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The British obsession with privacy
amancalledgeorge
Posts: 2,736
Hi all,
I've only joined the forums the other day, but have been binge reading over the last month and I found lots of great advice from so many helpful members. One thing that has been surprising for me is the amount of people joining to ask for screening plants. All seems rather paranoid to me, by definition a space like an urban garden is overlooked by its near neighbours and actually it's one of the reasons it's safe.
When famously Jane Jacobs wrote her book The Life and Death of Great American Cities in 1961, she explained definitively how safety in an urban context is defined by the amounts of direct human supervision of the sidewalk (bare the Americanism for some period flavour). Thus to exclude the glances of neighbours, we are making our properties less safe as they are not supervised by friendly glances. That lack of direct supervision makes the perfect breeding ground for antisocial and criminal activity.
I know we are conditioned to dislike the twitching curtain neighbour that keeps an eye on the road, but they are the ones that will report antisocial behaviour and may be that crucial witness if one of us gets robbed. As such I just wave to the neighbours ask them how they do and go about my merry way pottering about. The idea that I'd want to block the view with huge climbers and bamboos is really odd to me. All this agony on who's overlooking your gardens is truly misplaced, come on Britain, think again. Don't be so buttoned up.
Anyway, thought the above will bring about an interesting conversation, as I'd like to know what this insurmountable fear is that makes people want to effectively hide in an outdoor space.
I've only joined the forums the other day, but have been binge reading over the last month and I found lots of great advice from so many helpful members. One thing that has been surprising for me is the amount of people joining to ask for screening plants. All seems rather paranoid to me, by definition a space like an urban garden is overlooked by its near neighbours and actually it's one of the reasons it's safe.
When famously Jane Jacobs wrote her book The Life and Death of Great American Cities in 1961, she explained definitively how safety in an urban context is defined by the amounts of direct human supervision of the sidewalk (bare the Americanism for some period flavour). Thus to exclude the glances of neighbours, we are making our properties less safe as they are not supervised by friendly glances. That lack of direct supervision makes the perfect breeding ground for antisocial and criminal activity.
I know we are conditioned to dislike the twitching curtain neighbour that keeps an eye on the road, but they are the ones that will report antisocial behaviour and may be that crucial witness if one of us gets robbed. As such I just wave to the neighbours ask them how they do and go about my merry way pottering about. The idea that I'd want to block the view with huge climbers and bamboos is really odd to me. All this agony on who's overlooking your gardens is truly misplaced, come on Britain, think again. Don't be so buttoned up.
Anyway, thought the above will bring about an interesting conversation, as I'd like to know what this insurmountable fear is that makes people want to effectively hide in an outdoor space.
To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
That doesn't make me "paranoid" it makes me a private person who affords the same levels of courtesy to my neighbours.
I'm sure interfering busy bodies would disagree, but I have no love of interfering busy bodies.
I assume you don't have curtains or blinds in your house? Lol
To which he replied " it's my flat and I like walking about naked. Might I suggest you draw yours?"
Edited to add, I think it was Peter O'Toole.
" have a look by all means. Once you've stopped laughing, I'm sure you won't need to look again"
At the same time gardens in new builds are smaller and closer so even when you do get to be at home you feel surrounded by all these people you don't know so I can quite understand wanting a quiet, private oasis in a garden.
In France, where there is a lot of new build, they have started an annual "fête des voisins" where people are encouraged and supported to organise a street party to get to know their neighbours and build communities. Not all councils are involved but those that are provide help with posters, t-shirts, tables and benches on loan and so on. This year it will be May 24th. https://www.lafetedesvoisins.fr/