀rapid฀suburban฀sprawl,฀the฀devaluation฀of฀public฀space฀(parks,฀plazas,฀streetscapes,฀sidewalks,฀collective฀modes฀of฀transport฀and฀easily฀accessible฀ places฀ of฀ entertainment),฀ and฀ an฀ awestruck฀ love฀ affair฀ with฀ an฀ ‘inward-looking’฀ architectural฀ style฀ that฀ ‘turns฀ its฀ back฀ on’฀ the฀ surrounding฀ cityscape.฀Driven฀by฀the฀relentless฀pressures฀of฀global฀competition฀in฀all฀its฀guises,฀postmodern฀urbanism฀ conforms฀ to฀ an฀ inner฀ logic฀ of฀ spatial฀ partitioning฀ that฀ privileges฀ and฀rewards฀cityscapes฀that฀insinuate฀themselves฀within฀transnational฀circuits฀of฀finance฀capital.฀In฀aspiring฀to฀achieve฀‘world-class’฀status,฀‘city฀boosters’฀foster฀the฀kinds฀of฀

business-friendly,฀ urban฀ regeneration฀ strategies฀ that฀ curry฀ favour฀ with฀ large-scale฀global฀ corporations฀ by฀ creating฀ cocooned฀ sites฀ of฀ luxury฀ entertainment,฀ shopping฀and฀ leisure,฀ while฀ simultaneously฀ leaving฀ poor฀ and฀ working-class฀ urban฀ residents฀to฀fend฀for฀themselves฀in฀competing฀for฀access฀to฀affordable฀housing,฀to฀dwindling฀public฀space฀and฀to฀privatised฀(‘pay-as-you-go’)฀municipal฀services฀(Connell฀1999;฀Fitzsimons฀1995;฀Kenny฀1995;฀Loukaitou-Sideris฀&฀Banerjee฀1998).฀

Postmodern฀ urbanism฀ represents฀ a฀ distinct฀ phase฀ of฀ urban฀ growth฀ and฀development,฀ one฀ characterised฀ by฀ the฀ shift฀ from฀ what฀ Christine฀ Boyer฀ calls฀ the฀(modernist-inspired)฀ ‘city฀ as฀ panorama’฀ to฀ the฀ ‘city฀ as฀ spectacle’฀ (Boyer฀ 1998).฀ It฀reflects฀ the฀ collapse฀ of฀ confidence฀ in฀ the฀ holistic฀ design฀ of฀ the฀ urban฀ landscape,฀a฀ declining฀ faith฀ in฀ comprehensive฀ urban฀ planning฀ as฀ a฀ panacea฀ for฀ social฀ ills,฀ a฀nostalgic฀fascination฀with฀‘small฀is฀beautiful’,฀a฀turn฀to฀decorative฀pastiche฀(or฀the฀free฀play฀of฀styles฀and฀historicist฀allusions)฀and฀a฀growing฀moral฀panic฀associated฀with฀the฀ fear฀ of฀ crime฀ (Huxtable฀ 1997;฀ Jameson฀ 1991;฀ Judd฀ &฀ Fainstein฀ 1999).฀ New฀kinds฀of฀segregation฀–฀whether฀social฀or฀spatial,฀semiotic฀or฀symbolic฀–฀have฀become฀the฀ visible฀ signs฀ of฀ postmodern฀ urbanism.฀ The฀ main฀ instrument฀ through฀ which฀social฀ and฀ spatial฀ segregation฀ is฀ organised฀ is฀ what฀ Teresa฀ Caldeira฀ calls฀ ‘fortified฀enclaves’,฀and฀the฀principal฀rhetoric฀that฀legitimates฀them฀is฀the฀fear฀of฀crime.฀The฀new฀patterns฀of฀urban฀segregation฀have฀created฀novel฀kinds฀of฀‘social฀space’฀–฀neither฀fully฀public฀nor฀completely฀private฀–฀in฀contemporary฀cities฀around฀the฀world,฀and฀these฀ congregating฀ spaces฀ no฀ longer฀ relate฀ to฀ the฀ modern฀ ideals฀ of฀ commonality฀and฀universality.฀Instead,฀this฀new฀kind฀of฀social฀space฀operates฀on฀the฀principle฀of฀separateness฀and฀assumes฀that฀social฀groups฀should฀live,฀work฀and฀spend฀their฀leisure฀time฀in฀homogenous฀enclaves,฀physically฀isolated฀from฀those฀persons฀perceived฀(and฀stigmatised)฀as฀different,฀threatening฀and฀unwanted฀(Caldeira฀1996b;฀Caldeira฀2000;฀Davis฀1992;฀Merrifield฀&฀Swyngedouw฀1997).฀

Space฀matters:฀post-modern฀urbanism฀and฀

the฀฀‘Los฀Angeles฀school’

The฀urban฀theorist฀Jan฀Nijman฀has฀proposed฀the฀notion฀of฀‘paradigmatic฀city’฀as฀a฀heuristic฀device฀that฀can฀assist฀us฀in฀divining฀future฀trends฀in฀urban฀restructuring.฀The฀ ‘paradigmatic฀ city’฀ may฀ be฀ defined฀ as฀ the฀ exemplary฀ metropolis฀ that฀ displays฀more฀clearly฀than฀other฀urban฀sites฀the฀distinguishing฀features฀and฀general฀trends฀that฀are฀symptomatic฀of฀broader฀sociogeographical฀transformations฀of฀cities฀taking฀place฀on฀a฀world฀scale.฀In฀short,฀it฀anticipates,฀in฀a฀genuinely฀prescient฀way,฀evolving฀and฀

sprawling฀ urban฀ polyglot฀ was฀ not฀ only฀ symptomatic฀ of฀ wider฀ sociogeographical฀

transformations฀ of฀ metropolitan฀ regions฀ throughout฀ the฀ United฀ States,฀ but฀ also฀

a฀ ‘prototype฀ of฀ our฀ urban฀ future’.7฀ Despite฀ their฀ loose฀ affiliations฀ and฀ somewhat฀

differing฀ orientations,฀ these฀ urban฀ theorists฀ became฀ known฀ as฀ the฀ ‘Los฀ Angeles฀

School’฀ (LA฀ School),฀ primarily฀ because฀ the฀ vast฀ urbanising฀ sprawl฀ of฀ southern฀

California฀was฀not฀only฀the฀site฀of฀much฀of฀their฀research฀but฀also฀the฀source฀of฀their฀

inspiration.฀ The฀ scholarly฀ literature฀ clustered฀ around฀ the฀ LA฀ School฀ is฀ filled฀ with฀

allusions฀ to,฀ and฀ suggestions฀ about,฀ the฀ paradigmatic฀ qualities฀ of฀ the฀ Los฀ Angeles฀

megalopolis.8฀ The฀ focal฀ point฀ of฀ the฀ LA฀ School฀ is฀ the฀ two-sided฀ claim฀ that฀ the฀

greater฀ Los฀ Angeles฀ metropolitan฀ region฀ not฀ only฀ is฀ emblematic฀ of฀ more฀ general฀

urban฀dynamics฀that฀are฀currently฀reshaping฀prominent฀cities฀around฀the฀world,฀but฀

also฀ represents฀ the฀ quintessential฀ exemplar฀ of฀ a฀ ‘“mature”฀ postmodern฀ landscape’฀

(Dear฀ 2000;฀ Dear฀ 2001;฀ Scott฀ 2000;฀ Scott฀ &฀ Soja฀ 1996;฀ Soja฀ 1989;฀ Soja฀ 1996;฀

Soja฀ 1999;฀ Soja฀ 2000).฀ By฀ making฀ a฀ strong฀ ‘case฀ for฀ moving฀ Los฀ Angeles฀ from฀ a฀

The฀dangers฀of฀facile฀generalisations฀

Just฀like฀the฀‘global฀cities’฀approach฀(with฀its฀focus฀on฀global฀urban฀hierarchies),฀the฀LA฀School฀–฀with฀its฀stress฀on฀fragmentation฀and฀peripheral฀urbanisation,฀cultural฀hybridisation฀and฀decentred฀suburban฀sprawl฀–฀has฀significantly฀reshaped฀the฀field฀of฀urban฀studies.฀Nevertheless,฀whether฀or฀not฀the฀LA฀School฀offers฀a฀new฀kind฀of฀path฀breaking฀analysis฀for฀studying฀urban฀developments฀around฀the฀world฀has฀been฀the฀subject฀of฀intense฀debate.9฀To฀be฀sure,฀uncritically฀applying฀the฀insights฀derived฀from฀the฀LA฀School฀and฀postmodern฀urbanism฀to฀all฀cities฀around฀the฀world฀may฀be฀not฀only฀overextending฀what฀this฀conceptual฀framework฀can฀reasonably฀be฀expected฀to฀account฀for,฀but฀also฀unnecessarily฀conflating฀divergent฀processes฀of฀‘city฀building’฀linked฀to฀historically฀specific฀social฀and฀material฀circumstances,฀and฀flattening฀out฀the฀rich฀diversity฀of฀what฀constitutes฀the฀urban฀experience.฀Indeed,฀the฀term฀‘postmodern฀urbanism’฀ has฀ been฀ invoked฀ in฀ analyses฀ of฀ cities฀ that฀ are฀ as฀ radically฀ different฀ as฀Kuala฀Lumpur,฀Las฀Vegas,฀Los฀Angeles,฀Phoenix฀and฀Buenos฀Aires.฀To฀avoid฀such฀homogenising฀tendencies฀that฀collapse฀a฀variety฀of฀heterogeneous฀experiences฀arising฀from฀very฀different฀historical฀processes,฀it฀is฀necessary฀to฀begin฀with฀understanding฀

that฀ the฀ revanchist฀ features฀ of฀ postmodern฀ urbanism฀ are฀ never฀ simply฀ imposed,฀ as฀

part-and-parcel฀ of฀ the฀ current฀ phase฀ of฀ globalisation,฀ on฀ unsuspecting฀ cities฀ ‘from฀above’฀ and฀ ‘from฀ outside’฀ without฀ the฀ active฀ participation฀ of฀ local฀ agents฀ on฀ the฀ground.฀What฀postmodern฀urbanism฀really฀means฀(i.e.฀the฀historically฀specific฀form฀that฀it฀takes฀in฀particular฀cities)฀must฀be฀teased฀out฀on฀the฀basis฀of฀the฀analysis฀of฀specific฀ historical฀ and฀ social฀ circumstances,฀ for฀ ‘city฀ building’฀ is฀ everywhere฀ the฀product฀ of฀ the฀ historically฀ specific฀ intersection฀ of฀ global฀ processes,฀ trends฀ and฀relations฀that฀come฀together฀in฀local฀settings.10

