Project Space: Essay Two

The Significance of Analyzing Front Yards and Their Function

Analyzing and being aware of front yards and porches around us can benefit us as individuals, because we can gain a better sense of how public and private spaces in certain neighborhoods are being created by residents for social interaction. In a larger scope of things, it can also benefit our larger society by filling some of the social voids of suburban America. Whether one looks at the well-orchestrated street life of East Los Angeles where people have created a receiving environment for local residents by using their front yards and porches. Whether it’s analyzing front yard fences that assert ownership, and or unexpectedly bring people together. The significance of the front porch and yard as both an architectural place and a social space, serve the essential function in allowing people to interact in a neutral area. In short, not having an outlook guided by scrutiny and awareness towards public and private space, such as a front yard, could harvest negative behaviors towards people and the ways in which they choose to occupy their space.

Traditionally, yards are considered the public area of the residence, where they enter and leave their homes but spend very little time in. The landscape also reflects something of the character of those who live there, serving as somewhat of a status symbol. For instance, if someone has healthy green grass on their lawn, people might think they’re financially stable and of high stature, because they’re spending money on something as simple as fertilizer. As oppose, to those people who have yellowish green grass on their lawn, could be viewed as lazy and poor. Ultimately, “The yard has two primary functions: presenting an attractive appearance to the neighborhood and getting people safely and easily from the street to the front door,” says Karen Ellersieck, professor of Plant Sciences at the University of Missouri, and author of “Landscaping Your Front Yard.” In other words, typically front yards are a very impersonal space, where no one really sits and no personal objects are left lying, ultimately ceasing the extension of home life towards the street. In chorus, front yards usually act as a psychological barrier separating the private space of the home from the public space of the street (Ellersieck NP). Having a well-maintained, traditional front yard that lacks social interaction has become the norm, yet not everyone goes along with it; by choosing to use their yards as a social statement with many societal ramifications (Ellersieck NP).

In order to see the benefits of analyzing nontraditional yards and the behaviors they yield, once must only view the well-orchestrated street life of East Los Angeles; where people walk, talk, water their grass, and play on their front lawns in a unrestricted manner. In this area, yards evolved into a new vernacular form as residents have made changes to suit their needs. As the Chicano urban planner James Rojas explains it in his article “The Enacted Environment: Examining the Streets and Yards of East Los Angeles,” “The streets and front yards were accessible at all time to us; they were the public spaces where we would gather daily to become part of the larger community” (276). It became a place where children could play, teenagers hang out, and the elderly watch. Since so many of the residents chose to extend their home life to their front yards, as oppose to the traditional form of using the backyard, a larger community was created. Ultimately, transforming the traditional landscape and serving as a social catalyst where people could roam around in a welcoming environment. In making this comment, Rojas urges us to see how Latinos in his neighborhood used their front yards, in a nontraditional form, but yet constructively formed a larger community. Since people occupied their yards in Rojas’s neighborhood, the yards didn’t act as psychological barriers separating the private space of the home from the public space of the street. In this sense, just because someone doesn’t have healthy green grass on their lawn, it doesn’t make them irresponsible, it just shows how people dictate their space in different forms. Thus, analyzing front yards can benefit individuals by helping them gain a clear understanding between traditional and nontraditional forms of yards, and the certain behaviors they yield.

In chorus, even something as simple as analyzing a front yard fence could tell you something about space and social interaction; which in some cases could be either good or bad. In general fences define borders between public and private space; they form secure spaces and predicate ownership (Rojas 282). However, if you take a trip around the Eastern part of Los Angeles, you would notice that fences also serve additional purposes, such as, a place to hang wet towels, dry clothes, and even to talk to neighbors. Fences ultimately serve as the problem solver of what is called “the problem of the front door.” When visitors cross an East Los Angeles front yard and reach the front door of a house, they have reached a pivotal part of the home. The front door marks a boundary between an open, public space and a closed inaccessible one. Thus, when a visitor and resident meet at the front door, there is this immense pressure of whether or not the visitor is going to get invited in. The fence solves this problem. Ultimately, the residents of the fenced home stay within the semiprivate comfort and security of their outdoor room. While visitors may feel more comfortable not having to walk up to the front door of the house, feeling concerned of whether or not they‘re going to get invited in. As a result, the fence can be used as a social catalyst, bringing people together, but that’s not what everyone thinks (Rojas 282).

