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Atlas | Force to Fruit
Senior Thesis Part One
2020
Regarding the Green New Deal
Origins of 'Atlas'
The Green New Deal Superstudio ran from August 1, 2020 until June 30, 2021. The Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) in association with the Weitzman School of Design McHarg Center, the Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) invited designers to be part of a historic, national initiative to translate the core goals of the Green New Deal—decarbonization, justice, and jobs—into design and planning projects for their respective regions. Participation was open to all design schools, professional practices, individuals, and other design and planning related organizations. Some 670 projects were submitted by participating university courses, groups, and individuals. The Superstudio was an open call for designs that spatially manifest the principles and policy ideas of the Green New Deal with regional and local specificity. A national climate plan like the Green New Deal will be understood by most people through the landscapes, buildings, infrastructures, and public works agenda that it inspires. The Superstudio was a concerted effort to give form and visual clarity to the scale, scope, and pace of transformation that the Green New Deal implies.
The United States has the highest Incarceration Rate in the World
The system of justice and imprisonment in America has been in a downward spiral since its initial enactment. Reformation was never at the surface of this system, but instead punishment and force. This has caused an exponential rate of incarceration in the United States with 737 out of every 100,000 humans being incarcerated. Historical tactics have not changed, and a multitude of other tactics have been added, lending the U.S.A. to hold 1,100,000 more inmates than the total of 21 countries holding the abundant remainder worldwide. The United States holds 2,300,000 prisoners while the combination of other represented countries only holds 1,200,000.
Our Land is Covered in Facilities
The prison facilities for holding these inmates do not go unnoticed. The U.S.A. stacks up to having 1,943 facilities covering our land. These facilities are used to hold 25% of the world’s prison population.
The Legislative Branch Influences Mass Incarceration
The trend of rising incarceration rates has continued for a multitude of reasons, the laws and regulations set forth by our government being one. The historical laws that continue to prevail allow long-term sentencing for low level offenses, incriminating of technical violations of parole and probation, and generally keeping laws in place that are responsible for massive incarceration rates.
The War on Drugs Catapulted the Initial Rises in Prison Capacity
The War on Drugs was set into place by Nixon in 1971 with the action for this declaration meaning to claim drugs as “public enemy number one.” This push lead to a massive increase in incarcerations related to non-violent drug offenses. When Reagan took hold of office in 1981, the war heightened in the sense of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act which established mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders. Systemic racism came to light in the war as well, where five grams of crack and 500 grams of powder cocaine were served with the same five-year sentence. Crack was predominantly used by African Americans, while cocaine was used mostly by Whites; this led to suspicion of the disproportionate rate of colored versus whites being incarcerated.
1/4 Of the Incarcerated Lie in Only 5 States
These states followed suit of the 1970’s philosophy of being “tough on crime.” The roots in punishment for such actions skyrocketed these states’ inmate numbers, and they continue to withhold an abundance of U.S.A. inmates today.
The Justice System is The Issue
Brazil, a country known for high rates of violent crime, has inmate numbers showing 1.5 million less inmates than the United States. This proves that there is a significant issue within the legislature of the U.S.A. and that a call to action is inevitably necessary.
Today We See Exponential Rates of Nonviolent, Low Level Offenses Crowding Our Prisons
Out of the 2,300,000 inmates in our system, 1,150,000 of them are in our prisons for reasons related to outdated law.
The System is a Corrupt Revolving Door No Matter the Offense
Although an abundance of these inmates are low level and nonviolent offenders, regardless of the offense, the largest issue with the system is the way in which it treats inmates.
The abundance of laws put these inmates into a system that is rooted in force, violence, and scare tactics. Once an inmate makes their way out of the prison walls, they are subject to an abundance of policies and regulations.
I.e. --- Job opportunities are not easy to find and once found, questions such as “Are you a felon?” arise on applications. A law that was administered during the Clinton administration states, “There does not need to be a criminal conviction on a tenant’s record in order for the Housing Authority to evict a tenant on the grounds of criminal activity.” This one strike policy has been a segway in some cases as to give prisoners lack of resources for housing. This means in some cases, once they are released from prison, staying with family is not an option. Refusal for federal aid such as student loans or government funded food stamps are also issues that arise once prisoners make their way out. One thing after another, the mess of a system is in dire need of dismantling at its core and rebuilding from the ground up.