In฀response฀to฀the฀aggrandising,฀universalising฀claims฀that฀the฀urban฀form฀of฀Los฀Angeles฀ is฀ the฀ paradigmatic฀ exemplar฀ of฀ current฀ urban฀ developments฀ around฀ the฀world,฀ numerous฀ urban฀ theorists฀ have฀ cautioned฀ against฀ ‘the฀ dangers฀ of฀ common฀generalisations’฀ or,฀ more฀ precisely,฀ the฀ alluring฀ temptation฀ to฀ adopt฀ uncritically฀the฀model฀of฀‘postmodern฀urbanism’฀as฀the฀template฀with฀which฀to฀assess฀critically฀evolving฀spatial฀forms฀of฀contemporary฀cities฀around฀the฀world.฀These฀scholars฀argue฀persuasively฀ that฀ the฀ causes฀ and฀ spatial฀ consequences฀ of฀ growing฀ urban฀ inequality฀

the฀ tendency฀ in฀ both฀ the฀ ‘global฀ cities’฀ and฀ LA฀ School฀ to฀ let฀ a฀ city฀ (whether฀ it฀ is฀

London,฀ New฀ York,฀ Tokyo฀ or฀ Los฀ Angeles)฀ become฀ a฀ theory฀ (Crang฀ 2001:฀ 665–

669).฀There฀is฀an฀inherent฀danger฀of฀assuming฀uni-directional,฀generic฀patterns฀of฀

urban฀transformation฀from฀such฀‘paradigmatic’฀cities.฀One฀must฀be฀sensitive฀to฀the฀

warning฀that฀‘evocation฀cannot฀always฀be฀a฀substitute฀for฀systematic฀analysis’฀(Amin฀

&฀ Thrift฀ 2002;฀ Thrift฀ 1999).฀ Put฀ in฀ another฀ way,฀ what฀ is฀ needed฀ are฀ not฀

ready-made,฀ deductive฀ urban฀ theories฀ that฀ employ฀ ‘covering฀ laws’฀ to฀ generalise฀ across฀

‘fortified’,฀authoritarian฀or฀revanchist฀urban฀landscapes,฀characterised฀by฀the฀partition฀of฀cities฀into฀gentrified฀‘renaissance฀sites’฀of฀privatised฀luxury,฀on฀the฀one฀hand,฀and฀impoverished฀spaces฀of฀confinement฀where฀the฀poor,฀the฀‘socially฀excluded’,฀and฀the฀homeless฀ are฀ forced฀ to฀ survive,฀ on฀ the฀ other฀ (MacLeod฀ 2002;฀ MacLeod฀ &฀ Ward฀2002;฀ Mitchell฀ 2001;฀ Robins฀ 1993).฀ Neil฀ Smith,฀ for฀ example,฀ goes฀ so฀ far฀ as฀ to฀argue฀that฀the฀gentrification฀of฀urban฀space฀–฀one฀of฀the฀principal฀characteristics฀of฀

revanchist฀urbanism฀–฀‘is฀now฀virtually฀global.฀Its฀evolution฀has฀been฀both฀vertical฀

and฀ lateral’฀ (Smith฀ 2002).฀ The฀ experiences฀ of฀ postmodern฀ urbanism฀ are฀ highly฀varied฀ and฀ unevenly฀ distributed฀ in฀ cities฀ around฀ the฀ world.฀ The฀ spatial฀ dynamics฀associated฀ with฀ postmodern฀ urbanism฀ spring฀ from฀ historically฀ specific฀ situations,฀quite฀ assorted฀ local฀ economies฀ and฀ sociocultural฀ ensembles,฀ and฀ they฀ connect฀ in฀many฀ complicated฀ ways฀ to฀ wider฀ regional฀ and฀ global฀ political฀ economies.฀ The฀important฀point฀here฀is฀the฀rapid฀pace฀of฀the฀evolution฀of฀the฀spatial฀dynamics฀that฀undergird฀postmodern฀urbanism฀as฀initially฀marginal฀features฀of฀the฀urban฀landscape฀and฀ their฀ ongoing฀ transformation฀ into฀ a฀ significant฀ dimension฀ of฀ contemporary฀urbanism฀on฀a฀global฀scale.฀The฀exponential฀expansion฀of฀such฀fortified฀enclaves฀as฀gated฀residential฀communities,฀enclosed฀shopping฀malls,฀cocooned฀office฀complexes฀and฀luxury฀entertainment฀sites฀offers฀a฀globally฀tested฀mechanism฀for฀the฀propertied฀middle฀classes฀to฀insulate฀themselves฀from฀the฀threats฀–฀real฀or฀imagined฀–฀to฀their฀physical฀security฀and฀sense฀of฀well-being.฀This฀kind฀of฀city฀building฀not฀only฀follows฀the฀prescription฀of฀the฀neo-liberal฀vision฀of฀the฀entrepreneurial฀city,฀but฀is฀also฀part-

and-parcel฀ of฀ revanchist฀ urbanism฀ where฀ the฀ defence฀ of฀ life฀ style฀ and฀ privilege฀ is฀

governed฀by฀the฀spatial฀logic฀of฀exclusion,฀intolerance฀and฀insularity฀(Webster฀2001;฀Webster,฀Glasze฀&฀Frantz฀2002).฀The฀referential฀role฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism฀has฀featured฀prominently฀in฀the฀‘city฀building’฀efforts฀of฀aspirant฀world฀class฀cities฀that฀rapidly฀ diffused฀ across฀ the฀ global฀ landscape฀ over฀ the฀ past฀ several฀ decades.฀ What฀needs฀to฀be฀investigated฀is฀how฀ordinary฀cities฀–฀and฀this฀category฀includes฀aspirant฀world-class฀cities,฀‘late฀developing฀cities’,฀postcolonial฀cities฀and฀‘third฀world฀cities’฀–฀adopt,฀borrow,฀pillage,฀incorporate,฀mimic฀and฀flaunt฀the฀characteristic฀features฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism.฀

The฀enchanting฀spell฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism:฀฀Johannesburg฀and฀

the฀practitioners฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism฀has฀been฀confined฀to฀case฀studies฀of฀the฀greater฀Los฀Angeles฀metropolitan฀region,฀and฀there฀are฀few฀studies฀that฀actually฀apply฀its฀ ambitious฀ agenda฀ for฀ research฀ to฀ other฀ urban฀ areas.฀ While฀ some฀ scholars฀ have฀

are฀ shaping,฀ urban฀ landscapes฀ outside฀ the฀ geographical฀ circuits฀ of฀ such฀ ‘globalised฀

cities’฀ as฀ London,฀ New฀ York,฀ Tokyo,฀ Frankfurt,฀ Paris,฀ Berlin,฀ Chicago,฀ and฀ Los฀

Angeles.13฀Looking฀at฀the฀spatial฀dynamics฀of฀two฀aspirant฀world฀class฀cities฀–฀São฀

Paulo฀ and฀ Johannesburg฀ –฀ can฀ help฀ to฀ shed฀ light฀ on฀ the฀ more฀ sinister,฀ dystopian฀

aspects฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism฀as฀they฀evolve฀in฀urban฀social฀orders฀deeply฀divided฀

along฀ class,฀ race,฀ and฀ possibly฀ ethno-religious฀ lines.฀ If฀ Los฀ Angeles฀ represents฀ the฀

paradigmatic฀ exemplar฀ of฀ postmodern฀ urbanism,฀ then฀ the฀ sprawling฀ metropolitan฀

urbanism฀ (Herwitz฀ 1999).฀ Despite฀ their฀ different฀ histories,฀ their฀ dissimilar฀

geographical฀ locations,฀ regional฀ networks฀ and฀ local฀ affiliations,฀ and฀ their฀ peculiar฀

