Borders as Urban Laboratories

Borders as urban laboratories: Production and reproduction of space on the US-Mexico border

By Anahita Mohammadkhani April 2019 // Manchester School of Architecture

Traditionally, borders were inscriptions of sovereign territories. In the contemporary, these territories have politically expressed power configurations over the flow of people and infrastructure. Increasing population sizes and the complex politics of marginalised borderland provoke tension in the urban structure of border cities and communities. The term used here to define this situation is architectural anxiety: spaces that are affected by external pressures. As I am focusing on the socio-spatial exclusivity, the political, cultural, and economic become institutional measures of my research. These demarcating functions can be inclusive (connect) as well as exclusive (divide) in their individual circumstances. The aim of my research is not to find methods to reconfigure border communities, but rather to untangle the disordered understanding of space production, and with that knowledge, study the suitability of proposed spatial [re]production for creating an inclusive border.

1

Contents 03 Introduction Methodology 05 Literature review Policy Adrift Borderscapes Trans-spatial Organisation Dynamic Infrastructure Bottom-up Urbanisation Zoning Production of Space 20 Empirical Research Spatial Practice Representations of Space Representational Space 35 Conclusion 37 Bibliography 41 Glossary 42 Appendix

Figure 1: Introducing the US-Mexico borderland, illustration by me

2

How do physical and conceptual boundaries shape the structure of border towns and what are the associated socio-spatial impacts on trans-border communities1?

Introduction To answer this question, it is vital to understand heterogeneous definitions of physical and conceptual borders and their associated purpose in the context of borderscapes. I will read into the concept of ‘borders as method’ to comprehend the multifunctional use for borders and how they affect the communities it separates. I will also investigate the heterogenic areas along the US-Mexico border that have morphed alongside political, economic and social landscapes in order to understand how the urban morphology of border cities, or more broadly speaking, how the 1,933 miles of US-Mexico borderland is shaped by borders. As infrastructure is a prominent tool for urban planning, I will study how it can be used as a method for blurring boundaries between trans-border communities. In this part of the research, I will examine the trans-spatial organisation of these cities and how they develop, how they could be developed, and how they are required to develop.

This will then lead us to the last section of the research, sovereignty and the eminence of power in urban politics and how policy adrift can develop tensions in the socio-spatial reproduction of border communities. These are topics featured in shorter chapters that will construct this thesis – an extended literature review and an epistemic platform to obtain empirical research that will decipher the spatial code of production and reproduction of space on the US-Mexico border.

Methodology The dynamic concept and functions of borders can be widely resonated from other borderscapes such that they still exist to serve their traditional geographical purpose. However the struggles and transformation of each border-scape, or border-community to be precise, varies with unique political, economic and social measures. As a result of this I will not be using a comparative method to understand the social conflicts of US-Mexico border communities. That is to say, I will not study

1

Trans-border communities: Crossover relationships between two domestic communities

2 Livable.org. (2019). Casa Familiar - Partners for Livable Communities. [online] Available at:

3

other borders for comparative purposes. Instead, I will study the heterogeneous definitions of borders and philosophical boundaries through literature written by specialist scholars in semantic fields of research, in order to understand the political, economic and social impacts that it can have on the lives of border communities.

To obtain socio-spatial data, it is fundamental to collect ethnographic data on how people use these social spaces and the production of place making through social activity. To do this, I will trace valid quantity of ethnographic materials without limiting my focus to a single biased or misleading material. Due to restrictions to site, time and available resources, it has not been possible for me to visit and collect this primary information first-hand; therefore, I will draw my own ethnographic data and arguments based on observations. In order to extract non-biased data, I will carry out this exercise using visual materials, where I can observe and extract information based on my own judgement. I will be provide content analysis of the narrative of documentaries, along with visual analysis of the built environment and socio-spatial activities on the basis of the imageries provided in the films. The analysis will reflect the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze on cinematography, as his concept on movement and time allows me to examine the potential of imagining beyond the single shot, as he explains in his second volume of his book on cinema; "the sequences of images and even each image, a single shot, are assimilated to propositions or rather oral utterances" (Deleuze, 1985:25). It is important to note that the limited perspective imposed by the directors can lead to a small amount of spatio-temporal data per material. The quantity of these materials will rely on the quality and relevant content available in each material; i.e. Documentaries, nonstaged films, photos with no digital manipulation, etc.

In order to build an epistemic set of data from observations, I will carry out secondary research on the project and/or the site that I have chosen to justify the observations against statistics and quantitative data collected from governing body websites and city councils. Then, I will compare, argue and analyse the results to highlight potential patterns that allow further discussions. With the aid of Henri Lefebvre’s philosophy on production of space and his theory on spatial coding, I will calibrate the collected data and visually illustrate the results through cartographic means.

4

Literature Review: Policy Adrift The evolution of politics along the border deserved a thesis on its own, however it is crucial to underline the political activities and policies that shaped, or almost shaped the structure of border towns.

In 2014, the increasing number of documented Central American migrants from the southern border of Mexico, famously known for its 'porous' qualities, were seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border (Wilson and Valenzuela, 2014). Due to the complexity of each case including the vulnerability of families and children, former President Barack Obama raised his concern on this 'humanitarian crisis' with Enrique PeĂąa Nieto, the former president of Mexico. This resulted in the launch of 'El Programa Frontera Sur' (The Southern Mexico Border Program), which focused on two objectives: safeguard for the migrants who enter Mexico, and security and development to the border region.

Over time, with pressure from the US on the timescale, the focus of these policy programs tapered to enforcement and border security. Luis Alfredo Arriola Vega, a visiting Ph.D scholar and researcher at the Baker Institute's Mexico Centre, wrote a paper in 2017 examining the execution of the southern Mexico program. Vega points out that resources apportioned to policy programs assigned under the main objectives were restricted to "field operations, equipment, or other items" (2017:9) that fall under the category of security. Lack of 'funding' and 'accountability' were a recurring and apparent issue for the execution and completion of the initial scope of the program, simply transforming it into "an instrument of migration containment" (2017). The second main objective of this program is the development of border regions, which concerns my research question on border town structures. This development is realised as "roadblocks, checkpoints, and new infrastructure [that] were set up along the routes migrants use" (Vega, 2017:12) to control the flow of people entering and leaving the region. As a result, the sociospatial development of border towns was ignored and overhauled with a securitisation agenda.

The formulation of security itself calls for much additional explanation. In fact, it is widely talked about amongst media and the press, however, I am interested primarily in the developments of border towns. As such, the scope of this paper

5

covers the types of spaces produced in consequence of the border, how and why they were produced, and the implications of these developments to better design the reproduction of space in such areas.

Borderscapes The tensions and conflicts constitutive of any border are no secret, however the controversy for the proposed US-Mexico border wall initiated by president Donald Trump, has created a stir in the media. Different outlets have published forecasts on the consequences that a border wall will have on both nations. In my research, political subjectivity in current controversies has lacked concern for the social buildup of border communities, but rather the economic and political transformations; therefore, I have decided to further explore this topic through philosophical language.

Figure 2: Photograph of the US-Mexico borderland where walls end, east of Baja California, Mexico (on the left). Source: www.straitstimes.com

6

The philosophy of 'Border as method, or the multiplication of labor' by Mezzadra and Neilson, conceives the border as a heterogeneous method to trace tensions and transformations of border globalisation, sovereignty and institutions. The book maps the complexities of border struggles through the analysis of contemporary transition of capital through living labour and migration. Though Mezzadra and Neilson specialise in political theory, and culture and society respectively, they engage with a wide-ranging semantic field of research in areas such as geography, history, politics and social science. Their work recalls many researchers’ notions on the polysemy of the border, covering a background field of sociology (Pablo Vila), cultural studies (Suvendrini Perera) and critical thinking (Ranabir Samaddar).

To grasp the technicalities of the research question and the philosophy of border impacts, it is sensible to thoroughly define the terms physical and conceptual boundaries in the context of architectural philosophy and the everyday life. Physical boundaries such as solid border walls can be perceived as conceptual boundaries such as community zoning and vice versa (Mezzadra and Neilson, 2013). It is believed that the state of power and sovereignty lessens and strengthens the solidity of these walls as some “walls are far less rigid than they pretend to be"(2013: Preface viii) and this ‘rigidity’ is the symbolic power of the border that acts as a method, to infect its urban and social surroundings, and reinforce the struggles that shape them. At what level of rigidity are border towns structured by these boundaries? The tool to measure such rigidity has been studied through border control and the law enforcements applied to separate such regions. Border control can be objectified in different forms of potency; border fencing or ‘walling’ as physical rigid objects, or the less rigid being border patrol and the use of photo identity cards to recognise and separate border town residents. The border can therefore impact a trans-border community by dividing the landscape and reinforcing conflicts and tension on residents from either side.

The border constitutes of multiple components of demarcation and isolating a single function will not allow one research to be valid without the other. Mezzadra and Neilson explore the patterns of connection and division that contribute to the relations between drastically heterogeneous borderscapes. The term borderscapes, originating from the work of Suvendrini Perera, a professor of cultural studies whose work on the Australian boundary along the pacific, highlights the reproduction of space and contours of the nation to identify “shifting and conflictual” (2009) border zones. Whilst Mezzadra and Neilson’s research provides a framework with which to

7

understand the profound transformations of the existing social, economic, juridical and political relations of the border, Perera focuses on the “making and remaking of different forms of border space” (2009:57) in relation to hegemonic controls and state sovereignty. Though the work of Perera works in conjunction with my research question in mapping the socio-spatial reproductions of borderscapes, Border as method expands on the demarcating factors that set the foundation of border conflicts and struggles that cause this emergent spatial organisation (Mezzadra and Neilson, 2013). Perera utilises method of mapping to process the more complex geopolitical configurations of space, whereas Mezzadra and Neilson have drawn empirical data from a broad range of ethnographic material that engage with social relations and humanitarian narratives. To summarise, both writings discuss the dynamics of urban transformation under political and social anxiety, but in different scales. Perera’s research was placed in macro scale and Mezzadra and Neilson’s work in micro scale. This provides me guidance as to which methodology to use when answering my particular question. Macro-research would include examining how physical and conceptual boundaries shape the structure of border towns, in the form of geopolitical mapping. On the other hand, micro-research would be useful to understand the associated socio-spatial impacts that are on trans-border communities, in the form of analysing human narratives.

