Monday, May 14, 2012

Separating Classes

We have been discussing social classes in my class and that got me thinking about social class distinctions in my society. On example mentioned in class was how Indian Hill road has a sign that says no outlet but there really is an outlet. You can see the no outlet sign in the picture above.

I went and checked out Indian Hill road to really see if there was an outlet. What do you know? The "no outlet" sign is a lie.
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Above is a video of me driving straight through Indian Hill road and out the other side. So this begs the question, why is there a "no outlet" sign on a road that clearly has an outlet? One answer I can think of is to keep people who don't belong, lower social class, from driving through. It is pretty easy to see from the video that this is an area of wealth. There's a golf course on the right side and large houses throughout are pretty clear signs.

Another answer to why the road has a fake "no outlet" sign is because the residents want privacy and quiet. Both of these things are achieved when people stop using the road for through traffic. Before you clicked on the video did you notice the biker in the road? She probably wouldn't be doing that if the road was really busy. Another perk of privacy I guess.

Taking a step back is it right for the village of Winnetka to put up a "no outlet" sign on a road when there is an outlet? Also, are there any other examples you can think of concerning social class markers on the North Shore?

1 comment:

  1. Interesting post David. I am with you in that I don't really think that streets should be able to put these "No Outlet" signs even if there is an outlet. I have personally had the experience of having to try and find someone's house on that very street and I was very confused between with my directions were showing me and the "No Outlet" sign. I feel that these signs cause many drivers to be distracted and confused when trying to find an address on one of the these roads and that is just unsafe.

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