Likewise,฀ São฀ Paulo฀ and฀ Johannesburg฀ have฀ exhibited฀ similar฀ patterns฀ of฀

socioeconomic฀ transformation฀ during฀ the฀ late฀ twentieth฀ century.฀ Once฀ heavily฀

both฀metropolitan฀regions฀have฀undergone฀similar฀processes฀of฀industrial฀restructuring฀which฀have฀resulted฀in฀plant฀closures฀and฀the฀spatial฀dispersal฀of฀manufacturing฀sites,฀the฀haemorrhage฀of฀jobs,฀labour฀redundancies,฀the฀‘informalisation’฀of฀labour฀markets฀and฀the฀steady฀influx฀of฀new฀immigrants.฀Their฀transformation,฀from฀concentrated฀centres฀ of฀ industry฀ and฀ manufacturing฀ into฀ service-oriented฀ sites฀ for฀ business฀ and฀finance,฀represents฀instances฀of฀similar฀processes฀of฀world-historical฀trends฀that฀have฀reshaped฀metropolitan฀regions฀over฀the฀past฀several฀decades.17

Like฀ the฀ view฀ through฀ a฀ kaleidoscope,฀ postmodern฀ urbanism฀ assumes฀ different฀shapes฀and฀hues฀at฀different฀times฀and฀places,฀depending฀on฀the฀angle฀of฀vision฀and฀the฀quality฀of฀light.฀At฀the฀risk฀of฀oversimplification,฀it฀is฀possible฀to฀identify฀five฀key฀features฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism฀that฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀share฀in฀common.฀While฀the฀dynamics฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism฀cannot฀be฀simply฀reduced฀to฀these฀static฀elements,฀they฀nevertheless฀constitute฀its฀core฀elements.฀First,฀like฀other฀large฀cities฀where฀the฀centrifugal฀forces฀of฀decentralisation,฀deindustrialisation฀and฀uncontrolled฀suburban฀sprawl฀have฀reconfigured฀the฀urban฀landscape,฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀have฀ experienced฀ similar฀ patterns฀ of฀ spatial฀ fragmentation฀ and฀ disaggregation,฀ or฀what฀Stephen฀Graham฀has฀called฀the฀‘spectre฀of฀the฀splintering฀metropolis’฀(Graham฀2001:฀365–368).฀In฀a฀full฀reversal฀of฀modernist-inspired฀city฀building,฀this฀process฀of฀ peripheral฀ urbanisation,฀ or฀ the฀ ‘urbanisation฀ of฀ suburbia’,฀ involves฀ the฀ radical฀inversion฀of฀the฀conventional฀relationship฀between฀concentrated฀urban฀core฀and฀low-density฀suburban฀periphery,฀where฀central-place฀functions฀(corporate฀office฀buildings,฀high-end฀shopping฀and฀commerce,฀and฀‘world-class’฀entertainment)฀are฀increasingly฀dispersed฀amongst฀rival฀centres฀(or฀‘edge฀cities’).฀Second,฀the฀build฀environment฀in฀São฀ Paulo฀ and฀ Johannesburg฀ consists฀ of฀ fortified฀ enclaves฀ with฀ distinctive฀ design฀motifs฀that฀reflect฀‘siege฀architecture’.฀An฀erstwhile฀alliance฀of฀builders,฀architects฀and฀property฀ developers฀ have฀ come฀ together฀ to฀ inaugurate฀ new฀ building฀ types:฀ citadel฀office฀ complexes,฀ enclosed฀ shopping฀ malls฀ and฀ security฀ estates฀ scattered฀ across฀ the฀urban฀landscape.฀Third,฀the฀patterns฀of฀urban฀living฀in฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀correspond฀to฀what฀might฀be฀called฀precarious฀urbanisation,฀where฀extreme฀disparities฀in฀wealth฀and฀income,฀class฀polarisation,฀along฀with฀rampant฀crime฀and฀the฀middle-class฀fears฀that฀it฀engenders,฀have฀fostered฀heightened฀anxiety,฀insecurity฀and฀unease.฀

Middle-class฀urban฀residents฀have฀retreated฀en฀masse฀behind฀protective฀security฀barriers฀

of฀all฀kinds.฀Fourth,฀city฀managers,฀urban฀planners฀and฀local฀authorities฀in฀both฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀have฀moved฀away฀from฀the฀modernist฀ideal฀where฀the฀goal฀of฀urban฀planning฀is฀to฀foster฀the฀integration฀of฀the฀functional฀parts฀of฀the฀city฀into฀an฀evolving฀organic฀whole,฀and฀have฀adopted฀instead฀new฀modes฀of฀urban฀governance฀grounded฀in฀the฀principles฀of฀neo-liberalism.฀New฀kinds฀of฀‘privatised฀planning’฀have฀

replaced฀ the฀ grand฀ visionary฀ schemes฀ of฀ high฀ modernism,฀ with฀ their฀ emphasis฀ on฀large-scale฀ urban฀ renewal฀ projects,฀ integrated฀ transportation฀ networks,฀ open฀ spaces฀for฀ social฀ congregation฀ and฀ wide฀ public฀ thoroughfares฀ bisecting฀ the฀ urban฀ grid.฀The฀ spatial฀ dynamics฀ of฀ postmodern฀ urbanism฀ have฀ produced฀ an฀ urban฀ landscape฀carved฀into฀fragments,฀disconnected฀‘micro-worlds’฀cut฀off฀from฀one฀another.฀Under฀the฀ neo-liberal฀ mantra฀ of฀ ‘public-private฀ partnerships’,฀ municipal฀ authorities฀ have฀experimented฀with฀new฀regulatory฀mechanisms฀of฀urban฀governance฀that฀cede฀the฀real฀power฀of฀spatial฀management฀to฀private฀corporate฀entities฀which,฀in฀turn,฀establish฀their฀own฀legally฀sanctioned฀‘rules฀of฀the฀game’฀that฀restrict฀entry฀to฀authorised฀users฀only.฀ The฀ creation฀ of฀ these฀ ‘extra-territorial฀ spaces’฀ that฀ are฀ beyond฀ (and฀ outside)฀public฀jurisdiction,฀management฀and฀control฀only฀contributes฀to฀social฀polarisation,฀segregation฀and฀fragmentation฀of฀urban฀landscapes.฀Fifth,฀city฀managers฀in฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀have฀experimented฀with฀new฀kinds฀of฀urban฀law฀enforcement฀and฀crime฀ prevention฀ that฀ involve฀ a฀ blurring฀ of฀ the฀ conventional฀ boundaries฀ between฀public฀security฀and฀private฀policing.18

Focusing฀on฀each฀of฀these฀characteristic฀features฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism฀in฀greater฀detail฀as฀they฀can฀be฀found฀in฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀enables฀us฀to฀highlight฀the฀ ‘globalising’฀ tendencies฀ of฀ a฀ new฀ kind฀ of฀ urban฀ form฀ that฀ finds฀ expression฀ in฀particular฀cities.฀Investigating฀new฀kinds฀of฀urbanity฀on฀the฀geopolitical฀margins฀of฀the฀ world฀ economy฀ allows฀ us฀ to฀ explore฀ how฀ the฀ spatial฀ dynamics฀ of฀ postmodern฀urbanism฀ both฀ reproduce฀ social฀ inequalities฀ but฀ also฀ legitimate฀ class฀ privilege฀ and฀various฀kinds฀of฀social฀exclusion.฀The฀distinctive฀patterns฀of฀spatial฀segregation฀and฀social฀exclusion฀that฀have฀evolved฀in฀Johannesburg฀and฀São฀Paulo฀do฀not฀make฀these฀city฀ spaces฀ unique,฀ but฀ they฀ do฀ represent฀ exaggerated฀ examples฀ of฀ the฀ dystopian฀dimensions฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism

The฀spectre฀of฀the฀splintering฀metropolis

Albeit฀ in฀ different฀ ways,฀ the฀ historical฀ legacies฀ of฀ their฀ country’s฀ colonial฀ and฀Eurocentric฀ heritage฀ are฀ deeply฀ embedded฀ in฀ the฀ urban฀ landscapes฀ of฀ both฀Johannesburg฀ and฀ São฀ Paulo.19฀ In฀ both฀ places,฀ ‘city฀ building’฀ has฀ long฀ reflected฀the฀ interests฀ and฀ preoccupations฀ of฀ settler฀ elites฀ wanting฀ to฀ inscribe฀ the฀ symbols฀of฀ their฀ accumulated฀ power฀ in฀ the฀ built฀ environment฀ of฀ the฀ urban฀ fabric.฀ City-builders,฀including฀property฀developers,฀real฀estate฀agencies,฀architects฀and฀designers,฀urban฀ planners,฀ civil฀ engineers฀ and฀ municipal฀ authorities฀ in฀ both฀ São฀ Paulo฀ and฀Johannesburg฀ have฀ borrowed,฀ copied฀ and฀ even฀ blatantly฀ plagiarised฀ architectural฀

styles,฀ design฀ features฀ and฀ ideas฀ from฀ leading฀ global฀ cities฀ in฀ Europe฀ and฀ North฀America,฀ imposing฀ these฀ features฀ on฀ their฀ own฀ cityscapes฀ in฀ ways฀ that฀ fit฀ their฀own฀ peculiar฀ needs฀ and฀ idiosyncratic฀ interests.฀ This฀ combination฀ of฀ mimicry,฀appropriation฀and฀adaptation฀has฀produced฀contemporary฀urban฀landscapes฀in฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀that฀display฀remarkably฀similar฀features.20