8

9

Source: https://www.mexicodailynews.com/2018/01/20/feature-for-thousands-crossing-us-mexico-border-part-of-daily-life/

Figure 3: Humanitarian narrative to trans-border communities, illustrated by me

Trans-spatial Organisation Trans-border communities is another crucial term employed by Lawrence Herzog, a professor of city planning and author of many papers on the study of border cities and their crossover relationships. His research is interested in 'trans-spaces' such as trans-border communities and trans-boundaries; which defines a particular space that is united in sharing its function with two different nations, parties or entities.

Herzog (1991) discusses the implications constructed from the proliferation of population on the US-Mexico border region in the 1970's, forming complex conflicts within the urbanisation of trans-regions. The historical relationship between the two nations, two opposing economic developments and culture differences built challenging factors for the planning authorities in the production of trans-border spaces. In 1991, he believed that "less conceptual guidance exists for explaining the organization of urban space in border regions"(Herzog, 1991:257) and to the extent of my research, the guidance is circumscribed to larger cities today, like El Paso, Texas. In 2012, a policy guide for El Paso was launched by the city council as a comprehensive plan for development over the next 25 years (Elpasotexas.gov, 2019). Though this document portrays an inclusive agenda, it is also the ideal type of space designed by hegemonic controls and state sovereignty. Therefore, whilst this document aims to shape and reproduce the structure of the border town, El Paso, it is not addressing how those spaces were formed originally and what caused it to fail.

Similar to this thesis, Herzog is interested in understanding ways we can appropriate space that accommodate the special characteristics of trans-border settings. The most powerful concept in Herzog’s writing that allows a micro perspective to my research question is that he illustrates the urban morphology in relation to cultural landscapes, highlighting the social formation of border heritage. He states that "the abundance of Spanish colonial style churches, housing built in Northern Mexican ranch style, and other buildings with Mexican design influences" become landmarks and important monuments to remark the history of the land and its users (Herzog, 1991:259). Border cities share the same land and therefore resources and agriculture that comes with it, hence it is a mutual responsibility and desire to cultivate and develop the bi national region. Marina Lathouri, an architect and a programme director of History and Critical Thinking at the AA school of Architecture discusses the link between the 19th century planning and concept of territory, borders and

10

spatial organisation. Lathouri interprets that planning as a spatial practice is "a range of scales that can be organised upon the system of principles so that the effects of such ordering is potentially global" (2013:34) but then continues to elaborate that the significance of planning is not just its organisational qualities but as a connecting device for the relationship between people and territories, especially with moving boundaries. Herzog and Lathouri both advocate the importance of historical context in structuring our border towns and examine the possibility of designing a form of prototype with flexibility and adaptability features to accommodate sudden urban changes such as the 1970’s proliferation of population. Similarly, both note that the movement of people should reflect the dynamic concept of the border. The system at which this circulation takes place in the form of infrastructure is the language at which we can understand the structure of space.

Dynamic infrastructure Understanding trans-spatial architecture means to explore the provisions of spatial architecture that links two territories. The production of space is dependant and shifted by the dynamics of infrastructure. Michael Weinstock, an architect and researcher at the Architectural Association (AA) school of Architecture in London has a broad interest in the natural system and emergence of cities and Architecture.

In his edit in System City, he considers the urban dynamic as flows of interactions and connectivity through infrastructure and believes "the feedbacks and critical thresholds that drive the emergence of new spaces"(2013:17) are shaped by the dominant sources of socio-cultural infrastructures. Infrastructure that is versatile to social interface between users, in relation to their cultural influence. Some examples set out by Weinstock's definition of 'infrastructure': "Transportation, water, energy, information and communications, waste collection and disposal, public spaces... parks, gardens open woodlands or nature reserves, and the social programmes of health, education and recreation."

- Michael Weinstock, 2013:21 These connecting spaces add economic significance when considered as part of urban planning as "infrastructural and social developments along the border could

11

increase adjacent property values as well as quality of life on both sides of the border" (Rael, 2017:19). More importantly laid out in this document, the relationship, interaction and connections between these systems and the network of people. Perhaps infrastructure is the key to shaping borderlands and even though their purpose is to connect destinations and users, they can also divide territories, such as highways. Whilst parks and open lands allow users to physically interact and connect with each other, in the case of borderland security and their impact, these environments have been stripped of their social behaviours. Ronald Rael expands on this concept more, through a series of conceptual utopian interventions that exaggerate these social behaviours to propose a polysemy of the 'Borderwall as Architecture'.

He discusses and interprets how the proposed physical border wall can be designed to enhance and benefit the communities that surround it through social, environmental and economic developments. Rael, a professor of Architecture and Environmental Design, is interested in challenging the border's sole purpose as a security infrastructure to propose its conceptual and functional values as positive externalities to the community, through integrating “water, renewable energy, and urban social infrastructure” (2017:4). The impact of the border on these communities will be highlighted through values extrapolated from narratives illustrated in each project. This will allow me to link current case studies to test our conceptual proposition on trans-border communities.

Bottom-up urbanisation The most intriguing element of Borderwall as Architecture, is not the focus on the polysemy of the border as architecture but its varying pedagogical consequence on border towns and regions. In his foreword, Teddy Cruz, an Architect and professor in the field of public culture and urbanism, introduces a functional community dynamic of ‘a bottom-up public’ where architecture and social programs are cognitive systems that are both flexible and experimental. He states that "a community is always in dialogue with its immediate social and ecological environment"(2017:xiii) and that jurisdictional institutions of power intervene with the local politics, making it more difficult for architects, planners and regulators to re-code and respond to this dialogue. This hegemony of power from juridical

12

parties other than users and professionals specialised in planning and urban design is a top-down approach to urbanisation, which is a common system used in the U.S. According to Teddy Cruz's field research on the San Diego - Tijuana border region however, there are "many local neighbourhoods on the margins of such centres of such economic power unfolded as bottom-up urbanisations of cultural and socioeconomic production" (Rael, 2017:x). This places pressure on marginalised communities as socioeconomic injustice appeals for social emergency and the recoding of the urban environment.

Teddy Cruz is a partner of the non-profit community organisation, Casa Familiar2, in San Ysidro. Situated on the suburbs of San Diego, San Ysidro is the first immigrant neighbourhood and busiest border crossing on the U.S- Mexico border, and therefore experiences major bi-national conflicts that can be investigated and studied as urban laboratories. Cruz’s research investigated multidimensional spaces and recycling housing systems to advocate a better solution to the existing dense, multi-use and often-illegal developments. He proposed the project 'Living rooms at the border' (see figure 1) as a result of this research. A multi-functional space that is versatile to various programs subject to user demand. Resilience is shown to be a strong concept of Cruz’s work in solving border issues. The dynamics of selfassembly offers users the power of control, which gives them confidence, and a sense of belonging. This type of socio-spatial reproduction celebrates inclusiveness in relation to border conflicts. Cruz refers back to this concept in Borderwall as Architecture as "models of cohabitation and coexistence in the anticipation of socioeconomic inclusion" (Rael, 2017:xiv). This conceptual project on the development of borderscapes as a bottom-up public urbanisation allows the resilience of space production to be further explored and encouraged amongst designers and the community.

2 Livable.org. (2019). Casa Familiar - Partners for Livable Communities. [online] Available at: http://livable.org/livability-resources/612-casa-familiar-bp [Accessed 3 Mar. 2019].

13

Figure 4: ‘living rooms at the border’ project. Various applications of multi use space frame over time.

Image source: Estudio Teddy Cruz

Cristina Moreno and Efrén Grinda, architects and founders of AMID.cero9, a design firm whom are interested in the social constructs of dynamic public spaces, state that the cycle of social exchange in urban environments produce architecture.

Interactions between the individual and socio-spatial groups and cultures construct a phenomenon of physical patterns of use and hence demand for the production of space (Weinstock, 2013). This social production and reproduction within urban environments bounded by borders will allow the notion of self-assembled space as a bottom-up community to be discussed. Moreno and Grinda believe that the true perception of a city emerges from the activities and relationships, thus the "spatial phenomena by nature... occur within, and generate space" (Weinstock, 2013:50).

The political space, the space initiated by those in juridical power can then be appropriated to territories whose use and conflicts create complex spaces, interpreted in controversial ways. One can only imagine how border cities would look if they were entirely built from activities and user interactions.

When discussing border definitions in relation to community engagement, 'Border as method introduces Pablo Vila, whose research is based on social interactions between trans-border communities on the US-Mexico border. Vila’s research unfolds the complex relationships in multi-ethnic border communities and multiidentities that evolve on the border. Vila explains that although borders traditionally served to regulate as geographical margins; in the contemporary these territories have politically articulated “complex social institutions, which are marked by tensions between practices of border reinforcement and border crossing" (2000:3).

The bi-national field of anthropological research conducted in Vila’s studies on the US-Mexico border outlines the challenging hybrid lives of dual identity, culture and space (2000). Earlier we established that micro-research on trans-border living would be appropriate in the form of anthropological studies, as they allow thorough analysis of user experience and the spaces that subsequently emerge. Vila applies this very technique to her research on these challenges. This approach is tackling the impact borders have on communities, and as established by Weinstock, Rael and Grinda, the feedback gained from the community being in dialogue with its immediate social interactions, results to the production and reproduction of space.

Therefore, we can draw from this that the impact of borders on the structure of

14

border towns can in fact be via the socio-spatial impacts placed by trans-border communities.

