SURVEILLANCE
SURVEILLANCE - LONDON, UK & WASHINGTON, DC, USA [2017]
The comparative urbanism course provided the opportunity to compare aspects of two distinct urban areas. Due to ongoing threats to national security to both domestic and foreign terrorism in both London and Washington, DC I choose to explore the defensive surveillance methods used and the incidents that have taken place so far in both cities in response to these threats. London at the time was grappling with the latest terrorist attack at Westminster that left 6 people dead and 49 injured and had in place measures dating back to the IRA terror attacks. Washington, DC in the wake of the 9/11 attacks had been and is still being converted into a defensible city. My research uncovered the extent to which the cities are under surveillance and the various methods that are being used without the everyday citizen being aware of.
London vs uk surveillance
The amount of cameras per capita of both cities was explored to understand the intensity of the surveillance.
LONDON, UK MAP
London shown with the secure boundaries of both the “Congestion Charge” Zone and the “Ring of Steel”, the locations of cameras publically available by the government, and the location of major incidents.
WASHINGTON, DC Map
Washington, DC shown with the secure boundaries of “The National Capital Urban Design and Security Plan”, the locations of cameras publically available by the government, and the location of major incidents.
