ESSAY
Hanna Mamzer
"here" and "there". In this context, a fence is a mobilization tool for some action; for example, you can play football here, because it is a pitch. The fence therefore has several functions: a psychological one by providing comfort to hide behind and satisfying the need for security; a social one by separating worlds; an architectural one constituting an element of space; and an aesthetic one, by ornamenting or disfiguring a landscape, fitting it into a context or becoming a dominant part of the landscape. The tendency to build fences is an expression of certain socio-cultural conditions and, I think, one can risk the thesis that less open communities, with a higher level of uncertainty and fear, will build fences and fencing more for fear of the invasively perceived presence of others. Conversely, more open cultures, give up this kind of fencing, and if they use it, then it is with the intention of serving a very specific utilitarian function (e.g. limiting the freedom of animals). The implementation of these trends is very visible in the spatial organization in the Netherlands, Great Britain and the United States of America, where as a rule, no fences are set up, preferring an open space around residential buildings. On the one hand, it may indicate openness, but on the other hand, it may
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