"Landscape Taste as a Symbol of Group Identity . . . ."

Duncan brings to the forefront a very interesting analogy and backs up this analogy with very persuasive statistics. I have witnessed many of the characteristics of the different groups that Duncan referred to in my own hometown. The alpha group, which can be identified as the wealthy group, in my town also, had homes constructed on very deep lots with significant front setbacks, and well-manicured lawns. The beta group, typically, lived in nice homes. However, the front yards were not nearly as deep and they did not take as much care in styling their lawns. Secondly, the beta group would apply features and elements to their homes that imitated a higher style that may or may not be original to the house. The alpha group would have authentic features detailed, in many cases, specifically for that home, and in most cases, these features were original to the home. Therefore, I support Duncan in his analogy that our taste in landscapes can symbolize our group identity.

There were some striking similarities between Duncan’s analogies and Susan Bickfords’ reading. The first similarity is the fact that the affluent group advocates separatism. In Bickford’s reading by forming gated communities that physically separate the wealthy, but in Duncan’s reading by using rigidly structured social doctrines to separate the wealthy. One interesting point that Duncan added was that these practices are taught to us at an early age, stating “The separation of social networks through the club is a dynamic process, for members’ children use the club and develop social networks that exclude outsiders to a large degree.” In Bickford’s reading it had to be assumed that because the children were separated that they would grow up to identify with their specific group. One reason that these two readings may have been assigned in succession is to point out that, social segregation can be blatant, as is the case with “Constructing Inequality”, or it can be subtle, as it is in Duncan’s reading. If social segregation is blatant, then statistics confirming the findings are not required. However, if the segregation is subtle then simply stating that social segregation exists in this case is not enough. A fair analogy is that gated communities include physical barriers, fences, walls, gates, guardhouses, etc. The boundaries of the socioeconomic group are clearly marked. Whereas, with landscapes that symbolize social groups there are no glaring barriers that identify the boundary of the group.