The historical development of human settlement at border towns cultivated through the migration of people travelling a small distance of land across neighbouring towns for beneficial privileges. In consequence, these neighbour regions adopt a merged cultural social network that sometimes cause confusion and tension between the two politically and economically different states. Jeffrey Hou, in the field of landscape architecture whose research lies in public space and marginalised communities, agrees that these “Movement and migration have also resulted in tensions, competition, and clashes of culture" (2013:1) that can accumulate the rigidity of such regional concept boundaries. Whilst this does not affect the country on a larger urban scale, it effects the space production of border neighbourhoods that inhabit cross-border individuals or families from different nationalities. The lack of academic insight into these types of spaces that emerge from the result of these border struggles is the gap in the covered literature research that is missing to fulfil my research question.

The formality of citizenship in multi-culturism is another conflictive case between old-timers and newcomers (Hou, 2013). Newcomers or ‘foreigners’ would be crossborder individuals or families that commute back and forth on the border on a dayto-day basis, either under dual citizenship or other travel documents, and live a hybrid life under the rules of each state legislature. These specific cases of character that are popular on the US-Mexico border, acquire a particular form of living.

Border as method believes the same notion applies to planning, that to apply the needs of the current occupants, they themselves will require some engagement with the urban development of that region, either formally or in the form of selfassembly. Therefore, on an urban scale as a rule for the collection of these areas, "the scope and procedure of citizen involvement in the planning process have to be modified to accommodate multicultural policies." (Qadeer, 1997:493) This concept will trigger discussions regarding the specific characteristics and spatial morphology that would compromise for social and urban needs of the US-Mexico border-scapes and help to understand the shifting transformations emerging from user interactions in consequence of the border.

15

Zoning As recognised earlier, main sources that trigger the production of space are, infrastructure, user dynamics and jurisdictional institutions of power. Infrastructure and user dynamics are elements that can be versatile, however hegemonic controls and state sovereignty are not elements of societal choice. Border city councils have state specific planning approvals and zoning strategies, authorised by the local land-use regulations to preserve the social welfare and economic balance of the community. Bรกrcena-Ruiz and Casado-Izaga, both researchers in the field of economic sciences, investigate in 'zoning a cross-border city'; how border towns are spatially developed through the strategic regulations of zoning (2016).

As zoning decisions are highly controlled and influenced by juridical forces, "endogeneity of zoning regulations" becomes a vital decision factor for situating local domestic firms as they observe through the urban planning regulations set by the local authority (Bรกrcena-Ruiz and Casado-Izaga, 2016). Therefore, one instantly questions the jurisdiction of which this authority lies within when dealing with crossborder cities. This journal implies that "a strategic use of zoning" (2016:174) is used in border towns to allow increase of revenues. The empirical analysis gathered in this journal uncovers the science behind locating spaces in these zoning districts.

For example; "heavy industrial activities are kept far enough from the areas reserved for residential use" to create a healthy and comfortable environment for users, "some commercial activities... [like] discos or clubs, may be located far from residential or educational areas" to avoid noise pollution and "negative externalities". Bรกrcena-Ruiz and Casado-Izaga also look at why "regional shopping centres are so often located at the city border or adjacent to major thoroughfares" (2016:174). The findings show that it creates more convenience for consumers and residents from neighbouring towns to reach and utilise the space. In this case, planning authorities would "favor commercial zoning near rail stations" (2016:174) and borders as commercial firms earn revenues. This goes against local land regulations favouring social welfare, as the case studies above prioritise the economic impact on the structure of border towns.

On the topic of zoning and regionalism, Mezzadra and Neilson believe that "area studies played a crucial role in a new production of the world" (2013:42). The formation of areas, supposedly bounded by social and cultural institutes, stem from

16

a collection of spaces that proliferate in heterogenetic forms (Mezzadra, Neilson, 2013). The geopolitical limitations on these areas pervasively influence the production of spaces within either side of the boundary. Thus, it can be said that these boundaries are not formed on the margins of social spaces but instead run through it, circumscribing the same territorial community into separate entities.

It is vital to profoundly fathom the nation’s interest when studying the border in order to understand the transformation of space within the realm of nation sovereignty. Ranabir Samaddar, a critical thinker and researcher, whose collection of writings cover the issues of politics and nationalism, studies the extent of societal tensions and conflicts that affect the process of planning. Samaddar believes that by collecting this data, we can uncover "the analysis of forms by studying the conflicts that constitute the form" (2007:7); to make geopolitical borders a critical element for studying the nation form.

Border as method agrees that the consequence of physical and conceptual borders and their political, economic and social conflicts “inscribe themselves within each 'area'” (Mezzadra, Neilson, 2013:51). Significant transformations on border studies test whether “it is precisely from the border that the very shape and constitution of areas appear in a different light" (Mezzadra, Neilson, 2013:51). Areas studies can be identified as Meso-research as, under the influence of Perera, it can simply be illustrated through cartographic means, but will require Mezzadra and Neilson’s sensitive approach to user dynamics. To generate an epitome of these spaces regarding the scale of their relation to each other, I turn to Henri Lefebvre, to understand the basic philosophy for translating space.

The production of Space In Henri Lefebvre's study, he gathers existing theories from influential philosophers such as Marx, Hegel, Foucault and many more, formulated with new content, to decode the science behind different multitudes of space, to comprehend the system of space that is simplified and readable. Should we be thinking about reconstructing the language of this coded system? In the following empirical research chapter, I will be using the US-Mexico border as an urban test-bed to understand the science behind the production and reproduction of space and their effects on border communities. Lefebvre (1991) believes there are two types of

17

space that creates the basis of his theses, mental and real space. The mental is the space of philosophers and real space is the physical space of social practice. The juxtaposition between the two definitions creates a spectrum of concepts that Lefebvre expands on with the notion of harmonising between the realms of theory and practice. "On the one hand with the extreme formal abstraction of logicomathematical space, and on the other hand with the practico-sensory realm of social space" (Lefebvre, 1991:15), and in between is the fusion of both mental space and real space that evolves to be the overlapping 'ideal' space. Ideal space is the space that is conceptualised by architects, urban planners and designers that is optimal space by professionals. This is the spatial code deciphered by Henri Lefebvre as the physical, the ideal and the mental space, respectively, known as the Spatial Triad.

1. Spatial Practice 2. Representations of space 3. Representational space

18

Figure 5: US-Mexico Border and border city qualities, illustrated by me

Source: http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/

19

Empirical Research: Decoding the production and reproduction of space

One third of the 1,952 miles length of the US-Mexico Border has some type of barrier to divide lands into nations. The landscape conditions consist of grassland, mountains, and deserts of varying climates ranging from 2 degrees Celsius to 42 degrees (meteoblue, 2019). Data extracted from the Migration Policy Institute government website show approximately 11.8 million people live on the USMexico borderland, one quarter of which live at or under poverty (Staff, 2019).

The border consists of 35 points of entry; 6 main entries that are illustrated on the map graphically state the size of adjacent cities and their populations. Thus, from this comparison, I suggest that border conflicts can have greater impact on smaller cities such as Calexico and Nogales where poverty percentages are the highest.

The purpose for this illustration is to portray the different conditions and states of the US-Mexico border and communicate that my research will in some ways vary in the realm of particular circumstances. Below is a breakdown of the topics that I will use, through Lefebvre’s philosophy, to decode the production and reproduction of space on trans-border communities.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

(Spatial Practice)

Chapter 3

(Representations of space)

(Representational space)

• •

Private land ownership and•

Cruz/ Rael projects,

property developers,

Other planners and Architect’s

•

designs,

• •

The maquiladoras,

•

• Planning/

the

city

device), Tohono O’Odham nation,

council

Existing spatial organisation

planning portal,

of border towns,

•

The border (border calculus),

Infrastructure

•

No man’s land (separation

•

• •

• •

•

Humanitarian narratives

20

Spatial Practice “Which embraces production and reproduction, and the particular locations and spatial sets of characteristic of each social formation. Spatial practice ensures continuity and some degree of cohesion. In terms of social space, and of each member of a given society's relationship to that space, this cohesion implies a guaranteed level of competence and a specific level of performance.”

– (Lefebvre, 1991)

The practice of everyday life and urban reality is the principal behind spatial practice. In this chapter, I will analyse the field research gathered by reporters, producers and trans-nationals who have lived the reality of border space for approximately 100 years altogether. I will also be collecting my own primary research through analysing film, documentaries and visual mediums covering topics of trans-border urban space and communities. The primary focus of this chapter will be on areas showing huge significance of change and pattern, i.e. El Paso, Texas (U.S), Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua (Mexico), and Sunland Park, New Mexico (U.S).

Given that this area covers only a small part of the border and cannot classify as a fair representation of the entire US-Mexico border, similarities in projects of different borderland regions will be drawn upon to rationalise the data.

In the discussion of zoning, I examined that planning regulations set out by city authorities favour the economic development of the city rather than recognise social measures. Various editors in ‘Cities and citizenship at the U.S.-Mexico border’ see the impacts of borders and border development on the socio-spatial structure of borderlands through the capital of industrialisation. Editors Fuentes and Pena believe that the development of the “Mexican border city as regional industrial park… contributed to the delocalisation of real estate property" (2010:94). The Bermudez Group, for example, is an industrial promoter, property developer, real estate investor, and construction contractors operating transnationally, and is responsible for large areas of borderland maquiladoras.

A Maquiladora in Mexico is a labour-intensive factory run by a foreign company (in this case from the Unites States) that imports raw materials, manufactures and exports into finished products, with the benefits of duty free and tariff free

21

agreements. The Maquiladora systems on the US-Mexico border is beneficial to both countries as they trade cheap labour with low transportation costs to exchange goods and materials between the two countries, therefore their location being at the border is key to both markets. Due to the economic success of the system, Mexico has expanded the production of Maquiladora plants on the US-Mexico Border region to take advantage of the low transportation costs to the US Market. I have illustrated locations of some examples of maquiladoras found in ‘Cities and citizenship at the U.S.-Mexico border’ (listed in appendix 1), with the help of maquiladora directory based in Baja California to extract company names.

