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Ronald Rael, “Borderwall as Architecture: A Manifesto for the U.S.-Mexico Boundary” (U California Press, 2017)
Ronald Rael, “Borderwall as Architecture: A Manifesto for the U.S.-Mexico Boundary” (U California Press, 2017)
ratings:
Length:
44 minutes
Released:
Nov 16, 2018
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
With the passage of the Secure Fence Act in 2006, the U.S. Congress authorized funding for what has become the largest domestic construction project in twenty-first century America. The result? Approximately 700 miles of fencing, barricades, and walls comprised of newly built and repurposed materials, strategically placed along the 1,954-mile international border between the United Mexican States and the United States of America. At an initial cost of $3.4 billion, the most current estimates predict that the expense of maintaining the existing wall will exceed $49 billion by 2032. Envisioned solely as a piece of security infrastructure—with minimal input from architects and designers—the existing barrier has also levied a heavy toll on the lives of individuals, communities, municipalities, and the surrounding environment. In Borderwall as Architecture: A Manifesto for the U.S.-Mexico Boundary (UC Press, 2017), Professor Ronald Rael proposes a series of architectural designs that advocate for the transformation of the existing 700-mile-wall into a piece of civic infrastructure that makes positive contributions to the social, cultural, and ecological landscapes of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. As both a muse and act of political protest, Rael’s designs challenge us to question the efficacy of the current barrier, while simultaneously stoking our imagination concerning its future.
David-James Gonzales (DJ) is Assistant Professor of History at Brigham Young University. He is a historian of the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, the development of multi-ethnic/racial cities, and the evolution of Latina/o identity and politics. His research centers on the relationship between Latina/o politics and the metropolitan development of Orange County, CA throughout the 20th century. You may follow him on Twitter @djgonzoPhD.
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David-James Gonzales (DJ) is Assistant Professor of History at Brigham Young University. He is a historian of the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, the development of multi-ethnic/racial cities, and the evolution of Latina/o identity and politics. His research centers on the relationship between Latina/o politics and the metropolitan development of Orange County, CA throughout the 20th century. You may follow him on Twitter @djgonzoPhD.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/architecture
Released:
Nov 16, 2018
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
David Smiley, “Pedestrian Modern: Shopping and American Architecture, 1925-1956” (University of Minnesota Press, 2013): Most of us have been to strip malls–lines of shops fronted by acres of parking–and most of us have been to closed malls–massive buildings full of shops and surrounded by acres of parking. Fewer of us have been to open malls: small parks ringed by shops... by New Books in Architecture