End of Chapter 01: An Overcrowded System
Government Uses Mass Incarceration to Benefit Private Prisons, Corporations & Investors
Although only a small piece of the puzzle is the channeling of money from government to higher power profit, it is still a benefit of mass incarceration. For example, Private Prisons are allotted stipends by the government to keep the abundance of prisoners intact but off their hands. The government funds these prisons and private owners profit by pocketing a percentage of what they are given for each inmate. Therefore, these private owned companies want prisoners to stay caught in their revolving door to turn a profit.
Prisoners Work for Little to No Profit on Government and Corporation Jobs
The 13th amendment states: “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” The clause in the amendment stating “except as punishment for crime” allows for annual penal labor profits of 500 million dollars. Mass incarceration allows the law to use inmates for labor with little to no compensation (I.e. --- municipal and public work such as road crews or “in house” work scaling from working in the kitchen to producing product for large corporations). Whatever it be, there are multiple scenarios in which prisoners are being used as a byproduct of the moneymaking scheme that is hidden within the system, rather than being rehabilitated to reenter society. Although there are some inmates who rely on the work to step away from the atmosphere of the prison otherwise, there could be efforts to use alternative methods for providing this grace to the incarcerated.
There is an Influx of Blacks & Hispanics Vulnerable to This System
According to the Prison Policy Initiative, statistics also show that people of indigenous color are overrepresented on death row, solitary confinement, and more likely to be serving sentences of life. The internalized systemic racism in relation to imprisonment tactics are not lacking its intentional motives of stripping away human rights for the agenda of the oppressor.
Mental Health Deteriorates Within Prison Walls
The system is built on foundational methods such as dehumanization, little to no contact with the outside world, use of solitary confinement, and scare tactics. A failing factor of this system is the lack of representation of mental health specialists on the force, and rather a plethora of poorly trained, forceful police. Because of the use of this rather inhumane approach, instead of sending revived humans back into society after sentencing, prisoners with newly acquired mental health issues are. There are 10 times as many mentally ill humans in prisons compared to those in hospitals, and accompanying that, 50% of the imprisoned subject to mental illness are disproportionally abused and raped. Reoffending is highly likely for prisoners of this mentally instable state, once again keeping these prisoners in this revolving door strategy.
F O R C E to F R U I T
[ Atlas considers the materialization of ]
A Restorative Justice System Should be Precedent for the U.S.A.
Using a system that is rooted in rehabilitation has proven to be quite the victory for Norwegians. Along with giving prisoners a human’s value, they provide beautiful, thoughtful architectural structures to house them. The system is rooted in rehabilitation rather than punishment and strives to put “better neighbors” back into their society. Because of this, they see a recidivism rate (the tendency of a convict to reoffend) of only 20% compared to 70% in the United States. They simulate life on the outside which aids in restoration of their citizens. The radical humaneness of this system is precedented by the fact that they believe that using longer sentencing and more force is not the answer, no matter the offense. In their country, no criminal, violent or nonviolent, is sentenced to more than 30 years’ time. In relation to this comparison, it is obvious that the U.S. holds the weaker system and is in desperate need of recovery.
Location of Prisons Drives Preventable Death
As well as the lack of solace pertaining to human action upon these prisoners, they are also highly vulnerable to their environment. In numerous prison locations across the United States, reports have been formulated to record the unsafety of these structures during regional, state, and global disasters. The number of incarcerated people who have ceased from preventable death is indefinitely at fault. Scenarios related to natural disasters and the climate crisis continue to be situations not taken care of. There have been multiple recorded incidents where prisoners are left for dead, have no ability to evacuate, are without air conditioning/heat, and are left in the middle of floods, storms, and disasters of all shapes. With prisoners being left in these vulnerable states during times of crises, it proves once again that the unjust system is not out to help prisoners, but to use them and spit them back out.
End of Chapter 02: Highlighting Inmate Vulnerability
End of Chapter 03: Reassess, Reform, Rehabilitate
What Does the United States Look Like as a Country Supporting Restorative Justice?
There is a rejuvenated process for placing and taking care of the human lives that have done wrong. We heal victimizers and victims of the wrongdoings committed. There is a mutual respect and goal for helping offenders to become well again and we all do our part to restore our country to a place that promotes joy in the restoration of our people.
America is Transitioning from [ FORCE ]
to [ FRUIT ]
The study of the social, psychological, and economical effects of the tactics used from the origination of this system have revealed that the methods of the United States prison system are outdated and in radical need of reform. Inventing a system that uses tactics to replenish rather than degrade the psyche are necessary to replenish the lives of those subjected. The constant use of punishment and violence without mental rehabilitation is going to continue to fail our nation unless there is a radical movement for change.