According to the Migration Policy Institute there are 2,700 Maquiladoras in Mexican Border States (Staff, 2019).

Figure 6: Mapping of Maquiladoras and their associate US companies on Mexican Border States, illustrated by me. Source:

22

The production of maquiladoras requires large areas of land and therefore big portions of borderland are used for industrial development. Communities are stripped from their social values and become "deeply commoditised... and valued more for [their] performance as a financial asset" (Fuentes and Pena, 2010:94). The increasing delocalisation of activities inflates the value of properties in the local real estate market whose ownership is increasingly nonlocal and international. This inflation encourages the local investors and developers to purchase large and strategic extents of land to project a profitable future, affecting the value of neighbouring land uses, such as residential, commercial, and services. In Sunland Park, New Mexico, local investors have targeted the land closer to the border for development, to attract urban and industrial activities between Santa Teresa, New Mexico and San Jeronimo, Chihuahua.

As the border attracts industrial activities that result in the production of space, the creation of jobs draws migrants to the border or commuters to travel back and forth, usually from neighbouring border towns, as a trans-border resident. This places pressure on the local land market, as the overhaul of trans-cultural population to either city would raise demand for socio-spatial production. When places do not adapt to this change due to architectural anxiety, users will reside in areas where they find social comfort. This forms division between different groups of users, resulting in the failure of communities and the subsequent inequality.

Inequality in the labour market is lacking consideration when discussing sociospatial urban structures in the planning process. Herzog's definition of the border as a "transfrontier metropolis" (1991) becomes clear in this case, as it can be analysed from the industrialisation of the maquiladora systems and the dependant relationship between both countries. The US-Mexico borderland is a bi-national production centre. The data collected by Fuentes and Pena explains that "the location of maquiladora industry in Ciudad Juarez has been fundamental to the generation of employment in neighbouring El Paso" (Fuentes and Pena, 2010:94), statistically speaking, the industry is responsible for up to 37% of new jobs.

As such, local property developers from the US, Bermudez international group, Intermex, Prologis (formerly known as security capital), Cambridge, Eloy Vallina, Bill Sanders, Zaragoza family etc. to name a few, would invest in industrialising the neighbouring border towns in Mexico for cheap manufacturing production.

23

Although part of this investment is said to have gone into real estate properties as migration flows to the region, commodification of these towns make poor living conditions.

According to data extracted from ‘Cities and citizenship at the U.S.-Mexico border’ (2010) Land conditions along the border depicted land value and hence the type of user it accommodates. The periphery areas are the common locations for lowincome neighbourhoods due to the lack of infrastructure and city amenities, and areas prone to hazards or extreme weather conditions such as flooding, are also targeted to locate affordable housing programs for the low-income population. In El Paso, "the growth in southeast side of the city has been due to affordable housing programs since 1990s targeting mainly the working-class population employed in the maquiladora industry" (Fuentes and Pena, 2010:108). According to the Housing Authority of the city of El Paso, In order to qualify for the affordable housing program and assistance, residents must earn less than 80% of the area median income, which is about $39,000 per year for a family of four, however clients who approach for help tend to earn less than 30% of the area median income, that is $15,000 a year (Hacep, 2019). "The west and east sides of El Paso have experienced faster rate of population growth" (Fuentes and Pena, 2010:108) and I believe this is due to the central area privately owned by high-income developers gentrifying and expanding neighbourhoods, causing depopulation of opposing user groups.

Inequality between the rich and the poor has shaped the spatial organisation of border towns and continues to produce and reproduce spatial chaos in disorderly fashion. Through the study of maquiladora industries as a typical model of border town structures, the population with middle and high income jobs that are in managerial or administrative roles tend to live north-eastern part of the city and the population with low income jobs that require less skilled activities live western part of the city. "The declining welfare state, the reduction of subsidies for social housing, and greater reliance on market forces have led to higher prices for new dwellings" (Fuentes and Pena, 2010, p97) – With this inflation, limited or no access is available to new dwelling productions. The low-income population are clustered into neighbourhoods of their own, neighbourhoods whose dwellings can be bought by the high-income population and gentrified. Not only are the low-income segregated into clusters of dwellings but also have minimal control over the stability of their residency. An example of this case is shown through a documentary by The

24

Atlantic called ‘The No Man's Land Beneath the Border Wall’, produced by Jeremy Raff. Raff’s visual work revolves around life and struggles on the US-Mexico border, and his narrative on the topic is to portray the consequent struggles of the border. I am wary that documentaries can depict or distort the reality differently with distinctive ideological and political agendas. Therefore in order to analyse these sources carefully and with validity, I will be extracting factual and primary information from the visuals to support the statements.

Figure 7 Illustration of no man's land. Source: The No-Man's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016.

Earlier, I turned to Lefebvre to decode the language of space, and in this part of my research, I am turning to Gilles deleuze to understand and analyse the language of cinematography. Deleuze, whose philosophy on the cinema as conceptual practice is based on two main theories: ‘The movement-image’ and ‘the time-image’. He refers to the camera as the exchanger or the translator of movement, and refers to the movement as the translation in space (1986:8). The notion of “cinematographic illusion” (1986:1) is also widely discussed in his first volume (the movement-image) as the false movement, the notion of continuity in the interval between two instant frames and beyond; a technique which I have applied to extract primary data.

Deleuze believes that a frame records not only visual information but also communications of information through sound, light, expressions, and many more.

He stated that if “we see very few things in an image, this is because we do not know how to read it properly” (1986:12-13), which is why it was so important to study the philosophy of cinematography before starting the process of my empirical research.

25

‘The No Man's Land Beneath the Border Wall’ is a documentary on the lives of US citizens who live on Texas land that falls between the actual border of US-Mexico (River Rio Grande) and the border fence/wall that is set back by a few miles into the United States. Residents comment on how their daily lives are affected by the border, whilst in the setting of their land/homes. Deleuze, refers to this composition as “a dynamic construction in act” (1986:1), when the character is one source of information and the objects/environment which fill it is another. Mark Clark, a homeowner who lives one block from the border wall in Brownsville, Texas, discusses how dynamic the urban structure of his neighbourhood has delocalised and decreased property values; "When I came down here 11 years ago, this place was booming. At least 1/3 of the stores in downtown were vacant, now totally empty" (The No-Man's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016:4 min 15). He points out to an empty looking road, similar to that of a busy high street surrounded by shops and signage but without the activity taking place. He goes on to say in a disappointing tone of voice; "Property values have plummeted" and I could observe that the spaces and shops were forced of evacuation as they had been left in their good conditions but held empty spaces. This documentary was uploaded in January 2017, current research (see appendix number 1) that shows ‘Rainbow’ shop below is vacant however the ‘Majestic mall’ and shops further down like ’Kress’ are now permanently closed.

This situation creates tension and a certain spatial anxiety for business owners and those who rely on the local market as a source of social interaction or medical care.

In consequence of the border's psychological affect on its adjacent communities, inequality within the economic structure divides the population not only from people on the other side of the border but those who live in the same neighbourhood, creating a rigid conceptual border 3. The north west of Ciudad Juarez, a squatter settlement known as Lomas de Poleo, were evicted of their homes and lands in 2003 when the Zaragoza family established an opportunity for valuable real estate growth. This embodies the notion that private land owners along the border influence the city's urban growth and control the borderland's socio-spatial structure.

3 In reference to Mezzadra and Neilson (2013) on physical and conceptual boundaries and their rigidity in chapter ‘borderscape’.

26

A US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report in 2015 informed that federal and tribal lands make up approximately 33% of the border and Private and stateowned lands cover the remaining 67% of the border (Gao.gov, 2019:5). As illustrated in figure 8, we can derive that most of the private and state-owned lands are located in Texas. It can be said that borderland structures for Texas will be very user driven and rest of the border will have similar patterns in the structure, due to set policies. Texas developments will be in the hands of individuals, developers, and other private owned companies. Most of which are in competition with each other, have individual input, and would consider the economy of their business a priority as oppose to the environments’ or communities’ social development. Money and power correlate in the politics of urban development and it is not difficult to recognise the pattern in the trans-spatial organisation of border towns. "Control over the local government is important for local land investors who wish to influence the elaboration of local policies and encourage urban expansion toward their properties" (Fuentes and Pena, 2010:115). This entrepreneurial approach to structuring land encourages the architectural anxiety that diminishes the ordering of urban design and space production.

Figure 8: A map highlighting land ownership and customs and Border patrol units, illustrated by me. Source: CBP (data) Gao.gov

27

The space of the physical is the production and reproduction of communities. I have used statistics and large developments to map the spatial organisation in macro scale and further link these to the micro and meso scale data. The findings show that although there are private land ownerships dominating Texas landscapes, cities like El Paso, have formed a certain order through policies and regulations set out by the authorities. The influence of private developers on these policies then varies along the sites.

Representations of space “Which are tied to the relations of production and to the 'order' which those relations impose, and hence to knowledge, to signs, to codes, and to 'frontal' relations.”

–

(Lefebvre, 1991)

My research on borders as method has lead me to stumble on practitioners who have proposed alternative methods in theory and practice, as architecture or a symbol, that of an idealised concept of the border wall. In the covered literature, borderwall as architecture, Ronald Rael presents in this book a series of conceptual utopian interventions that act as positive externalities to border communities. It is not difficult to distinguish that these ‘ideal’ projects are representations of space in the system of spatial coding. Similarly, architect Teddy Cruz has discussed the realm of spatial production through the ‘Living rooms at the border’ project, introduced in the literature review as part of his mission to find effective solutions to the spatial chaos that is the tensions and conflicts constitutive of any border. The concept of self-assembled communities as part of bottom-up urbanisation was the space visualised by Cruz and other architects and philosophers such as Moreno and Grinda, Weinstock and Deleuze. In this empirical chapter, I aim to study these ideal and conceptualised spaces and explore the core spacio-societal conflicts that they are addressing through reproduction. Although Lefebvre refers to ideal representations of space as the space of architects, planners, scientists etc., I aim to

28

also discuss the ‘ideal’ space imagined by authorities and those with hegemonic controls through policies and regulations set out to reproduce.