Unlike฀aspirant฀‘world-class’฀cities฀where฀structural฀or฀administrative฀impediments฀have฀placed฀limits฀on฀uncontrolled฀urban฀sprawl,฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀have฀experienced฀ extensive฀ growth฀ and฀ development฀ where฀ the฀ city฀ boundaries฀ have฀pushed฀ the฀ urban฀ frontier฀ further฀ away฀ from฀ the฀ traditional฀ urban฀ core.฀ Similar฀to฀ such฀ cities฀ as฀ Los฀ Angeles฀ and฀ Las฀ Vegas,฀ the฀ built฀ environment฀ of฀ these฀ two฀sprawling฀megalopolises฀exhibits฀the฀characteristic฀features฀of฀peripheral฀urbanisation,฀exaggerated฀fragmentation฀and฀centreless฀sprawl.฀The฀disjointed,฀patchwork฀pattern฀of฀ new฀ ‘city฀ building’฀ has฀ given฀ rise฀ to฀ what฀ Paul฀ Goldberger฀ has฀ aptly฀ called฀

‘urbanoid฀environments’:฀sealed-off฀private฀locations฀masquerading฀as฀sites฀of฀public฀congregation฀ (Goldberger฀ 1996:฀ 135–147).฀ In฀ both฀ São฀ Paulo฀ and฀ Johannesburg,฀municipal฀authorities,฀urban฀planners฀and฀city฀boosters฀seem฀intent฀on฀mortgaging฀their฀city’s฀future฀as฀a฀‘globally฀competitive฀city’฀with฀advanced฀information฀technology฀and฀financial฀service฀sectors,฀and฀a฀booming฀tourism฀industry฀enhanced฀with฀‘world-class’฀hotels฀and฀convention฀centres.฀Urban฀space฀is฀divided฀between฀such฀fortified฀enclaves฀ as฀ citadel฀ office฀ complexes,฀ gated฀ residential฀ communities,฀ enclosed฀ malls,฀festival฀marketplaces฀and฀other฀themed฀entertainment฀extravaganzas,฀and฀the฀empty฀voids฀that฀separate฀them฀(Hannigan฀1998).฀The฀lucid,฀playful฀qualities฀of฀luxury฀sites฀seem฀consciously฀designed฀to฀close฀off฀the฀gritty฀elements฀of฀city฀life,฀to฀block฀out฀the฀distasteful,฀disreputable฀underside฀of฀urban฀poverty฀(Davis฀1985).฀

is฀ a฀ sprawling฀ megalopolis฀ without฀ clearly฀ recognisable฀ boundaries,฀ a฀ vast฀ and฀decentralised฀conurbation฀on฀the฀boundless฀scale฀of฀Los฀Angeles,฀the฀greater฀New฀York฀metropolitan฀region฀and฀Tokyo.฀With฀a฀bloated฀population฀of฀around฀15฀to฀17฀million฀residents,฀it฀is฀the฀world’s฀third฀largest฀city฀and฀the฀largest฀in฀the฀southern฀hemisphere.฀ Since฀ the฀ 1980s,฀ São฀ Paulo฀ has฀ become฀ increasingly฀ polycentric,฀fragmenting฀ into฀ large,฀ geographically฀ dispersed฀ and฀ relatively฀ autonomous฀ nodal฀points฀ (or฀ clustered฀ activity฀ areas)฀ scattered฀ across฀ the฀ fractured฀ urban฀ landscape.฀The฀ historical฀ urban฀ core฀ has฀ emptied฀ out,฀ and฀ the฀ new฀ centres฀ that฀ have฀ come฀into฀existence฀are฀little฀more฀than฀large฀commercial฀avenues฀with฀few฀public฀parks,฀plazas฀and฀other฀open,฀congregating฀spaces.฀Unlike฀the฀modernist฀planning฀ideas฀that฀framed฀the฀spatial฀landscape฀of฀Brasilia,฀whatever฀efforts฀were฀historically฀directed฀at฀

become฀ the฀ chief฀ point฀ of฀ trans-shipment฀ for฀ the฀ lucrative฀ new฀ cash฀ crop.฀ Profits฀

from฀ the฀ coffee฀ trade฀ were฀ channeled฀ into฀ investments฀ in฀ industry฀ and฀ real฀ estate฀

development,฀ transforming฀ São฀ Paulo฀ overnight฀ into฀ a฀ booming฀ commercial฀ and฀

the฀ late฀ 1950s฀ and฀ early฀ 1960s,฀ under฀ the฀ umbrella฀ of฀ the฀ 1956฀ Plano฀ de฀ Metas฀

(Development฀ Plan),฀ the฀ massive฀ injection฀ of฀ overseas฀ capital,฀ primarily฀ in฀ the฀

southwestern฀ residential฀ zones.฀ In฀ 1929,฀ future฀ Mayor฀ Pretes฀ Maya฀ unveiled฀

his฀ influential฀ Plano฀ de฀ Avenida฀ (Boulevard฀ Plan),฀ an฀ ambitious฀ urban฀ renewal฀

around฀a฀compact฀commercial฀core’฀(James฀1933).฀Large-scale฀demolition฀of฀older฀buildings,฀ redevelopment฀ of฀ overcrowded฀ commercial฀ zones,฀ and฀ the฀ opening฀of฀ major฀ avenues฀ and฀ new฀ transportation฀ lines฀ facilitated฀ the฀ development฀ of฀ a฀burgeoning฀ office฀ and฀ commercial฀ district฀ in฀ the฀ traditional฀ downtown฀ centre.฀The฀imposing฀Martinelli฀building,฀the฀city’s฀first฀genuine฀skyscraper฀located฀in฀the฀traditional฀downtown,฀is฀a฀visible฀expression฀of฀this฀modernist฀impulse฀that฀defined฀city฀building฀until฀the฀1960s.฀In฀outlying฀areas฀serviced฀by฀trains฀and฀streetcars,฀real฀estate฀speculation฀spurred฀new฀residential฀housing฀developments฀in฀what฀amounted฀to฀an฀initial฀suburbanisation฀(Kowarick฀&฀Ant฀1994).

In฀the฀first฀decades฀after฀World฀War฀II,฀São฀Paulo฀experienced฀yet฀another฀round฀of฀spatial฀restructuring,฀triggered฀by฀such฀centrifugal฀forces฀as฀urban฀renewal,฀automobile฀transportation,฀ peripheral฀ industrialisation,฀ retail฀ development฀ and฀ suburbanisation.฀The฀construction฀of฀the฀extensive฀freeway฀and฀subway฀systems฀encourage฀new฀areas฀of฀ peri-urban฀ expansion฀ in฀ peripheral฀ areas฀ beyond฀ the฀ city฀ limits.฀ The฀ fashionable฀

residential฀ district฀ that฀ had฀ developed฀ along฀ the฀ Avenida฀ Paulista฀ in฀ the฀ 1920s฀

succumbed฀to฀urban฀densification,฀as฀mansions฀gave฀way฀to฀office฀buildings฀of฀banks,฀financial฀ services฀ and฀ other฀ businesses.฀ With฀ the฀ development฀ of฀ this฀ new฀ financial฀district,฀the฀central-southwestern฀neighbourhoods฀of฀Jardim฀America,฀Jardim฀Europa฀and฀Jardim฀Paulista฀were฀planned฀as฀modern฀‘garden฀suburbs’฀(Godfrey฀1999).In฀the฀late฀1960s฀and฀early฀1970s,฀the฀city฀once฀again฀experienced฀the฀massive฀influx฀of฀people,฀as฀millions฀of฀internal฀migrants฀drawn฀from฀the฀country’s฀hardscrabble,฀drought-ridden฀northeast฀sought฀a฀better฀life฀in฀the฀rapidly฀industrialising฀southeast.฀Urban฀ planning฀ has฀ been฀ unable฀ to฀ offer฀ any฀ consistent฀ programme฀ to฀ deal฀ with฀explosive฀population฀growth,฀the฀demands฀of฀infrastructural฀improvements฀and฀the฀rapid฀spread฀of฀shantytowns฀on฀the฀city’s฀outskirts,฀particularly฀in฀the฀eastern฀zone฀(Romero฀2000a;฀Schiffer฀2002;฀Wilheim฀1984).฀Over฀the฀past฀several฀decades,฀the฀conjoined฀ processes฀ of฀ economic฀ restructuring,฀ deindustrialisation฀ of฀ the฀ central฀core฀ and฀ spatial฀ decentralisation฀ of฀ residence฀ and฀ commerce฀ have฀ led฀ to฀ an฀ even฀more฀ complex฀ and฀ distorted฀ morphology฀ of฀ the฀ Greater฀ São฀ Paulo฀ metropolitan฀region.฀Once฀the฀industrial฀and฀manufacturing฀heartland฀of฀the฀country,฀São฀Paulo฀has฀experienced฀a฀steady฀flight฀of฀industry,฀first฀to฀the฀industrial฀suburbs,฀then฀to฀a฀broad฀zone฀within฀a฀radius฀of฀at฀least฀180฀from฀the฀central฀downtown฀core,฀and฀now฀ to฀ neighbouring฀ states฀ and฀ regions.฀ The฀ once฀ compact฀ downtown฀ core฀ has฀metamorphosised฀ into฀ two฀ primary฀ nodes:฀ the฀ traditional฀ central฀ business฀ district฀

near฀the฀Praca฀da฀Republica฀and฀the฀new฀financial฀district฀along฀the฀Avenida฀Paulista.฀