1,943 Prisons are Dismantled and Citizens Demand a Call to Action
The country is bare of prior standing prisons. The justice system is reimagined to implement restorative and transformative justice efforts. We understand that the effort will not be a linear process but that we are willing to do whatever it takes to rebuild a system that is rooted in rehabilitating the psyche for the sake of our humanity.
Outdated Tactics Diminish and Offenders are Reconcentrated Into New Methods
The reconcentration of offenders is rooted in the restoration of current policy. We begin to look into alternative methods for serving offenders with accountability.
The Reguidance of Government Money Funds the Movement for Restorative Justice
There will be a reallocation of funding from the prior system into the new system. According to data from Norway’s Restorative Justice System, we will need to grant a greater funding, but a funding for reasons necessary.
Tactics are Rooted in Transformation of the Psyche, Using Nature as a Core Method
Nature is said to be a valuable asset to regrounding and growth. Implementing the use of nature therapy will heighten the rehabilitation of offenders.
The U.S.A Pursues an Ever Evolving Restorative System Rooted in Human Connection and Community
A previous major prison in the U.S.A., Rikers Island, transforms into a community park, where victims and offenders can intermingle within circumstances, community can come together to support these new efforts, and a place that was once a place of despair can be restored to support the wealth of human life.
A Thought ...
Imagine for a moment that there were hubs of reformation in the middle of beautiful fields ... nature sprouting through. The current system has been demolished and the design notion of the facilities has been completely reassessed. These serene pods gather in wildflowers and the transformation from force to fruit has been materialized. The humans that gather here are being treated with no labels, no different than those on the outside. They are simply sent here to be restored. There are an array of mental health and rehabilitation specialists. Activities are rooted in connection with nature and reconnection to self. There is a sense of time and understanding that this is the only life we have. Humans are not allowed to take away other humans lives. Moments are considered precious and every day is a work in progress to restore the minds, spirit, and souls of the occupants.
We have work to do.
Atlas | Force to Fruit
Senior Thesis Part One
2020
Regarding the Green New Deal
Origins of 'Atlas'
The Green New Deal Superstudio ran from August 1, 2020 until June 30, 2021. The Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) in association with the Weitzman School of Design McHarg Center, the Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) invited designers to be part of a historic, national initiative to translate the core goals of the Green New Deal—decarbonization, justice, and jobs—into design and planning projects for their respective regions. Participation was open to all design schools, professional practices, individuals, and other design and planning related organizations. Some 670 projects were submitted by participating university courses, groups, and individuals. The Superstudio was an open call for designs that spatially manifest the principles and policy ideas of the Green New Deal with regional and local specificity. A national climate plan like the Green New Deal will be understood by most people through the landscapes, buildings, infrastructures, and public works agenda that it inspires. The Superstudio was a concerted effort to give form and visual clarity to the scale, scope, and pace of transformation that the Green New Deal implies.
The United States has the Highest Incarceration Rate in the World
The system of justice and imprisonment in America has been in a downward spiral since its initial enactment. Reformation was never at the surface of this system, but instead punishment and force. This has caused an exponential rate of incarceration in the United States with 737 out of every 100,000 humans being incarcerated. Historical tactics have not changed, and a multitude of other tactics have been added, lending the U.S.A. to hold 1,100,000 more inmates than the total of 21 countries holding the abundant remainder worldwide. The United States holds 2,300,000 prisoners while the combination of other represented countries only holds 1,200,000.
End of Chapter 01: An Overcrowded System
End of Chapter 02: Highlighting Inmate Vulnerability
End of Chapter 03: Reassess, Reform, Rehabilitate
Our Land is Covered in Facilities
The prison facilities for holding these inmates do not go unnoticed. The U.S.A. stacks
up to having 1,943 facilities covering our land. These facilities are used to hold 25% of
the world’s prison population.
The Legislative Branch Influences Mass Incarceration
The trend of rising incarceration rates has continued for a multitude of reasons, the laws and regulations set forth by our government being one. The historical laws that continue to prevail allow long-term sentencing for low level offenses, incriminating of technical violations of parole and probation, and generally keeping laws in place that are responsible for massive incarceration rates.