Upon examination of the southern Mexico border program (El Programa Frontera Sur), Vega (2017) unfolded that the policy was drifted towards securitisation and less on the development of border towns. Rael (2017) denuded the border ‘wall’ from its purpose to securitise and substituted with elements of positive externalities to adjacent border communities. He touches upon the economic, environmental and social conflicts of borderlands, as he believes these elements have been affected the most by the border. Although the focus of my research question is to study the impact on the socio-spatial attributes of border communities, in addition, I’d like to extend my focus to other bearings that emerge from border conflicts to understand inter-relationships with other societal qualities through reverse analysis of Rael’s conceptualised projects.

As unfolded in Appendix 2, environmental projects that ought to positively impact border landscapes, nature reserves and global warming, also contribute economically to border communities. Landscape and weather conditions of the border allow feasibility for these projects. For example the Solar wall and the hot water wall projects would be ideal in cities such as Calexico and Nogales where temperatures are higher, and can use greater solar energy to transform sufficient CLIMATE ANALYSIS medians 42 °C

TEMPERATURE

HIGHEST AVERAGE LOWEST 2 °C SAN DIEGO

CALEXICO

NOGALES

EL PASO

DEL RIO

BROWNSVILLE

PRECIPITATION

78 250

271 410

508 684

Figure 9: Weather conditions on the US-Mexico border, illustrated by me. Source: Meteoblue.com

29

power for heating water and other amenities. The average precipitation across the border is low which informs us that rainwater collection is not viable on most sites however Nogales and Del Rio can be suitable sites for projects such as the hydro wall and wastewater treatment wall.

Low-cost resources can be transformed from these ecological energies to power local trans-border communities and infrastructure. Rael’s project is therefore suggesting that energy is not affordable or readily available for the adjacent border communities and therefore creating further division between the rich and the poor with socio-spatial tensions. This theory can be seen through the lack of lighting infrastructures on certain US border streets or even any on Mexican borderlands. In certain night scenes from documentaries that I have studied, I have observed the on going use of torchlights and night visions to record spaces along the border. (Living on US-Mexico Border, Native Americans Face Daily Struggles, 2013:5 min 25) In some scenes, such as evening visits to the La Lomita chapel, whose bells are a beacon of the local community, also show only 1 street lamp on site (Trump's Wall: Life on the US-Mexico Border, 2019:4 min 6).

In addition, projects like the wildlife wall and the forest wall aid in keeping endangered species and other borderland habitats far from extinction. Luciano Guerra who works at the National Butterfly Centre agrees that border conflicts are a threat to the these endangered species as bulldosers clearing land for the border wall will destruct habitat - killing wildlife instantly or slowly when run over by machinery (Trump's Wall: Life on the US-Mexico Border, 2019:3 min 47).

Environmental impacts that root from these projects are also documented to oppose the construction of physical border walls as the impact is greater on the ecological borderscape. Mike Davidson, a Big Bend River guide and park ranger states that border walls would degrade visitor experience to the Big Bend national park. In fact he worries that the benefits of international relations would be left behind if the government continues to split this national park and two nations with a border wall (Life in the Shadow of US-Mexico border Wall, 2019:20 min 30).

In anthropological language, the psychological impact of the border can be foreseen through the social build up of border and trans-border communities. The results can recall on the topic of physical and conceptual boundaries and their ‘rigidity’. Therefore to understand the level and type of impact due to demarcation, we are to explore the humanitarian narratives as we did through the literature

30

review. Rael’s social projects explore xenophobic behaviours through music (Xylophobia wall), binational and multigenerational activities through sport (bicycle and pedestrian wall, swing wall, and horse racing), and interchanges of behaviours and cultures through academia (Library wall), and interchange of lifestyles through architecture (House divided).

The results would mainly fabricate a happier community and improve quality of life, but has been explained by Rael (2017) that the practical results can also vary from increase in adjacent property values to reduce in vehicular traffic. Through reverse analysis, the core socio-spatial conflicts are that of affordability, infrastructure and user comfort.

These social behaviours are reflected off interviews that I observed through documentaries. For example, ‘how residents from El Paso feel about border barrier’ (2019) is a series of interviews with local residents that discuss and show their feelings through these discussions. David Romo, an El Paso Historian feels passionate about the city he lives and believes that it is very differently portrayed.

He states: "Listen to the people here, the border residents themselves, and I think they will tell you an entirely different story” (How residents from El Paso feel about border barriers, 2019). Claudia Hernandez and Ana Hernandez also felt the same during the dialogue of this scene from different parts of the town. I also observed this statement from the republican mayor of El Paso, Dee Margo. He believes that securitisation to the border should be more of a system than a structure and that the current state of the government proposals are not listening to the people on the ground, the people who live here (Trump's Wall: Life on the US-Mexico Border, 2019:2 min 27). David Romo believes it is mainly the militarisation of the border that creates that psychological fear for US citizens: "I feel very very safe" "I feel more under threat from extreme militarisation"(How residents from El Paso feel about border barriers, 2019).

On the contrary, the US department of homeland security believe that enforcing securitisation, as border strategy is the ideal proposition for borderland development. The ‘Border Calculus’ is a prototype diagram with a specific algorithm to establish the program required for various site conditions on the border. This includes physical boundaries such as strategic infrastructure or conceptual boundaries such as border patrol agents and zoning. The documentary

31

on ‘Trump's Wall: Life on the US-Mexico Border’ (2019) shows the footage of military style rehearsals for a potential influx of immigrants to the US. Although Sky news states that the location of this activity was in El Paso, I have observed that in fact it is situated just outside of El Paso, on the peripheries, in New Mexico, In this video, the Rio Grande is non existent whereas the Rio Grande is the sole connection of El Paso to Mexico. The Rio Grande stops acting as the border at the Texas/ New Mexico 'boundary', where it travels north into the US. Sunland park, the border city in New Mexico that is also neighbour to Texas' border city, El Paso, has railways for freight trains that run across behind the scene, In the footage shown in the documentary, you can see the habitable spaces and homes just across the border fence, with Mexican families and children, gathered with a safe distance away from the fence, watching border patrol take these aggressive routines of what they label as ‘crowd control’.

By studying conceptual projects as the ideal perspective of the US-Mexico border and unravelling the core issues that motivated the concepts behind the project, it became a platform of experiments to draw connections between the concept and the narrative. Between the representations of space and the space itself, the study formed a third link to the philosophical concepts covered in the literature review.

The combination built a stronger foundation to draw a more valid finding. The findings were that securitisation can be seen in different perspectives however to answer my research question through the structure of this chapter, the border is a representation of security. Psychologically demeaning an object, or rather conceptual boundary that have greater impacts on their adjacent societies.

32

Representational space “Embodying complex symbolisms, sometimes coded, sometimes not, linked to the clandestine or underground side of social life, as also to art (which may come eventually to be defined less as a code of space than as a code of representational spaces)” –

(Lefebvre, 1991)

Representation of space was the mental space constitute of social practice. The representational space however is the mental space constitute of narratives and every day practice. Pablo Vila (2000) mentioned that this space rises from the feedback collected from social interactions and dialogues between users. Ultimately the representation of space is that of the users direct experience in an environment.

Through Herzog’s (1991) definition of trans-border communities, we explored the crossover relationships of these narratives through reviewing individual stories and studying the trans-spatial organisation of border towns. In this empirical chapter, I aim to draw connections to the disorder of trans-spatial organisations in consequence of the border that represents anthropological studies of the associated humanitarian narrative.

Following our brief introduction to the no man’s land, a region on the US-Mexico border that is defined to be US soil but situated between the Rio Grande (River border that separates Texas from Mexico) and the physical border boundary (wall/fence), consist of residents whose social narratives provide great representation of trans-border communities. The documentary shares several interviews with these individuals whose properties and land is bisected by this second border and provides insight into the impact that crossing borders on a daily basis has for them. Deleuze’s philosophy on cinematography and the composition of “a dynamic construction in act” (1986:1) is consistent throughout this documentary as Jeremy Raff, the producer, shows the interviews through scenes with the setting of resident’s work place or homes that represent the spaces that are being bisected. Pamela Taylor, a homeowner in Texas who’s home is on the Mexican side of the fence, explains: "I have to cross the border wall twice if I go into town" (The No-Man's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016:1 min 4). I notice that she is constantly looking outwards away from the camera as an intuitive reaction. I later noticed in the scene that the direction she was looking at was to the fence, representing a sense of exclusivity and lack of security. Pamela’s son refers to their area as a ‘gated community’ (2016:1 min 34), and although she is a conservative, she often leaves drinking water out for the illegals if they pass her property as a

33

humanitarian act. From that observation, it seems that demarcation from her local neighbourhood has had a negative impact on her more than security from the illegal migrants. In the following scenes, as she moves around her property, with the fence in show a few hundred miles away, her calm body language portrays that she has adapted to her current situation and does not expect change.

Erasmo Hinojosa, a farmer at loop farmers, whose land is also within this region of the border, crosses the physical border through electric gates everyday for work purposes. He says: "we cross the wall with tractors and equipment... five, six times a day"(2016:2 min 42), as he smiles to the idea to initiate the impracticality of it.

However, as the original US-Mexico border is represented by the Rio Grande, there is a sense of continuity of land into Mexico. Robert Lucio, business owner faced a more economical impact, as his previous business, the Fort Brown Memorial Golf Course was closed down after 28 years of running because of the border fence and filed for bankruptcy. He believes that the no man’s land is "inhabitable, the land doesn't work for any reason, being business, farming or living there" (2016:0 min 50), and therefore becomes the impact on their daily lives.

