The Modern Retreat to the Castle Keep

The worry is not that we are getting more or less safe, but that our perceptions of safety are changing. We have recreated the walled and gated villas of the past and, between our fenced yard, our attached garage, and our parking garage at work, can go entire days and weeks without seeing someone from our neighborhood, let alone someone from around town. We are creating a sense of safety that is grounded in separation rather than reality. We are raising a generation of children who are housed in homogeneous zones that have a comfortable, rhythmic vibration of sameness.