The War on Drugs Catapulted the Initial Rises in Prison Capacity
The War on Drugs was set into place by Nixon in 1971 with the action for this
declaration meaning to claim drugs as “public enemy number one.” This push lead to
a massive increase in incarcerations related to non-violent drug offenses. When
Reagan took hold of office in 1981, the war heightened in the sense of the Anti-Drug
Abuse Act which established mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders.
Systemic racism came to light in the war as well, where five grams of crack and 500
grams of powder cocaine were served with the same five-year sentence. Crack was
predominantly used by African Americans, while cocaine was used mostly by Whites;
this led to suspicion of the disproportionate rate of colored versus whites being
incarcerated.
1/4 Of the Incarcerated Lie in Only 5 States
These states followed suit of the 1970’s philosophy of being “tough on crime.” The
roots in punishment for such actions skyrocketed these states’ inmate numbers, and
they continue to withhold an abundance of U.S.A. inmates today.
The Justice System is The Issue
Brazil, a country known for high rates of violent crime, has inmate numbers showing
1.5 million less inmates than the United States. This proves that there is a significant
issue within the legislature of the U.S.A. and that a call to action is inevitably
necessary.
Today We See Exponential Rates of Nonviolent, Low Level Offenses Crowding Our Prisons
Out of the 2,300,000 inmates in our system, 1,150,000 of them are in our prisons for
reasons related to outdated law.
The System is a Corrupt Revolving Door No Matter the Offense
Although an abundance of these inmates are low level and nonviolent offenders,
regardless of the offense, the largest issue with the system is the way in which it
treats inmates.
The abundance of laws put these inmates into a system that is rooted in force,
violence, and scare tactics. Once an inmate makes their way out of the prison walls,
they are subject to an abundance of policies and regulations.
I.e. --- Job opportunities are not easy to find and once found, questions such as “Are
you a felon?” arise on applications. A law that was administered during the Clinton
administration states, “There does not need to be a criminal conviction on a tenant’s
record in order for the Housing Authority to evict a tenant on the grounds of criminal
activity.” This one strike policy has been a segway in some cases as to give prisoners
lack of resources for housing. This means in some cases, once they are released
from prison, staying with family is not an option. Refusal for federal aid such as
student loans or government funded food stamps are also issues that arise once
prisoners make their way out. One thing after another, the mess of a system is in dire
need of dismantling at its core and rebuilding from the ground up.
Incarceration to Benefit Private Prisons, Corporations & Investors
Although only a small piece of the puzzle is the channeling of money from
government to higher power profit, it is still a benefit of mass incarceration. For
example, Private Prisons are allotted stipends by the government to keep the
abundance of prisoners intact but off their hands. The government funds these
prisons and private owners profit by pocketing a percentage of what they are given
for each inmate. Therefore, these private owned companies want prisoners to stay
caught in their revolving door to turn a profit.
Prisoners Work for Little to No Profit on Government and Corporation Jobs
The 13th amendment states: “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude except as
punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist
within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” The clause in the
amendment stating “except as punishment for crime” allows for annual penal labor
profits of 500 million dollars. Mass incarceration allows the law to use inmates for
labor with little to no compensation (I.e. --- municipal and public work such as road
crews or “in house” work scaling from working in the kitchen to producing product
for large corporations). Whatever it be, there are multiple scenarios in which
prisoners are being used as a byproduct of the moneymaking scheme that is hidden
within the system, rather than being rehabilitated to reenter society. Although there
are some inmates who rely on the work to step away from the atmosphere of the
prison otherwise, there could be efforts to use alternative methods for providing this
grace to the incarcerated.
There is an Influx of Blacks & Hispanics Vulnerable to This System
According to the Prison Policy Initiative, statistics also show that people of
indigenous color are overrepresented on death row, solitary confinement, and more
likely to be serving sentences of life. The internalized systemic racism in relation to
imprisonment tactics are not lacking its intentional motives of stripping away
human rights for the agenda of the oppressor.
Mental Health Deteriorates Within Prison Walls
The system is built on foundational methods such as dehumanization, little to no
contact with the outside world, use of solitary confinement, and scare tactics. A
failing factor of this system is the lack of representation of mental health specialists
on the force, and rather a plethora of poorly trained, forceful police. Because of the
use of this rather inhumane approach, instead of sending revived humans back into
society after sentencing, prisoners with newly acquired mental health issues are.
