ABSTRACT
Walls and fences play many roles. They keep people in and keep people out, delineate property lines or boundaries, hide unsightly views, protect what's inside, and can control the flow of people, animals, or traffic. In this chapter, however, we argue that although these elements in our urban spaces are often used for ‘blocking out’, they can be designed better to nudge healthier and more sustainable behaviours. Citizens themselves can and are making walls and fences more remarkable, most notably through fun paint colours, murals and yarn bombing, reclaiming sterile urban environments by applying colourful materials to a fence in a specific pattern or to create an image. Fences can also educate and express cultural values, for example construction fencing showcasing Indigenous art, and of course, green walls, green facades, and living walls have a significant positive impact on environmental sustainability, helping mitigate the urban heat island effect. This chapter outlines an alternate vision of walls and fences, repositioning them as critical elements that can significantly impact how people (and wildlife) use space, how they perceive and interpret spaces, and how they live.