This idea of foreign fear has pervasively created tensions within border communities as they allow the border wall to represent certain attributes and therefore be intimidated by its existence. The work of Jeffrey Hou (2013) in the literature review referred to trans-border individuals as ‘foreigners’ and ‘newcomers’, however the dynamics of border communities has allowed emergence of space through every day interactions and therefore accommodate multi cultural or socio-ethnic needs with time. The Tohono O'odham Nation, a Native American tribe whose territory straddles the border in both Mexico and the US, and has existed long before either country was on the map. The Vice Chairman of the Tohono O’odham nation, Verlon Jose, strictly states that "we never crossed the border, the border crosses us"(At U.S.-Mexico border, a tribal nation fights wall that would divide them, 2019).

Through this documentary and others that I have observed, analysed and compared (to produce valid and yet primary data), the level of information required to carry this research requires a study on site with longer time frame for primary research.

Therefore any statements or conclusions made, is subject to further research.

Due to the tribe’s historical significance and ancestral heritage, the Tohono O’odham nation are US citizens but with a self governed reservation. The complexities within this community are similar to that of trans-border residents and therefore an appropriate representation of this articulated hybrid life. Tohono O'odham people have specific points of entry on their own land and only them can access these gates to cross legally into Mexican land. On the contrary, there are certain areas where these physical boundaries are non-existent, and whether that is the reason, have experienced the impact of illegal immigrants crossing over to their

34

land more so in one documentary (Living on US-Mexico Border, Native Americans Face Daily Struggles, 2013). Verlon Jose elaborates more on the negative impacts of ‘foreigners’ entering through the doorway to ‘the promised land’ for drug traffickers, human traffickers and illegal immigrants, "Homes are getting broken into, vehicles are getting stolen, they seem to be getting more aggressive” (Living on US-Mexico Border, Native Americans Face Daily Struggles, 2013:7 min 18) – referring to both the immigrants and border patrol. He continues to say, "and we're caught in the middle”. Native American's relationship with border patrol is difficult, as Verlon clarifies with certainty "we're bringing in people who don't understand our culture, don't understand our people, don't understand our way of life - so therefore there's resentment" (Living on US-Mexico Border, Native Americans Face Daily Struggles, 2013:6 min 37) Verlon has been featured being interviewed in many of the documentaries that I have found and emphasises on US’s lack of respect for the tribe’s way of life. Other Native American nations also speak up in these documentaries (documented in appendix 3) to show the psychological impacts they are faced with everyday.

Representational space has been the type of space that I could extract the most information from documentaries. Challenges were raised at times where I were to strip the narrative from its biased perspective, either through film production or personal judgments. This allowed micro-scale dialogues to produce primary data for a more practical comparison analysis. This chapter also resorted to the topic of conceptual boundaries in relation to demarcation, and examined the representational boundary in the realm of diverse multicultural landscapes, economic and socio-spatial attributes in border town communities.

Conclusion

Spatial entanglement gives rise to a number of sub-categories and sub-questions.

Therefore my aim of this dissertation was to untangle the knot that is the core sociospatial conflicts on borders and border towns; I have streamlined certain societal attributes that allows one to connect and relink through a series of discussions and debates. The production of space is therefore the ultimate meaning of reproduction. It is encouraged through this research and beyond, that this topic is widely experimented and practised in the social realm of communities. I have at times, widely explored topics that require much further explanation and discussions; however, I felt that it was necessary to cover all areas in order to understand and

35

propose discussions that will permit further understanding and a variety of perspectives.

Physical and conceptual boundaries have far explained their margins of work, and perhaps more, however it is their purpose and their ‘rigidity’ at which the measure of demarcating conflicts will be applied. Borders as method: the psychological impact and the echoes of social simulation. The simulation that can echo as far as structuring border towns, influencing hegemonic policies and reproducing the social realm of societies. It has been repeatedly discovered that money is equal to power, and power is the tool for production and reproduction for such politically sensitive landscapes. However the potential for bottom-up urbanisation in micro-scale developments, provide an optimistic vision for the social build up of segregated communities.

Trans-spatial understanding provided an important foundation for the unfolding of my research and its extents. This unfolding of research on border town structures could have not been easily achieved without in depth research into the fabric of these border towns. Through the exploration of different narratives, zooming in and out of scenarios, endorsed the reconnection with the wider context of things and its anthropological influence.

The methodologies used were an interesting way to analyse as visual medians can be broadly speculated and translated. The challenges of limited documentaries and relevance of topic data occurred during this research, however the empirical conclusions had epistemic relationships with one another, demonstrating consistency and therefore validity.

The homogeneity of borders were perhaps too broadly spoken of, however, if we are to decipher the code of space on the epitome of urban borders, we are to experiment with its sphere of epistemic methodology. Needless to say, the micromanagement of this type of research will allow further exploration into the evolution of borderscapes and their associated behaviours.

36

Bibliography Crisis Group. (2018). Mexico’s Southern Border: Security, Violence and Migration in the Trump Era. [online] Available at: https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-americacaribbean/mexico/66-mexicos-southern-border-security-violence-and-migrationtrump-era [Accessed 2 Mar. 2019].

Vega, L. (2017). POLICY ADRIFT: MEXICO’S SOUTHERN BORDER PROGRAM. Ph.D. James A. Baker III Institute Mexico Center.

Wilson, C. and Valenzuela, P. (2014). Mexico’s Southern Border Strategy: Programa Frontera Sur. [online] Wilsoncenter.org. Available at: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Mexico_Southern_Border_Strategy. pdf [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].

Herzog, L. (1991). The transfrontier organization of space along the U.S.-Mexico border. Geoforum, 22(3), pp.255-269.

Elpasotexas.gov. (2019). Plan El Paso. [online] Available at: http://www.elpasotexas.gov/planning-and-inspections/plan-el-paso [Accessed 22 Apr. 2019].

Mezzadra, S. and Neilson, B. (2013). Border as method, or, the multiplication of labor.

Durham: Duke University Press.

Rael, R. (with Cruz, T.). (2017). Borderwall as Architecture. Oakland, California: University of California.

Vila, P. (2000). Crossing Borders, Reinforcing Borders: Social Categories, Metaphors, and Narrative Identities on the U.S.-Mexico Frontier. Austin, Tex.: Univ. of Texas Press.

Hou, J. (2013). Transcultural Cities. Routledge Samaddar, R. (2007). The materiality of politics. London: Anthem Press.

37

Perera, S. (2009). Australia and the insular imagination. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Weinstock, M. (2013). System City: Infrastructure and the Space of Flows.

Architectural Design, 83(4), pp.14-23.

Lathouri, M. (2013). A History of Territories, Movements and Borders: Politics of Inhabitation. Architectural Design, 83(4), pp.32-37.

Moreno, C. and Grinda, E. (2013). Third Natures: Incubators of Public Space.

Architectural Design, 83(4), pp.46-55.

Bรกrcena-Ruiz, J. and Casado-Izaga, F. (2016). ZONING A CROSS-BORDER CITY. Journal of Regional Science, 57(1), pp.173-189.

Livable.org. (2019). Casa Familiar - Partners for Livable Communities. [online] Available at: http://livable.org/livability-resources/612-casa-familiar-bp [Accessed 3 Mar. 2019]. www.MoMA.org, M. (2019). Check out the exhibition Small Scale, Big Change: New Architectures of Social Engagement at MoMA. [online] Moma.org. Available at: https://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2010/smallscalebigchange/projects/ casa_familiar.html [Accessed 3 Mar. 2019].

Cleaveland, C. (2011). Borders, Police, and Jobs: Viewing Latino Immigration through a Social Spatial Lens. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 92(2), pp.139-145.

Pierce, J. and Martin, D. (2015). Placing Lefebvre. Antipode, 47(5), pp.1279-1299.

Lefebvre, H. (2016). The production of space. Malden: Blackwell.

Empirical Research Meteoblue. (2019). Climate El Paso. [online] Available at: https://www.meteoblue.com/en/weather/forecast/modelclimate/el-paso_unitedstates-of-america_5520993 [Accessed 26 Apr. 2019].

38

Hacep.org. (2019). HACEP - Housing Authority of the City of El Paso. [online] Available at: https://www.hacep.org/ [Accessed 31 Mar. 2019].

Staudt, K., MonaĚ rrez Fragoso, J. and Fuentes Flores, C. (2010). Cities and citizenship at the U.S.-Mexico border. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Staff, M. (2019). The U.S.-Mexico Border. [online] migrationpolicy.org. Available at: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/us-mexico-border/ [Accessed 27 Apr. 2019].

Dwyer, A. (1994). On the line. London: Latin American Bureau.

DIETERLEN, S. (2017). IMMIGRANT PASTORAL. [S.l.]: ROUTLEDGE. Deleuze, G. (1986). Cinema 1: the movement-image. London: Athlone press.

Deleuze, G. (1989). Cinema 2: the time-image. London: Athlone Press.

Cull, N. and Carrasco, D. (2004). Alambrista and the U.S.-Mexico border.

Albuquerque, NM: Univ. of New Mexico Press.

Trump documentary: How the Mexican border has been changed by the Trump wall. (2017) Directed by Channel 4 News. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTVsscXEB9M [Accessed 31 Mar. 2019].

The Wall: A 2,000-mile border journey. (2017) Directed by USA Today. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTQDwSVMdNg [Accessed 31 Mar. 2019].

Sanchez, S. (2017). Chihuahuita: A border community rooted in history. [online] Eu.elpasotimes.com. Available at: https://eu.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2017/10/01/chihuahuita-mexico-communityrooted-history-border/715366001/ [Accessed 25 Apr. 2019].

Neighborhoodscout.com. (2019). El Paso, TX Real Estate Market Data NeighborhoodScout. [online] Available at: https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/tx/el-paso [Accessed 25 Apr. 2019].

39

The No-Man's-Land Beneath the Border Wall. (2016) Directed by J. Raff. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/490241/in-texasstuck-on-mexican-side-of-the-border-wall/ [Accessed 31 Mar. 2019].