Along฀with฀several฀import฀satellite฀zones,฀these฀primary฀nodes฀have฀become฀centres฀not฀ of฀ industry฀ but฀ of฀ high-rise฀ office฀ buildings฀ catering฀ to฀ banking,฀ insurance,฀

Martin฀J฀Murray The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy

finance฀ and฀ producer฀ services,฀ transport฀ and฀ telecommunications,฀ commerce฀ and฀

trade,฀and฀advertising฀with฀a฀distinct฀multinational฀slant.฀In฀a฀trend฀similar฀to฀that฀

in฀North฀America,฀the฀outlying฀affluent฀areas฀have฀increasingly฀attracted฀commerce,฀

retail฀ and฀ leisure฀ activities฀ away฀ from฀ the฀ traditional฀ downtown฀ core.฀ At฀ least฀ 15฀

major฀ shopping฀ malls฀ have฀ been฀ constructed฀ outside฀ the฀ urban฀ core,฀ especially฀

in฀ the฀ prosperous฀ Zona฀ Sul฀ in฀ the฀ southwestern฀ zone,฀ where฀ the฀ most฀ prestigious฀

provided฀ for฀ a฀ relatively฀ fluid฀ transportation฀ system.฀ Yet฀ by฀ the฀ beginning฀ of฀ the฀

twenty-first฀ century,฀ the฀ number฀ of฀ private฀ automobiles฀ has฀ ballooned฀ to฀ roughly฀

5.1฀ million฀ in฀ the฀ Greater฀ São฀ Paulo฀ metropolitan฀ region,฀ with฀ an฀ estimated฀ 600฀

new฀ vehicles฀ added฀ daily,฀ and฀ 180,000฀ ฀ kilometers฀ of฀ streets.฀ If฀ Los฀ Angeles฀ was฀

Paulo฀cannot฀be฀far฀behind.฀The฀lack฀of฀adequate฀investment฀in฀infrastructure฀has฀resulted฀ in฀ daily฀ gridlock฀ and฀ mounting฀ ‘road฀ rage’฀ assaults.฀ For฀ urban฀ residents,฀daily฀commutes฀from฀home฀to฀work฀and฀back฀again฀can฀last฀as฀long฀as฀three฀hours฀each฀trip.฀The฀problem฀is฀not฀one฀of฀vast฀distances,฀but฀agonisingly฀slow฀traffic.฀The฀public฀transportation฀system฀is฀woefully฀inadequate฀to฀cater฀for฀the฀demands฀placed฀on฀it฀to฀carry฀passengers.฀The฀subway฀system฀is฀smaller฀than฀the฀one฀in฀Washington฀DC฀while฀serving฀a฀population฀four฀times฀as฀large.฀2.5฀million฀passengers฀saturate฀its฀three฀lines฀each฀day.฀In฀contrast,฀New฀York฀City฀has฀25฀subway฀lines฀that฀carry฀4.3฀million฀passengers.฀In฀São฀Paulo,฀about฀3.7฀million฀residents฀make฀use฀of฀the฀city฀bus฀system฀each฀day.฀Riding฀the฀city’s฀10,400฀buses฀is฀not฀only฀uncomfortable,฀but฀also฀often฀dangerous,฀because฀of฀the฀high฀risk฀of฀robberies.฀As฀a฀popular฀alternative,฀an฀army฀of฀illicit฀minivans฀transports฀twice฀that฀number฀along฀the฀haphazard฀grid฀of฀city฀streets฀(Agostini฀1999;฀Romero฀1999a;฀Romero฀2000b;฀Rotella฀2001).

its฀declining฀significance฀as฀the฀country’s฀premier฀financial฀and฀business฀centre,฀the฀embattled฀Johannesburg฀urban฀core฀anchors฀a฀geographically฀disfigured฀metropolitan฀region฀ of฀ enormous฀ economic฀ and฀ social฀ contrasts฀ (Beall,฀ Crankshaw฀ &฀ Parnell฀2002;฀ Beavon฀ 1998;฀ Tomlinson,฀ Beauregard,฀ Bremner฀ &฀ Mangcu฀ 2003).฀ The฀spatial฀ morphology฀ of฀ the฀ extended฀ metropolitan฀ region฀ has฀ polarised฀ around฀ two฀compartmentalised฀extremes:฀on฀the฀one฀hand,฀the฀spaces฀of฀affluence฀are฀healthy,฀functional฀and฀largely฀the฀exclusive฀preserve฀of฀the฀white฀upper-฀and฀middle-classes;฀on฀ the฀ other,฀ the฀ overcrowded฀ spaces฀ of฀ confinement฀ are฀ distressed,฀ dysfunctional฀and฀where฀the฀overwhelming฀majority฀of฀black฀urban฀residents฀live฀and฀work.฀The฀most฀ luxurious฀ suburbs฀ on฀ the฀ African฀ continent฀ and฀ downtown฀ skyscrapers฀ of฀glimmering,฀ iridescent฀ modernity฀ coexist฀ with฀ sprawling฀ townships฀ and฀ makeshift฀shantytowns฀of฀intentionally฀degraded฀living฀environments,฀poor฀infrastructure฀and฀anaemic฀social฀amenities฀(Beavon฀1992;฀Mabin฀1995;฀Saff฀1991)

Over฀ the฀ past฀ several฀ decades,฀ two฀ intertwined฀ processes,฀ operating฀ in฀ tandem,฀have฀ restructured฀ the฀ urban฀ field฀ of฀ the฀ sprawling฀ Johannesburg฀ megalopolis.฀ On฀the฀one฀hand,฀the฀spatial฀dispersal,฀fragmentation฀and฀decentralisation฀of฀industrial,฀manufacturing฀and฀commercial฀activities,฀and฀of฀residential฀populations,฀have฀pushed฀the฀ city฀ boundaries฀ outward,฀ engulfing฀ vacant฀ lands฀ and฀ absorbing฀ surrounding฀towns.฀ On฀ the฀ other,฀ the฀ intensive฀ agglomeration฀ of฀ polynucleated฀ clusters฀ of฀corporate฀office฀complexes,฀retail฀shopping฀malls฀and฀leisure฀activities฀along฀the฀outer฀perimeter฀ of฀ the฀ sprawling฀ metropolis฀ has฀ ‘urbanised’฀ the฀ periphery,฀ undercutting฀the฀ once฀ dominant฀ location฀ of฀ the฀ Johannesburg฀ central฀ city.฀ The฀ Johannesburg฀

location฀ of฀ their฀ offices฀ within฀ a฀ sprawling฀ metropolis฀ by฀ minimising฀ the฀ costs฀ of฀

rent,฀ transportation,฀ storage,฀ and฀ other฀ operating฀ expenses฀ and฀ by฀ maximising฀ the฀

commercial฀ and฀ residential฀ development฀ projects฀ on฀ the฀ urban฀ fringe฀ reinforces฀

the฀ existing฀ patterns฀ of฀ racial฀ segregation,฀ separating฀ social฀ groups฀ by฀ visual฀

boundaries,฀ growing฀ distances฀ and฀ such฀ interdictory฀ spatial฀ features฀ as฀ walls,฀ gates฀

and฀ checkpoints.฀ By฀ offering฀ new฀ housing,฀ shopping฀ and฀ other฀ services,฀ which฀ in฀

the฀past฀were฀only฀available฀closer฀to฀the฀city฀centre,฀places฀like฀Sandton,฀Hyde฀Park,฀

Midrand,฀ Sunninghill฀ and฀ Fourways฀ have฀ become฀ paradigmatic฀ exemplars฀ of฀ the฀

urbanisation฀ of฀ suburbia.฀ They฀ have฀ attracted฀ increased฀ concentrations฀ of฀ capital฀

investments,฀ including฀ light฀ industries฀ and฀ small-scale฀ manufacturing฀ operations;฀

headquarter฀ office฀ complexes฀ and฀ shopping฀ centres.฀ The฀ evolving฀ spatial฀ form฀ of฀

these฀ places฀ conforms฀ both฀ to฀ the฀ poetics฀ of฀ postmodern฀ design฀ and฀ the฀ politics฀

and฀economics฀of฀profit-oriented฀development฀decisions.฀The฀visual฀appearance฀of฀

the฀‘urbanising’฀suburban฀zone฀falls฀into฀line฀with฀its฀real฀increase฀in฀significance฀as฀

an฀economic฀powerhouse฀and฀job฀machine฀(Beavon฀1997;฀Bremner฀1999;฀Bremner฀

2002;฀Tomlinson฀1999)

post-modern฀ urbanism฀ promote฀ the฀ steady฀ expansion฀ of฀ social฀ polarisation฀ and฀ spatial฀

fragmentation,฀ or฀ what฀ urban฀ theorists฀ have฀ variously฀ referred฀ to฀ as฀ ‘dual฀ cities’,฀ ‘

but฀also฀transforms฀dwindling฀public฀spaces฀into฀battlegrounds฀where฀the฀urban฀poor฀struggle฀ for฀ dignity฀ and฀ survival.฀ The฀ increasing฀ fortification฀ of฀ the฀ privileged฀ is฀ a฀visible฀ symptom฀ of฀ the฀ intensification฀ of฀ spatial฀ fragmentation฀ and฀ the฀ continuing฀disparities฀ of฀ wealth฀ and฀ income฀ where฀ urban฀ residents฀ are฀ polarised฀ between฀ the฀extremes฀of฀the฀rich฀and฀frightened฀and฀the฀poor฀and฀desperate฀(Ellin฀1997;฀Flusty฀1997;฀Ghirado฀1996).

