Theses Master's

Eyes of the Street: Surveillance Urbanism from Above and Below in Prospect Park and Surrounding Neighborhoods

Winther-Tamaki, Mia

This study looks at the spatial distribution of surveillance cameras in Prospect Park and surrounding neighborhoods as it relates to race and class. Three distinct scales of analysis are employed: firstly, a city-wide examination of the systemic deployment of surveillance camera infrastructure; secondly, a focus on Prospect Park and its adjacent neighborhoods; and thirdly, an analysis of the block-level dynamics among neighbors in Park Slope and Prospect Leffert Gardens.

This study reveals a higher density of surveillance cameras in the East side of the Park, as well as in Prospect Lefferts Gardens compared to Park Slope; Prospect Lefferts Gardens is significantly less-white and lower income than Park slope, and has undergone rapid gentrification in recent decades. These findings suggest that the distribution of surveillance cameras are tied to the distribution of non-white low-income populations. The dynamics between the publicly owned cameras of the New York Police Department and privately owned doorbell cameras of Amazon Ring are studied, in addition to other topics including surveillance theater, neighborhood watch groups, and facial recognition software.

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More About This Work

Academic Units
Urban Planning
Thesis Advisors
Meisterlin, Leah M.
Degree
M.S., Columbia University
Published Here
July 19, 2023