/>Knicked from the Heavy Trash weblog:

WHAT’S HEAVY TRASH?
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An anonymous arts organization of architects, designers and urban
planners, Heavy Trash creates large, disposable art objects that draw community
and media attention to urban issues. By explaining a particular urban problem
and suggesting a solution, Heavy Trash seeks to provoke dialogue among the
residents of Los Angeles.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH GATED COMMUNITIES?
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Most people want to live in communities that are safe for their families
and most homeowners want to protect their property values. Although these are
fundamentally reasonable goals, walling off one section of the city from another
is not a reasonable way to achieve them. In fact, doing so can actually harm the
very communities in need of protection. According to USC Lusk Center Director Ed
Blakely and UC Berkeley professor Mary Gail Snyder,

“When public
services and even local government are privatized, when the community of
responsibility stops at the gates, the function and the very idea of democracy
are threatened. Gates and barricades that separate people from one another also
reduce people’s potential to understand one another and commit to any common or
collective purpose.”

Instead of walling ourselves off in gated
communities, alternatives, such as the following, should be explored:

/>* Unrestricted pedestrian access. Since it is difficult to commit a property
crime in Los Angeles without a car, unrestricted pedestrian access could be
provided to all gated communities. This would return the parks, streets and
sidewalks that have been removed from the public realm back to the residents of
Los Angeles.

* Investment in public infrastructure. Encourage
investment in public infrastructure—like parks, streets, sidewalks and
schools—by restoring local control over property tax revenues, essentially
fixing the unintended consequences of Proposition 13.

* “More eyes on
the street.” Amend zoning code to encourage more mixed-use residential
neighborhoods with 24-hour activity. Legalize second units (“Granny Flats”) in
single-family homes. Both of these actions would put more people outside during
the normal course of a day, and nothing works quite as well to make
neighborhoods safer, friendlier and livelier.

More href="http://www.heavytrash.blogspot.com/">here.