Along฀ with฀ a฀ great฀ many฀ other฀ conventions฀ of฀ modernist฀ architectural฀ syntax฀and฀ grammar,฀ the฀ postmodern฀ cityscape฀ abolishes฀ the฀ distinction฀ between฀ inside฀and฀ outside,฀ between฀ centre฀ and฀ margin.฀ The฀ haphazard฀ patterns฀ of฀ postmodern฀city฀building฀stand฀in฀stark฀contrast฀to฀the฀modernist฀ideal฀where฀the฀ultimate฀goal฀of฀ urban฀ planning฀ is฀ to฀ foster฀ the฀ integration฀ of฀ functional฀ parts฀ into฀ an฀ evolving฀organic฀ whole.฀ The฀ fortification฀ aesthetic฀ includes฀ not฀ only฀ ‘siege฀ architecture’,฀where฀ protected฀ enclaves฀ are฀ cocooned฀ behind฀ walls,฀ barriers,฀ gates,฀ razor฀ wire,฀electrified฀ fences,฀ burglar฀ alarms,฀ vicious฀ guard฀ dogs,฀ automated฀ metal฀ gates฀ and฀motion-detection฀devices,฀but฀also฀ever-widening฀security฀apparatus฀that฀wraps฀the฀cityscape฀ in฀ an฀ envelope฀ of฀ such฀ anonymous฀ monitoring฀ mechanisms฀ as฀ CCTV฀surveillance฀cameras,฀digitalised฀access฀codes,฀X-ray฀scanners,฀‘neighbourhood฀watch’฀groups฀ and฀ armed฀ security฀ guards฀ (Borden฀ 2000;฀ Davis฀ 1990;฀ Marcuse฀ 1997a).฀In฀ cities฀ like฀ Johannesburg฀ and฀ São฀ Paulo,฀ insular฀ places฀ like฀ enclosed฀ shopping฀malls,฀ festival฀ marketplaces฀ and฀ even฀ gigantic฀ citadel฀ office฀ complexes฀ (with฀ their฀own฀self-contained฀shopping,฀service฀and฀entertainment฀venues)฀have฀become฀what฀amounts฀to฀‘total฀spaces’,฀or฀‘complete฀micro-worlds’฀that฀separate฀themselves฀from฀the฀ surrounding฀ cityscape฀ (Jameson฀ 1991).฀ Despite฀ the฀ claims฀ of฀ urban฀ vibrancy,฀glamour,฀ and฀ luxury,฀ the฀ construction฀ of฀ ‘world-class฀ sites’฀ like฀ upscale฀ malls,฀luxury฀hotels,฀convention฀centres฀and฀shoppertainment฀extravaganzas,฀has฀come฀at฀the฀expense฀of฀excluding฀the฀unwanted฀(Davis฀1992;฀Flusty฀1994;฀Marcuse฀1997a;฀Marcuse฀1997b;฀Marcuse฀1997c)

mismanagement,฀ widespread฀ corruption฀ and฀ the฀ apathy฀ generated฀ by฀ decades฀ of฀haphazard฀growth,฀it฀is฀a฀disorderly฀city฀seemingly฀at฀war฀with฀itself.฀Urban฀residents฀who฀ can฀ afford฀ to฀ do฀ so฀ have฀ fled฀ crowded,฀ chaotic฀ and฀ crime-plagued฀ places฀ in฀the฀ city,฀ and฀ have฀ found฀ refuge฀ in฀ the฀ cocooned฀ social฀ spaces฀ fashioned฀ out฀ of฀fortified฀office฀buildings฀scattered฀across฀the฀fractured฀urban฀landscape,฀or฀in฀gated฀communities,฀enclosed฀shopping฀malls฀and฀well-guarded฀country฀clubs฀on฀the฀peri-urban฀fringe,฀especially฀the฀prosperous฀central-southwestern฀zone฀(Rolnik฀2001).฀In฀contrast,฀the฀poor฀fend฀for฀themselves฀in฀monotonous฀rows฀of฀dilapidated฀high-rise฀

‘growth฀ corridor’฀ connecting฀ São฀ Paulo฀ with฀ Rio฀ de฀ Janeiro฀ (Diniz฀ 1994).฀ These฀

recent฀ arrivals฀ have฀ not฀ only฀ crowded฀ into฀ slum฀ areas฀ close฀ to฀ the฀ central฀ city฀ but฀

also฀ have฀ ringed฀ the฀ outskirts฀ with฀ squatter฀ settlements.฀ City฀ life฀ has฀ long฀ had฀ a฀

strong฀ appeal฀ to฀ the฀ rural฀ poor,฀ whose฀ hopes฀ for฀ socioeconomic฀ survival฀ lay฀ with฀

residents,฀it฀is฀one฀of฀the฀oldest฀gated฀residential฀communities฀in฀Latin฀America฀and฀the฀ largest฀ in฀ São฀ Paulo.฀ It฀ is฀ surrounded฀ by฀ a฀ four-metre฀ high฀ cement฀ wall฀ and฀barbed฀ wire฀ with฀ its฀ own฀ private฀ army฀ of฀ 1,100฀ well-armed฀ security฀ officers฀ who฀screen฀all฀visitors,฀patrol฀the฀streets฀and฀maintain฀constant฀vigilance฀over฀suspicious฀characters.฀ Like฀ the฀ estimated฀ 300฀ other฀ such฀ secured฀ residential฀ estates฀ that฀ have฀proliferated฀ in฀ the฀ urban฀ fringe,฀ Alphaville฀ is฀ truly฀ a฀ futuristic฀ ‘city-within-a-city’,฀offering฀a฀sequestered฀refuge,฀an฀escape฀from฀the฀‘big฀city’฀and฀all฀its฀problems.฀It฀is฀ an฀ enclosed,฀ self-sufficient฀ mini-universe฀ with฀ its฀ own฀ shopping฀ mall,฀ its฀ own฀supermarkets฀and฀its฀own฀recreational฀facilities฀to฀accommodate฀its฀residents.฀Besides฀the฀collective฀security฀provided฀for฀the฀enclosure฀as฀a฀whole,฀most฀homeowners฀have฀hired฀private฀security฀personnel฀to฀guard฀their฀individual฀properties,฀which฀consist฀in฀the฀main฀of฀either฀luxuriously฀equipped฀apartment฀complexes฀or฀exclusive฀homes฀on฀spacious฀lots.฀The฀enclosed฀estate฀has฀three฀helipads฀and฀four฀entrances฀and฀exits;฀all฀monitored฀24฀hours฀a฀day.฀Meticulously฀planned฀as฀a฀suburban฀Valhalla,฀Alphaville฀is฀divided฀into฀distinct฀cells฀or฀specialty฀zones.฀Besides฀residential฀areas,฀the฀complex฀also฀includes฀retail฀trade,฀office฀and฀service฀locations.฀As฀a฀consequence,฀during฀the฀day,฀the฀population฀balloons฀to฀around฀130,000฀people.฀In฀2000,฀there฀were฀more฀than฀1,400฀companies฀with฀office฀or฀commercial฀facilities฀in฀Alphaville,฀along฀with฀several฀huge฀shopping฀centres,฀numerous฀private฀schools,฀a฀private฀university,฀diverse฀leisure฀facilities฀(several฀cinema฀complexes,฀sports฀fields,฀and฀so฀forth)฀and฀a฀luxury฀hotel฀with฀a฀connected฀business฀centre฀and฀retail฀shopping฀venue.฀Alphaville฀offers฀a฀ self-sufficient,฀ segregated฀ luxury฀ housing฀ scheme฀ that฀ combines฀ an฀ ‘innovative’฀lifestyle฀for฀the฀rich฀and฀very฀rich฀along฀with฀convenience฀and฀safety฀(Coy฀&฀Pohler฀2002;฀De฀Lima฀Seabra฀1992).

Alphaville฀ promises฀ its฀ residents฀ a฀ high฀ standard฀ of฀ security฀ in฀ each฀ walled฀residential฀compound฀with฀the฀help฀of฀such฀sophisticated฀security฀systems฀as฀access฀control,฀hidden฀cameras฀and฀private฀guard฀services.฀In฀its฀15฀residential฀areas฀(called฀

residenciais),฀ surveillance฀ cameras฀ mounted฀ at฀ security฀ checkpoints฀ surreptitiously฀

record฀ the฀ movements฀ of฀ all฀ visitors.฀ In฀ the฀ communal฀ areas,฀ children฀ can฀ attend฀well-guarded฀schools฀and฀enjoy฀afternoon฀sports฀on฀fenced-in฀fields฀that฀are฀carefully฀monitored฀by฀private฀security฀guards฀dressed฀in฀military฀style฀black-clad฀uniforms.฀In฀ the฀ evening,฀ on฀ ‘TV฀ Alphaville’฀ (the฀ only฀ Brazilian฀ cable฀ network฀ restricted฀ to฀a฀ private฀ housing฀ project),฀ residents฀ can฀ view฀ their฀ maids฀ leaving฀ the฀ compound฀after฀work,฀when฀all฀exiting฀employees฀are฀physically฀searched฀in฀front฀of฀live฀video฀cameras.฀The฀local฀gym,฀which฀specialises฀in฀self-defence฀classes,฀is฀called฀the฀CIA.฀To฀enter฀the฀local฀shopping฀centre,฀customers฀must฀first฀pass฀through฀a฀guarded฀security฀gate฀(Anonymous฀2001a;฀Carvalho,฀George฀&฀Anthony฀1997;฀Faiola฀2002).฀