Gao.gov. (2019). SOUTHWEST BORDER Issues Related to Private Property Damage. [online] Available at: https://www.gao.gov/assets/670/669936.pdf [Accessed 22 Apr. 2019].

Life in the Shadow of US-Mexico border Wall. (2019) Directed by BBC News. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9Gd-axMMbM [Accessed 31 Mar. 2019].

How residents from El Paso feel about border barriers. (2019) Directed by A. Angela Kocherga. [online] PBS NewsHour. Available at: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-residents-from-el-paso-feel-aboutborder-barriers [Accessed 25 Apr. 2019].

Ferryman at the Wall. (2018) Directed by D. Freid. [online] Available at: http://davidfreid.com/portfolio/ferryman-at-the-wall [Accessed 31 Mar. 2019].

Bridges, Not Walls: The Priest at the Border. (2019) Directed by J. Raff. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/583402/borderchapel/ [Accessed 25 Apr. 2019].

At U.S.-Mexico border, a tribal nation fights wall that would divide them. (2019) Directed by Livesay, C. and Saltzman, M. [online] PBS NewsHour. Available at: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/at-us-mexico-border-a-tribal-nation-fightswall-that-would-divide-them [Accessed 25 Apr. 2019].

Arizona Border Ranchers Torn in Support for Trump's Wall. (2017) Directed by Wsj. [online] Available at: https://www.wsj.com/video/arizona-border-ranchers-torn-insupport-for-trump-wall/D1BF2649-AF3B-40B1-B950-FA39AB1A68F8.html [Accessed 25 Apr. 2019].

Walls of Shame: The US-Mexico Border Wall. (2016) Directed by Aljazeera [online] Available at:

40

https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/general/2007/11/2008525184011488706.ht ml [Accessed 25 Apr. 2019].

Industriamaquiladora.com. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.industriamaquiladora.com/registro_empresa_i.php [Accessed 31 Mar. 2019].

Trump's Wall: Life on the US-Mexico Border. (2019) Directed by Sky News. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_0OVS-tu-Q [Accessed 26 Apr. 2019].

Living on US-Mexico Border, Native Americans Face Daily Struggles. (2013) Directed by ABC News. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8jg2U1hvf4 [Accessed 26 Apr. 2019].

Tijuana's Youth Are Responding To The US-Mexico Border crisis. (2019). Directed by i.D [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXAVDhO3URI [Accessed 26 Apr. 2019].

Glossary: Architectural anxiety – space affected by external pressures Borderscapes - The shifting and conflictual border zones Trans-border communities - Crossover relationships between two domestic communities Socio-cultural - Social elements in a culture Bottom-up public - where architecture and social programs are cognitive systems Endogeneity of zoning - influence on the city from zoning

41

APPENDIX 1 SPATIAL PRACTICE (projects)

Projects:

Source

Maquiadoras (Various borderland locations)

(Staudt, 2010)

Antonio J. Bermudez Industrial Park (Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico)

(Staudt, 2010)

General electric's modern Sociedad de Motores maquiladora plant (Reynosa, Nogales, Juarez, Mexico)

(Staudt, 2010)

Maquiladora plant called Lintel (Reynosa, Mexico)

(Dwyer, 1994)

Mark Clark’s neighbourhood (Brownsville, Texas)

(The NoMan's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016)

Rainbow (store)

(The NoMan's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016:4min 30)

Visual Aid

See below.

Other information/ Notes + Quotations

Assembles telephones for an American company called Sinopac International "When I came down here 11 years ago, this place was booming. at least 1/3 of the stores in downtown were vacant, now totally empty" "Property values have plummeted."

42

Majestic Mall

(The NoMan's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016)

Kress (store)

(The NoMan's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016: 4min 28)

Colonia Libertad; (Tijuana, Mexico)

(Rael, 2017:144)

Chihuahuita neighbourhood (eg.)

South of El Paso, Texas

(Sanchez, 2017) + (How residents from El Paso feel about border barriers, 2019)

Segundo Barrio Neighbourhood.

South-East El Paso, Texas

(Sanchez, 2017)

Emory Rd/ W Sunset Rd. Neighbourhood.

(Neighborh oodscout.c

Neighbourhood that uses the border wall as a wall in the house.

And possibly a house in El Paso from documentary. Check.

Manuela Rodriguez, president, Chihuahuita neighbourhood association; the border has made a difference "The tall border barrier is a backyard fence for some homes" No room for other facilities in the tiny neighborhood (~100 residents).

Schools, churches, grocery stores and clinics, whereas Chihuahuita doesn’t.

Same as below with demographics. Low

43

South-West El Paso, Texas

om, 2019)

incomes – high property prices.

Aero Vista Neighbourhood.

North-East El Paso, Texas

(Neighborh oodscout.c om, 2019)

Neighbour to Fort bliss Army post.

Neighbourhood demographics show greatest income decrease and high real estate values.

Lomas de Poleo neighbourhood, North-west of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

(Fuentes and Pena, 2010)

Eloy Vallina, Bill Sanders, Zaragoza family, etc.

(Various borderland locations)

(Fuentes and Pena, 2010)

Federal land: Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range, (Various borderland locations)

(Fuentes and Pena, 2010)

Tribal land: Tohono O’Odham nation State of Arizona, US and state of Sonora, Mexico

(The NoMan's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016)

Tunnelling (Various locations including Otay Mesa, California)

(Life in the Shadow of US-Mexico border

The interrelation show residents income does not afford their neighbourhood property prices, therefore I conclude that property is owned by private investors.

Squatter settlements, forced to move out of their homes and businesses by private investors.

Private land owners and investors

80 found along the border – connecting homes and warehouses – “Narco

44

Hidalgo international bridge (McAllen, Texas)

Wall, 2019)

tunnels”

(Trump documenta ry: How the Mexican border has been changed by the Trump wall, 2017:4min 57)

Link across the Rio Grande with pedestrian routes.

Infrastructure as virtual borders (Rio grande, US)

(Life in the Shadow of US-Mexico border Wall, 2019)

Border patrol checkpoint (Falfurrias, Texas)

(Life in the Shadow of US-Mexico border Wall, 2019)

The Gulf Cartels and Zetas Cartels.

(Reynosa, Tamaulipas state of Mexico)

(Staudt, 2010)

US-Mexico border crossing (Laredo, Texas)

Illegal migrants are dumped at this border into Reynosa – “the most dangerous city on the border” “The relatives [The legal migrants in the US,] who were financing them are being deported” too.

“River patrol, sensors, cameras, bridges, breech access roads, different types of vehicles, personnel technology” - Agent Marlene Castro from Customs and border patrol A second US border patrol checkpoint 100km north of the border where migrants have died hiding in the ranches.

Just next to a 'major corridor' highway where people smugglers and drug traffickers travel through.

Where 60% of the trade between Mexico and the US passes

45

Big bend national park; (Texas, US and Chihuahua, Mexico)

(Ferryman at the Wall, 2018) (Life in the Shadow of US-Mexico border Wall, 2019)

Boquillas crossing port of entry building (Big bend crossing, Rio grande)

(Ferryman at the Wall, 2018)

Migration Shelters in (Nogales, Mexcio)

(Life in the Shadow of US-Mexico border Wall, 2019)

Evangelical church (Tijuana, Mexico)

(Life in the Shadow of US-Mexico border Wall, 2019)

La Lomita Chapel (Mission, Texas – near McAllen)

(Bridges, Not Walls: The Priest at the Border, 2019)

Where the dessert meets Rio Grande "The flowing border dividing and uniting both countries for hundreds of kilometres" -in most of texas is the place where the next face of the wall will be built. Threat to the properties and landscape itself.

Mike boat ferried 11,000 visitors to mexico last year.

People who wish to cross the rio grande will need to stop at Passport control at a building called Boquillas crossing port of entry, to get their passports stamped.

Providing homes for over thousands of migrants.

Nearby town in an evangelical church housing patient migrants - a shelter and a place of limbo.

La Lomita chapel falls entirely in the enforcement zone proposed by customs and border protection, cleared of everything extending out 150ft from the border wall, and therefore potentially destroyed.

46

APPENDIX 2 REPRESENTATIONS OF SPACE (Projects)

Projects:

Source

Binational City Fernando Romero (New Mexico, Texas and Chihuahua)

Fr-ee.org

Visual Aid

Other information/ Notes + Quotations

A utopian binational border city on the USMexico border.

Hyperconnected urban centres with a hexagonal grid of infrastructures, connecting spaces and people.

Living rooms at the border (Teddy Cruz)

Moma.org

Multidimensional spaces and recycling housing systems to advocate a better solution to the existing borderland structures.

Cactus wall (Borderwall as architecture)

(Rael, 2017:51)

A natural obstacle.

Xylophobia (Borderwall as architecture)

(Rael, 2017:81)

To reintroduce native plants to the ecology of the current land.

Xylophone wall as a manifestation of the irrational fear that is foreign (xenophobia) Impromptu binational group performance

47

Library wall (Borderwall as architecture)

(Rael, 2017:88)

Solar wall (Borderwall as architecture)

(Rael, 2017:114)

Large scale solar farms to contribute and source energy to border communities

Hot water wall (Borderwall as architecture)

(Rael, 2017:119)

Creating low cost resources from solar energy to distribute to border communities

Field of dreams (Borderwall as architecture)

(Rael, 2017:100)

Baseball as a favourite Mexican sport

Bicycle and pedestrian wall (Borderwall as architecture)

Border as a bookshelf.

Transnational exchange of books, dialogue, and culture

(Rael, 2017:42)

Gate opens to allow children play in the field of dreams with border patrol presene Barrier between northsouth traffic, but movement on the east-west path Linear urban park

Hydro Wall (Borderwall as architecture) (El paso and Ciudad Juarez

(Rael, 2017:54)

Increase adjacent property values, reduce vehicular traffic and improve quality of life.

Transformative system of storm-water catchment for the stormy and hot conditions of desert communities.