There are 10 times as many mentally ill humans in prisons compared to those in
hospitals, and accompanying that, 50% of the imprisoned subject to mental illness
are disproportionally abused and raped. Reoffending is highly likely for prisoners of
this mentally instable state, once again keeping these prisoners in this revolving
door strategy.
Location of Prisons Drives Preventable Death
As well as the lack of solace pertaining to human action upon these prisoners, they
are also highly vulnerable to their environment. In numerous prison locations across
the United States, reports have been formulated to record the unsafety of these
structures during regional, state, and global disasters. The number of incarcerated
people who have ceased from preventable death is indefinitely at fault. Scenarios
related to natural disasters and the climate crisis continue to be situations not taken
care of. There have been multiple recorded incidents where prisoners are left for
dead, have no ability to evacuate, are without air conditioning/heat, and are left in
the middle of floods, storms, and disasters of all shapes. With prisoners being left in
these vulnerable states during times of crises, it proves once again that the unjust
system is not out to help prisoners, but to use them and spit them back out.
A Restorative Justice System Should be Precedent for the U.S.A.
Using a system that is rooted in rehabilitation has proven to be quite the victory for
Norwegians. Along with giving prisoners a human’s value, they provide beautiful,
thoughtful architectural structures to house them. The system is rooted in
rehabilitation rather than punishment and strives to put “better neighbors” back into
their society. Because of this, they see a recidivism rate (the tendency of a convict
to reoffend) of only 20% compared to 70% in the United States. They simulate life on
the outside which aids in restoration of their citizens. The radical humaneness of
this system is precedented by the fact that they believe that using longer sentencing
and more force is not the answer, no matter the offense. In their country, no
criminal, violent or nonviolent, is sentenced to more than 30 years’ time. In relation
to this comparison, it is obvious that the U.S. holds the weaker system and is in
desperate need of recovery.
The study of the social, psychological, and economical effects of the tactics used
from the origination of this system have revealed that the methods of the United
States prison system are outdated and in radical need of reform. Inventing a system
that uses tactics to replenish rather than degrade the psyche are necessary to
replenish the lives of those subjected. The constant use of punishment and violence
without mental rehabilitation is going to continue to fail our nation unless there is a
radical movement for change.
What Does the United States Look Like as a Country Supporting Restorative Justice?
There is a rejuvenated process for placing and taking care of the human lives that
have done wrong. We heal victimizers and victims of the wrongdoings committed.
There is a mutual respect and goal for helping offenders to become well again and
we all do our part to restore our country to a place that promotes joy in the
restoration of our people.
1,943 Prisons are Dismantled and Citizens Demand a Call to Action
The country is bare of prior standing prisons. The justice system is reimagined to
implement restorative and transformative justice efforts. We understand that the
effort will not be a linear process but that we are willing to do whatever it takes to
rebuild a system that is rooted in rehabilitating the psyche for the sake of our
humanity.
Outdated Tactics Diminish and Offenders are Reconcentrated Into New Methods
The reconcentration of offenders is rooted in the restoration of current policy. We
begin to look into alternative methods for serving offenders with accountability.
The Reguidance of Government Money Funds the Movement for Restorative Justice
There will be a reallocation of funding from the prior system into the new system.
According to data from Norway’s Restorative Justice System, we will need to grant a
greater funding, but a funding for reasons necessary.
Tactics are Rooted in Transformation of the Psyche, Using Nature as a Core Method
Nature is said to be a valuable asset to regrounding and growth. Implementing the
use of nature therapy will heighten the rehabilitation of offenders.
The U.S.A Pursues an Ever Evolving Restorative System Rooted in Human Connection and Community
A previous major prison in the U.S.A., Rikers Island, transforms into a community
park, where victims and offenders can intermingle within circumstances, community
can come together to support these new efforts, and a place that was once a place
of despair can be restored to support the wealth of human life.
A Thought ...
Imagine for a moment that there were hubs of reformation in the middle of beautiful fields ... nature sprouting through. The current system has been demolished and the design notion of the facilities has been completely reassessed. These serene pods gather in wildflowers and the transformation from force to fruit has been materialized. The humans that gather here are being treated with no labels, no different than those on the outside. They are simply sent here to be restored. There are an array of mental health and rehabilitation specialists. Activities are rooted in connection with nature and reconnection to self. There is a sense of time and understanding that this is the only life we have. Humans are not allowed to take away other humans lives. Moments are considered precious and every day is a work in progress to restore the minds, spirit, and souls of the occupants.
We have work to do.