Martin฀J฀Murray The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy

classical฀ formulation,฀ Edward฀ Blakely฀ and฀ Mary฀ Gail฀ Snyder฀ distinguish฀ between฀

the฀ doldrums฀ over฀ much฀ of฀ the฀ past฀ decade,฀ developers฀ of฀ residential฀ ‘golf฀ estates’฀

have฀ feverishly฀ pushed฀ ahead฀ with฀ new฀ construction.฀ The฀ steady฀ appreciation฀ of฀

living฀ arrangements฀ –฀ or฀ ‘security฀ parks’,฀ as฀ Derek฀ Hook฀ and฀ Michele฀ Vrdoljak฀

(following฀ Lindsay฀ Bremner)฀ call฀ them฀ –฀ represent฀ the฀ cutting฀ edge฀ of฀ bold,฀ new฀

housing฀ development฀ schemes฀ for฀ the฀ affluent฀ middle฀ classes฀ in฀ the฀ ‘new฀ South฀

Africa’฀ (Bremner฀ 1999;฀ Hook฀ &฀ Vrdoljak฀ 2002).฀ Largely฀ autonomous฀ living฀ zones฀

with฀ restricted฀ access,฀ these฀ secured฀ housing฀ estates฀ combine฀ the฀ luxury฀ amenities฀

of฀a฀fancy฀leisure฀resort฀with฀paramilitary฀surveillance฀and฀top-of-the-line฀protection฀technology,฀and฀they฀seek฀to฀separate฀themselves฀from฀the฀‘dangerous฀city’.฀Without฀a฀doubt,฀fortified฀residential฀estates฀of฀various฀kinds฀have฀proliferated฀on฀the฀fringes฀of฀ contemporary฀ cities฀ across฀ the฀ globe,฀ from฀ Los฀ Angeles฀ to฀ Mexico฀ City,฀ and฀from฀Moscow฀to฀São฀Paulo,฀arising฀in฀tandem฀with฀the฀globalising฀tendency฀toward฀growing฀worldwide฀inequalities฀of฀wealth,฀income฀and฀access฀to฀‘survivalist’฀resources฀(Anonymous฀ 2002a).฀ Yet฀ despite฀ some฀ apparent฀ similarities฀ with฀ gated฀ residential฀communities฀ elsewhere฀ (particularly฀ the฀ United฀ States,฀ Europe฀ and฀ Latin฀ America),฀enclosed฀security฀estates฀in฀the฀northern฀suburbs฀of฀post-apartheid฀Johannesburg฀have฀taken฀the฀emphasis฀on฀luxury฀living฀and฀the฀fixation฀with฀personal฀safety฀to฀an฀almost฀unprecedented฀ scale฀ by฀ world฀ historical฀ standards.฀ These฀ enclosed฀ places฀ typically฀incorporate฀ ‘lifestyle’,฀ ‘prestige’฀ and฀ ‘security฀ zone’฀ components฀ in฀ a฀ single฀ enclosed฀site,฀ thereby฀ creating฀ a฀ new฀ kind฀ of฀ fortified฀ ‘luxury฀ estate’฀ with฀ distinctive฀ South฀African฀characteristics฀(Jurgens฀&฀Gnad฀2002).

With฀the฀proliferation฀of฀gated฀residential฀communities฀on฀the฀urban฀fringe,฀the฀spatial฀logic฀of฀‘separate฀development’฀is฀granted฀a฀new฀lease฀on฀life฀and฀infused฀with฀a฀new฀vitality.฀Security฀estates฀eliminate฀the฀need฀to฀create฀genuine฀public฀spaces,฀or฀to฀enhance฀existing฀ones,฀because฀the฀affluent฀middle฀classes฀are฀content฀to฀retreat฀to฀ their฀ defensible฀ redoubts.฀ Whereas฀ formalised฀ racial฀ segregation฀ is฀ no฀ longer฀enforced฀through฀such฀odious฀instruments฀as฀the฀pass฀laws,฀forced฀removals฀and฀the฀

Group฀ Areas฀ Act,฀ a฀ new฀ kind฀ of฀ ‘separate฀ development’฀ has฀ come฀ into฀ existence฀ in฀

the฀post-urban฀environment฀of฀suburban฀sprawl.฀Instead฀of฀the฀categorical฀privileges฀of฀ race฀ group฀ membership฀ that฀ prevailed฀ under฀ apartheid,฀ rights฀ and฀ entitlements฀in฀the฀‘new฀South฀Africa’฀are฀predicated฀on฀the฀prerogatives฀of฀class.฀Hailed฀as฀the฀sovereignty฀of฀the฀consumer,฀the฀power฀to฀exclude฀falls฀to฀those฀who฀can฀afford฀to฀purchase฀the฀privilege.฀The฀exorbitant฀costs฀of฀home฀ownership฀in฀gated฀residential฀communities฀ensure฀that฀these฀sequestered,฀sanitised฀places฀are฀the฀exclusive฀abode฀of฀only฀the฀high-earning฀upper฀classes฀(Bremner฀1999;฀Jurgens฀&฀Gnad฀2002)

In฀Johannesburg฀after฀apartheid,฀obsession฀with฀security฀and฀privacy฀has฀incited฀design฀ specialists฀ to฀ create฀ what฀ can฀ be฀ called฀ ‘siege฀ architecture’.฀ The฀ newest฀kinds฀ of฀ gated฀ residential฀ communities,฀ high-rise฀ office฀ buildings฀ or฀ apartment฀and฀ condominium฀ complexes,฀ are฀ constructed฀ as฀ fortress-like฀ enclosures฀ that฀ are฀distinguished฀from฀older,฀open-access฀models฀in฀their฀retreat฀from฀the฀surrounding฀urban฀fabric.฀Surrounded฀with฀high฀perimeter฀walls฀and฀accessed฀by฀patrolled฀security฀gates,฀these฀‘luxury฀laagers’฀turn฀their฀backs฀on฀the฀surrounding฀urban฀fabric.฀These฀enclosed฀ neighbourhoods฀ and฀ security฀ villages฀ are฀ exemplary฀ expressions฀ of฀ crime฀prevention฀through฀environmental฀design,฀or฀what฀design฀specialists฀euphemistically฀

Martin฀J฀Murray The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy

refer฀to฀as฀‘target฀hardening’,฀that฀is,฀‘the฀physical฀strengthening฀of฀building฀facades฀

or฀boundary฀walls฀to฀reduce฀the฀attractiveness฀or฀vulnerability฀of฀potential฀targets’.฀

These฀ places฀ resemble฀ islands฀ of฀ homogeneity฀ and฀ wealth฀ set฀ incongruously฀ in฀

a฀ tempestuous฀ sea฀ of฀ diversity฀ and฀ poverty,฀ where฀ the฀ incorporation฀ of฀ various฀

In฀ both฀ these฀ cities,฀ well-to-do฀ urban฀ residents฀ have฀ used฀ mounting฀ anxieties฀

about฀ the฀ disorderly,฀ chaotic฀ city฀ to฀ lend฀ legitimacy฀ to฀ their฀ withdrawal฀ from฀ the฀

conventional฀ public฀ spaces฀ of฀ the฀ urban฀ landscape฀ and฀ their฀ retreat฀ into฀ exclusive,฀

$22,000฀to฀$38,000฀above฀the฀base฀price฀for฀the฀vehicle.26฀In฀exploiting฀the฀real฀fears฀of฀ anxious฀ motorists,฀ automobile฀ manufacturers฀ like฀ Ford฀ Motor฀ Company฀ have฀gone฀into฀business฀with฀leading฀car฀armouring฀firms฀to฀retrofit฀new฀cars฀with฀such฀protective฀ devices฀ as฀ bullet-proof฀ glass,฀ steel-plated฀ door฀ panels,฀ anti-explosive฀ gas฀tanks,฀ police-style฀ sirens,฀ satellite-tracking฀ devices,฀ puncture฀ resistant฀ tyres,฀ metal-encased฀ batteries฀ and฀ walkie-talkie฀ systems.฀ As฀ a฀ reflection฀ of฀ the฀ cars฀ favoured฀ by฀

prosperous฀Paulistanos,฀as฀the฀residents฀of฀São฀Paulo฀are฀known,฀BMWs,฀Mercedes,฀

and฀Jeep฀Cherokees฀are฀the฀most-sought-after฀models฀for฀armouring.฀By฀2000,฀Brazil฀had฀overtaken฀Columbia,฀Mexico฀and฀the฀United฀States฀to฀become฀the฀world’s฀largest฀market฀ for฀ bulletproof฀ cars.฀ Around฀ 3,000฀ cars฀ were฀ armour-plated฀ in฀ 2000,฀ and฀the฀market฀is฀growing฀around฀15฀per฀cent฀a฀year.฀The฀security฀forces฀have฀expressed฀grave฀concerns฀about฀these฀trends,฀worrying฀that฀criminals฀could฀easily฀exploit฀the฀advantages฀of฀armoured฀vehicles.27