On the contrary to the belief that fences can serve as a social catalyst, some people, such as myself at times might feel unwelcome by fences. Simply because fences in a peculiar, imaginative way yell out “stay out.“ In this case, I once believed that fences meant the owners of the house didn’t want people entering their space, let alone interacting with them. Simply put, I personally didn’t want to be somewhat of a nuisance knocking on someone’s door; making the owners feel obligated to let me in. In this sense, not understanding the exact use and meaning of the public space of the fence, could loosen ties with neighbors and local residents, simply because of the constraints a fence signifies and not feeling compelled to enter their space. Also, because ever since my inception, like many others, I’ve been taught that boundaries are not meant to be crossed, and when they are there‘s always negative consequences. In this case, that’s not necessarily true, people have created an upbeat social life by redefining the boundaries that once stood. In short, the fence is not only an identifier of private ownership, but also a social catalyst that could either strengthen your ties with people or weaken them, it all depends on your awareness and the circumstances on how you view a fence.

To understand the importance of awareness of porches, one must examine people as users and creators of a place through their behavior patterns, and as being suppliers of the urban landscape (Rojas 278). People are both users and creators of a place and thus become suppliers in the urban landscape. “A front porch is immediate and visible to neighbors, fostering interaction that is spontaneous, and allowing a community to come together in a casual way,” says Kendra Juskus, contributor of Flourish Magazine. In this sense, people utilize their porches to say something about their individual identity (Juskus).As a patriot – of East Los Angeles, where Rojas was raised, life indoors was dreary and indifferent compared to the outdoors and the vivacious street life manipulated by the community as they pleased (275). Since all the activity occurred in the front yard, the front porch became the focal point of the house (Rojas 281). In East Los Angeles, the front porch gained a new significance as residents enlarged and expand it for heavy use. Rojas himself writes, “people in east Los Angeles graciously extend their home life toward the street and bring the street’s party, work space, and conversation into the front yard” (281). For instance, the residents used their front yards and porches at times as a reflection of their struggles, conquests, and everyday values of the working class, by at times placing a statue of the Virgin Mary in the yard (Rojas 281). In this case, porches, reflect Mexican cultural values as applied to American suburban practice. Therefore, examining how people as users and creators adapt their cultural values in their front yards, could give you a better sense of how they can become thresholds for communities.

Although cultural values are often portrayed in front yards, it often gets tricky when people place sofas on their front porches, because from my personal experience sofas on front porches denote laziness and being “ghetto.” In this sense, the front entry sets the stage for your home.” First impressions make a huge difference in how your family, friends and neighbors view your home,” says Jackie Braitman, owner and principal of Braitman Design/Build, and author of “The Front Porch - An Extension of Your Living Room” (NP). From my personal experience, some people simply feel that a couch on a porch pushes people away. Although, the people that have told me that have never justified their opinion. I think they feel that way because its just not part of the norm to place a sofa on the porch. Also, a covered front porch, may turn away people from trying to socialize, catch up on the latest news or just relax and enjoy the company. (Braitman NP). For instance, if someone from a different neighborhood were to visit the area where porches are somewhat being used as storage rooms ,they might be puzzled why so many people are using porches in ways that are contrarily foreign to them, and perchance seems disorderly. Which might cause them to maybe avoid sticking up a casual conversation. I know I’d probably deliver uncalled for criticism, because I’d feel that it provides no opportunities welcoming to strangers (Juskus NP). Anyway, while life in these neighborhood streets might seem unordered and chaotic to outsiders, its systematic because the residents understand it (Rojas 276). In this sense, average pedestrians and the urban planners examining social issues and policies in areas similar to these might criticize the areas and feel the need for a transformation, without actually understanding the use of a porch by real people (Rojas 278).

In conclusion, analyzing and being aware of the front yards and porches around us can benefit us as individuals, and our greater society, because we can gain a better understanding of how public and private spaces in certain neighborhoods are being created by residents for social interaction, whether positively or negatively. In this fashion, the outdoor environment is a graceful place, composed of front yards and commercial streets, of private and public spaces unified by human behavior and ideas (Rojas 292). Lastly, it’s important to remember that observing and analyzing a space could often equipped you with the constraints and benefits of that particular space. While, many people still remain unaware of how these spaces function in our lives, its critical to understand that people have created something many veteran Americans desire: a vivacious street life, communal public spaces, and the sense of belonging to a community. To conclude, analyzing and being aware of how people tailor and occupy their space as they please can ultimately benefit you by telling you a bit about social interaction, as oppose to creating overriding assumptions pertaining to peoples’ lifestyle and occupation.

Works Cited:

Braitman, Jackie. "The Front Porch – An Extension of Your Living Room." Braitmandesign.com. Braitman Design/Build, 30 July 2010. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. .

Ellersieck, Karen. "Landscaping Your Front Yard." Extension.missouri.edu. University of Missouri, June 2006. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. .

Juskus, Kendra L. "Front Porch Revival: The Past, Present, and Possibility of a Neighborhood Mainstay." Flourishonline.org. Flourish Magazine, 10 Feb. 2010. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. .

Rojas, James. “The Enacted Environment: Examining the Streets and Yards of East Los Angeles.” Everyday America: Cultural Landscape Studies After J.B. Jackson. Eds. Chris Wilson and Paul Groth. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. 275-292. Print.