Ecological and hydrological infrastructure

48

Wastewater treatment wall (Borderwall as architecture) (Mexicali and the Imperial valley

(Rael, 2017:60)

Swing wall (Borderwall as architecture)

(Rael, 2017:69)

Wildlife wall (Borderwall as architecture)

(Rael, 2017:108)

Forest Wall (Borderwall as architecture)

(Rael, 2017:112)

Horse racing (Borderwall as architecture)

(Rael, 2017:125)

Linear pond filtration and purification system By-products can power streetlights and irrigation water – a healthy social infrastructure A dynamic boundary where people could socially cross borders by swinging to the other side without the ability to stay.

Binational park.

Border being a threat to the extinction of endangered species that live on borderland habitats; grasslacnd, mountains and deserts

2008 “Green wall” project sought to rejuvenate public green areas in border cities plus offer environmental education.

Hyper-protected nature reserves.

Relampago – horse of the rich vs el moro – horse of the people.

International border horse race, Agua Priesta, Mexico & Douglas, Arizona.

49

House Divided – 0 border setbacks. (Borderwall as architecture)

Border Calculus

(Rael, 2017:142)

The department of homeland security,

Border dividing property and land on the US (rio grande and no man’s land) But zero setback for developments on the Mexican side of the border.

Proposed zero setback for both sides and houses shared a wall, or perhaps even one roof.

This raises design decisions for transsocial and transcultural comfort Mathematical algorithm to a strategic security infrastructure.

(Rael, 2017:27) Gadsden Purchase of 1854 (Tohono O'odham land, Arizona)

(At U.S.Mexico border, a tribal nation fights wall that would divide them, 2019)

Ideal for planners but not ideal for users. –The agreement between US and Mexico for where to draw the border without considering or asking for consent from the Tohono O’odham nationals.

City of El Paso’s Comprehensive Plan Vol1 and Vol2

Elpasotexas .gov

The basis for El Paso’s regulations and policies that guide its physical and economic development.

50

APPENDIX 3 REPRESENTATIONAL SPACE (Projects)

Projects:

Source

Virtual bordering (Rio Grande, US)

(Life in the Shadow of US-Mexico border Wall, 2019) (At U.S.Mexico border, a tribal nation fights wall that would divide them, 2019) (Arizona Border Ranchers Torn in Support for Trump's Wall, 2017)

Visual Aid

Other information/ Notes + Quotations “River patrol, sensors, cameras, bridges, breech access roads, different types of vehicles, personnel technology� - Agent Marlene Castro from Customs and border patrol Rodney Irby, Tohono O'odham nation police dept; He believes in this modern approach rather than a wall.

"We were all hoping for maybe, maybe more of surveillance wall" Kelly Glenn, Douglas Arizona.

John Ladd, Naco, Arizona agrees that manpower and other security measures at the border - is the answer

Petra Santiago, (Reynosa, Mexico)

(Dwyer, 1994)

Maquiladora worker in Reynosa Pay of US$38 per week.

Living condition has "no running water or bathroom or basic comfort of any kind."

51

Verlon Jose, (Tohono O'odham nation, Arizona)

(At U.S.Mexico border, a tribal nation fights wall that would divide them, 2019) (Living on US-Mexico Border, Native Americans Face Daily Struggles, 2013)

Vice Chairman of the Tohono O’odham nation "We never crossed the border, the border crosses us" Native American's relationship with border patrol is difficult: "we're bringing in people who don't understand our culture, don't understand our people, don't understand our way of life - so therefore there's resentment" "Drugs come through here, migrants come through here" "homes are getting broken into, vehicles are getting stolen, they seem to be getting more aggressive (the cartel and the border patrol) "and we're caught in the middle�

Francine Jose, Tribal member, (Tohono O'odham nation, Arizona)

April Ignacio, (Tohono O'odham nation, Arizona)

(Living on US-Mexico Border, Native Americans Face Daily Struggles, 2013)

The police responses to her home in 45min and the border crossers who cross Francine's property know it.

(At U.S.Mexico border, a

Resident of the Tohono O'odham US border town and single mother

"I would say once a month" she says, damaging her property, stealing food and even 1 case when they "cooked stuff... and just left everything [one the stove]"

52

tribal nation fights wall that would divide them, 2019)

of 5 "… the type of psychological, emotional trauma that we're dealing with that no one's talking about" Harassed repeatedly by border patrol agents

Francisco Valenzuela SR, Rancher; (Tohono O'odham nation, Arizona)

(At U.S.Mexico border, a tribal nation fights wall that would divide them, 2019)

Arc Wilson, Native American resident (Tohono O'odham nation, Arizona)

(Living on US-Mexico Border, Native Americans Face Daily Struggles, 2013)

"This is home, its like somebody coming to your house and there's no sense of freedom, you know, feeling invaded on your own homeland."

Bilingual mass at Communion Wall (Nogales, Arizona)

(Rael, 2017:76)

By catholic bishops

By John Fanestil (Border United Methodist Church, friendship park)

(Rael, 2017:76)

Coordinates a communion, every Sunday since 2008

Alma Revesz (McAllen, Texas)

(Trump documentary: How the Mexican border has been changed by the Trump wall, 2017)

At a Catholic charity receiving 10's of thousands of people migrating mainly from central America

Roy Snipes; (Mission, Texas – near McAllen)

(Bridges, Not Walls: The Priest at the Border, 2019)

Catholic Priest at la Lolita chapel

David Garza, (Mission, Texas – near

(Bridges, Not Walls: The

Attorney for the Diocese; suing the

53

McAllen)

Priest at the Border, 2019)

government to protect the old chapel in Texas

Yoga Wall (Friendship park; Tijuana, Mexico & San diego, US)

(Rael, 2017:72)

By Dan Watman

Wall y Ball (Naco, Arizona & Naco, Sonora)

(Rael, 2017:73)

By Brent Hoff

Prada Marfa (Chihuahuan desert, Mexico)

(Rael, 2017:3)

Artist Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset

Kelly Glenn 5th generation rancher.

(Douglas, Arizona)

(Arizona Border Ranchers Torn in Support for Trump's Wall, 2017)

"We were all hoping for maybe, maybe more of surveillance wall"

John Ladd, 4th Generation rancher (Naco, Arizona)

(Arizona Border Ranchers Torn in Support for Trump's Wall, 2017)

Agrees that more border patrol is needed on the ground, and that better technology like cameras and sensors would help.

Melissa Owens; (Arizona, US)

(Walls of Shame: The US-Mexico Border Wall, 2016)

Her property/ranch is a fortified compound enclosed by razor wire to keep her safe and intruders out - in Arizona

Max Pons 5th generation Texan (No man’s land, Texas)

Tim Loop, farmer 3rd generation Texan (No man’s land, Southernmost tip of Texas)

(The NoMan's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016) (The NoMan's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016)

Dr. Eloisa Tamez,

(The No-

An activist and nurse.

54

No man’s land (Brownsville, Texas

Man's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016)

Department of US homeland security threatened her to sell her land granted to her ancestors in 1767.

Noel Benavidez (Texas)

(Life in the Shadow of US-Mexico border Wall, 2019) (The Wall: A 2,000-mile border journey, 2017)

Forced to sell his land to homeland security.

Land owned for over 250 years

Scott Nicol,

(The NoMan's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016)

Activist and reporter

Robert Lucio, No man’s land (Brownsville, Texas)

(The NoMan's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016)

Debbie, Leonard and Charles Loop; Farmers (No man’s land)

(The NoMan's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016)

Business owner and former golf course owner - Fort Brown memorial golf course closed down after 28 years of running because of the border fence and filed for bankruptcy Land north and south side of the border fence

Pamela Taylor, (No man’s land, Texas)

(The NoMan's-Land Beneath the Border Wall, 2016)

Laura Gomez, (Calexico/ Nogales)

Reporter referred to border towns as “regular”

Home owner

(Trump's Wall: Life on the USMexico Border, 2019)

55

David Romo; (El Paso)

(How residents from El Paso feel about border barriers, 2019)

Historian and resident.

Manuela Rodriguez, (Chihuahuita Park, El paso, US)

(How residents from El Paso feel about border barriers, 2019)

President of the Chihuahuita neighbourhood association.

The border has made a difference.

"The tall border barrier is a backyard fence for some homes" Amanda Castro; resident in Chihuahuita whose “home is nestled against the steel mesh of the fence, and said it gives her an extra feeling of safety.”

A home in Colonia Libertad and the home in El Paso from the documentary that shows both share the same border wall for the structure of their house.

Referring to Ronald Rael’s divided floor plan project, these can be examples to back up the concept.

Claudia Hernandez and Ana Hernandez; (El Paso, Texas)

(How residents from El Paso feel about border barriers, 2019)

Border residents in El Paso: Claudia: "a lot of people from other parts of the US they dont know how we live here, there is already a lot of security"

56

Ana: "this is a really safe city, and it just makes you feel unsafe somehow, like all that wire they put there, it just looks horrible" "its threatening" Concerned about the president's portrayal of the border as a dangerous place.

Humberto Porras, (El Paso, Texas)

(How residents from El Paso feel about border barriers, 2019)

Border resident: "He's [Trump] set the bar pretty low"

Hussain Antonio Garcia (Laredo bridge to Tennessey)

(Life in the Shadow of US-Mexico border Wall, 2019)

A trucker who takes cargo across every week

Luis; (El Paso, US)

(Life in the Shadow of US-Mexico border Wall, 2019)

Drives from Mexico into US every morning for work. US concrete company.

Chris Ramirez; (Tijuana, Mexico)

(Life in the Shadow of US-Mexico border Wall, 2019)

Mike Davidson; (Big Bend National park, Texas)

(Life in the Shadow of US-Mexico border Wall, 2019) + (Ferryman at the Wall, 2018)

US raised and citizen who got involved with gangs, drugs and guns, jailed in US, deported to Mexico, country of birth Big Bend River guide: "rivers as boundaries is a very bad idea, I think rivers are where things come together not where they get put apart."

57

58