In฀São฀Paulo,฀the฀urban฀elites฀have฀taken฀the฀‘fear฀of฀crime’฀to฀extremes.฀Having฀failed฀to฀develop฀imaginative฀plans฀to฀combat฀the฀crisis฀of฀urban฀living,฀the฀urban฀wealthy฀ simply฀ avoids฀ it฀ by฀ taking฀ flight฀ above฀ the฀ disorderly฀ cityscape.฀ The฀ skies฀over฀São฀Paulo,฀the฀financial฀capital฀of฀Latin฀America,฀have฀become฀crowded฀with฀private฀helicopters.฀At฀times,฀the฀sight฀of฀these฀airborne฀limousines฀darting฀overhead฀silhouetted฀against฀the฀hazy฀skyline฀bears฀a฀strong฀resemblance฀to฀a฀surreal฀image฀taken฀

from฀ Apocalypse฀ now฀ (Rotella฀ 2001).฀ With฀ clogged฀ roads฀ making฀ rapid฀ movement฀

impossible,฀ and฀ with฀ random฀ carjacking,฀ kidnappings฀ of฀ executives,฀ and฀ roadside฀robberies฀commonplace฀occurrences,฀helicopters฀have฀become฀vehicles฀of฀choice฀for฀more฀ than฀ just฀ convenience.฀ The฀ demand฀ for฀ private฀ helicopters฀ –฀ contemporary฀

‘space฀ evaders’฀ –฀ has฀ turned฀ São฀ Paulo฀ into฀ one฀ of฀ the฀ most฀ vibrant฀ markets฀ for฀helicopter฀ dealers฀ in฀ the฀ world.฀ With฀ a฀ total฀ of฀ 470฀ private฀ helicopters฀ registered฀in฀2001,฀São฀Paulo฀boasts฀the฀third฀largest฀fleet฀in฀any฀city฀in฀the฀world.฀Although฀the฀ fleets฀ in฀ New฀ York฀ and฀ Tokyo฀ are฀ larger,฀ mostly฀ corporations,฀ not฀ super-rich฀individuals,฀own฀the฀helicopters฀in฀these฀cities.฀Over฀the฀past฀several฀years,฀the฀boom฀in฀ helicopter฀ sales฀ has฀ more฀ than฀ doubled฀ the฀ number฀ of฀ helipads฀ atop฀ mansions,฀luxury฀hotels,฀banks,฀enclosed฀shopping฀malls,฀government฀buildings,฀corporate฀office฀complexes฀and฀guarded฀residential฀compounds฀(Romero฀2000b;฀Rotella฀2001)

tale฀ of฀ two฀ cities,฀ one฀ rich฀ and฀ one฀ poor.฀ Like฀ other฀ Latin฀ American฀ mega-cities,฀

São฀ Paulo฀ has฀ sunk฀ into฀ a฀ science฀ fiction-like฀ miasma฀ of฀ overcrowded฀ streets,฀ air฀

pollution฀and฀violent฀crime.฀Rush-hour฀traffic฀brings฀congestion฀and฀gridlock,฀and฀

the฀contamination฀of฀exhaust฀fumes฀on฀hot฀days฀creates฀an฀extremely฀inhospitable฀and฀

unhealthy฀environment.฀There฀are฀countless฀streets฀where฀graffiti฀crawls฀impossibly฀

higher฀ and฀ higher฀ up฀ the฀ walls฀ of฀ gloomy฀ 20-story฀ buildings,฀ conjuring฀ images฀

of฀ intrepid฀ taggers฀ hanging฀ perilously฀ by฀ their฀ ankles฀ from฀ windows฀ or฀ repelling฀

Brazil฀has฀one฀of฀the฀most฀marked฀disparities฀of฀wealth฀in฀the฀world,฀with฀the฀richest฀ten฀per฀cent฀of฀the฀population฀controlling฀more฀than฀50฀per฀cent฀of฀wealth,฀while฀the฀poorest฀ten฀per฀cent฀control฀less฀than฀one฀per฀cent.฀Helicopters฀exemplify฀what฀may฀be฀a฀dystopian฀glimpse฀of฀a฀bleak฀future฀in฀sprawling฀metropolises฀where฀rich฀and฀ poor฀ are฀ crammed฀ incongruously฀ together฀ in฀ a฀ fragmented฀ urban฀ landscape฀segregated฀into฀zones฀of฀affluence฀and฀zones฀of฀degradation.฀Amid฀rising฀crime฀and฀overcrowded฀urban฀living,฀the฀rich฀have฀increasingly฀retrenched฀into฀hyperinsulated฀lives.฀This฀inequality฀is฀particularly฀visible฀in฀São฀Paulo,฀the฀financial฀and฀commercial฀capital฀of฀the฀country฀where฀many฀of฀Brazil’s฀richest฀people฀live฀and฀work฀(Romero฀2000b;฀Faiola฀2002).

Johannesburg,฀ private฀ companies,฀ residential฀ households฀ and฀ individuals฀ who฀ can฀afford฀it฀spend฀an฀estimated฀R50฀billion฀[$4.8฀billion]฀a฀year฀on฀private฀security,฀such฀as฀perimeter฀barricades,฀armed฀guards฀and฀alarm฀systems,฀a฀figure฀‘over฀and฀above฀the฀high฀insurance฀costs’฀and฀what฀various฀state฀agencies฀already฀spend฀on฀‘maintaining฀what฀passes฀for฀law฀and฀order฀in฀the฀country’.฀The฀fear฀of฀crime฀has฀driven฀residents฀of฀middle-class฀neighbourhoods฀to฀turn฀their฀homes฀into฀bunker-like฀fortresses,฀an฀expense฀that฀has฀drained฀many฀households฀of฀discretionary฀spending.฀Almost฀฀a฀fifth฀of฀ government฀ expenditure฀ is฀ earmarked฀ for฀ protection฀ services฀ (defence,฀ police,฀prisons฀and฀the฀criminal฀justice฀system),฀but฀homeowners฀are฀forced฀to฀pay฀even฀more฀for฀their฀own฀private฀security฀(Anonymous฀2001b;฀Moodie฀2001)

Residential฀security฀in฀post-apartheid฀Johannesburg฀–฀whether฀in฀fortified฀mansions฀of฀the฀super-rich฀or฀the฀ordinary฀suburban฀bunkered฀enclosure฀–฀depends฀upon฀the฀voracious฀consumption฀ of฀ security฀ paraphernalia.฀ The฀ amount฀ of฀ money฀ that฀ homeowners฀begrudgingly฀ spend฀ on฀ domestic฀ security฀ alone฀ has฀ steadily฀ increased฀ over฀ the฀ past฀decade,฀and฀by฀2001฀the฀figure฀reached฀an฀astounding฀R3฀billion.฀Concerned฀with฀safety,฀suburban฀homeowners฀want฀a฀house฀outfitted฀with฀high฀walls฀topped฀with฀broken฀glass฀and฀razor฀wire,฀alarms฀and฀panic฀buttons,฀burglar฀bars฀on฀all฀windows,฀electric฀fencing,฀remote-controlled฀motorised฀gates฀and฀vicious฀Rottweilers.฀Rather฀than฀frightening฀away฀

prospective฀home-buyers,฀such฀macabre฀wish฀lists฀–฀the฀desired฀accoutrements฀of฀obsessed฀

security฀fetishists฀–฀only฀enhance฀property฀values฀in฀the฀suburbs.฀Home฀security฀providers฀deliberately฀cater฀to฀these฀fears฀by฀claiming฀that฀strong฀safety฀deterrents฀deflect฀would-be฀ thieves฀ to฀ properties฀ less฀ well฀ defended.฀ The฀ apparent฀ success฀ of฀ such฀ promotional฀advertising฀ indicates฀ that฀ many฀ homeowners฀ are฀ willing฀ to฀ protect฀ themselves฀ to฀ the฀possible฀detriment฀of฀their฀neighbours.฀Ironically,฀as฀housing฀prices฀rise฀in฀these฀defended฀suburbs,฀the฀surrounding฀pregnable฀neighbourhoods,฀lacking฀the฀security฀shields฀of฀their฀

security฀ devices฀ include฀ such฀ up-to-date฀ perimeter฀ intrusion฀ protection฀ systems฀ as฀

outdoor฀ infrared฀ beams฀ that฀ can฀ automatically฀ distinguish฀ between฀ small฀ animals,฀

birds,฀ flying฀ litter฀ and฀ unwanted฀ intruders,฀ and฀ closed-circuit฀ cameras฀ linked฀ to฀

the฀ Internet,฀ enabling฀ homeowners฀ to฀ view฀ their฀ properties฀ remotely฀ and฀ from฀ a฀

safe฀ distance.฀ Pieter฀ Venter,฀ general฀ manager฀ for฀ communities฀ protection฀ at฀ the฀

Johannesburg-based฀ Coin฀ Security฀ Group,฀ has฀ estimated฀ that฀ homeowners฀ need฀

about฀ R30,000฀ –฀ a฀ figure฀ that฀ middle-class฀ urban฀ residents฀ refer฀ to฀ as฀ ‘grudge฀

order฀ and฀ the฀ prevention฀ of฀ transgressions,฀ these฀ new฀ modes฀ of฀ urban฀ governance฀

seek฀ to฀ regulate฀ the฀ spaces฀ people฀ occupy฀ through฀ ‘risk฀ management’฀ strategies฀

pacifying,฀ sanitising฀ or฀ purifying฀ space,฀ creating฀ ‘liberated฀ zones’฀ for฀ the฀

security-conscious฀ middle฀ class,฀ where฀ users฀ are฀ shielded฀ from฀ offensive฀ behaviour.฀ Rather฀