Running head: LBA RESEARCHING UTOPIA 1

LBA: Researching Utopia

Gabriel Da Silva

AH50 Fall 2019

LBA RESEARCHING UTOPIA 2

Have you walked into a building in which you felt small? Imagine that sensation

combined with dark sky, shining stars, and massive trunks that make you dizzy when you look

up. That is the experience of visiting the RedWoods National Park. California has the tallest trees

in the world. Five hours from the RedWoods, in the middle of the City of San Francisco, there is

another national forest. Among tall buildings and uncared for sidewalks, stands a 3000 square

feet National Forest. Differently to the RedWoods, in this gated garden, the plants grow inside

delineated patches. The contrast between the title "forest" and the gated area of the Tenderloin

National Forest (TNF) expresses Vonnegut's dystopian ideas of control and inequality, thereby

protesting the carelessness for its surrounding neighborhood.1

In the short story, Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut (Vonnegut, 1991) describes a day

in a couple's home in the year 2081. To guarantee social equality, the government evaluates

every individual's mental and physical capacity. They are then constrained to match the average

citizen. Athletic individuals have to carry burdens on their shoulders; intelligent ones have to

wear an ear device that interrupts their logical reasoning. The story ends with the shocking death

of the couple's son when he rebels against the system. Through the contrast between the parent's

submission and the son's resistance, the author shows how control and nonconformity are

complementary aspects of dystopias.

In dystopian societies, there is generally a controlling government; however, authorities

neglect what does not fit their agendas. The territory, which is the Tenderloin National Forest,

used to be called Cohen Alley (Angelini, 2011). Residential buildings and hotels have always

surrounded the small area. A space without construction is rare to see in the densely populated

1
#thesis: my thesis is narrow and specific, it is relevant to the understanding of the context of the site and
brings features that link the dystopia of the place to the ideas of dystopia that Vonnegut’s present.
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neighborhood. For that reason, the alley became a gathering place. However, the lack of care and

accountability soon turned the place into a disposal for garbage and a place to do illicit activities.

The City's disinterest in improving Cohen Alley portrays the dystopian mentality of only taking

action into what the agency views as essential or profitable. In Harrison Bergeron, it was

essential to guarantee that everyone had the same capacities in all areas. That meant controlling

every individual that was not in the range of typicality. In the case of San Francisco, the

technology industry was on the rise in the nineteen-eighties (Graff, 2018). The focus, therefore,

was not in housing or community development. Even though Cohen Alley was known as a

"health-hazard" (Angelini, 2011, para. 1), the City's offices neglected the situation showing a

dystopian disinterest in what they do not perceive as profitable.

The way the City of San Francisco dealt with Cohen Alley also portrays utilitarianism,

which pushed to an extreme hurts human rights. From the perspective of the creator of the term

Utilitarianism, Jeremy Bentham's, humans do not have a set of inherent rights; thus, when

making a decision, one should choose the one that best maximizes the pleasure and reduces the

pain of the group (Sandel, 2010). This idea is present in how the City managed Cohen Valley.

The Tenderloin, in comparison to surrounding neighborhoods, has not had considerable

economic value. On one side there is the Financial District, in which multimillionaire technology

companies are based in, on the other side, there are desirable residential neighborhoods such as

Cathedral Heights. Focusing on maximizing the happiness of other neighborhoods seems like a

plausible endeavor. However, utilitarianism, when applied in this manner, is negating the

inherent value of the people in the Tenderloin. All neighborhoods should have clean, safe, and

welcoming spaces for gathering, independently of their economic potential. The negligent
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posture towards Cohen Alley went on for decades. This utilitarian posture is a mark of the

dystopian society of Harrison Bergeron. In the story, the national security brutally shoots the

couple's son. In that context, reinforcing their authority was more important than the life they

were taking. To compare the disregard with Cohen Alley to that episode is extreme, but we can

see that authorities in both cases disregard what is significant for the people to achieve what is

relevant to themselves.

Because the Tenderloin National Forest is a quiet refuge in the middle of the busy and

noisy Tenderloin, many would classify it as a utopia. The garden is one of the few green spaces

in the neighborhood, it is quiet, it is relatively clean, and unlike many places in the area, it has

people with different social status standing as equals. When facing nature, even in a small space,

there is no difference between the successful professional or the unemployed, everybody is just a

person. The fact that there is not a fee to enter also makes it accessible. However, as MacLeod

and Ward (2002) discuss, the classification of a place as dystopian or utopian is subject to the

interpretation of the interlocutor. They also bring to the reader's attention that today's cities are

composed of a patchwork of utopian and dystopian spaces. Despite the author's argument and the

features mentioned above, the TNF is not a utopia because of the area's broader dystopian

context.

The creation of the Tenderloin National forest depicts a paradox present in dystopias: the

lack of concern for humanity and the nonconformity it creates. The City's role is to take care of

the population and ensure they have their needs met. The Tenderloin systemically faced the

opposite, which created dissatisfaction in the population. In 1989 artist and resident Darryl Smith

decided to transform Cohen Alley in a space for gathering and cooperation (Angelini, 2011). He
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and other artists continued doing so for 20 years before the City decided to cooperate with the

initiative. The fact that the citizens had to intervene without support for decades show the

dystopian disinterest nurtured towards the TNF and the neighborhood itself.2

Despite the reasonable efforts of the residents to create a Utopian place, the garden

portraits dystopian features such as a gate. The first time I went to the site, I could not get in

because the gates were closed. There was no explanation for it either. That could be just an

unfortunate event, but the existence of a gate itself shapes the way people interact with the space.

Even though it is a public territory, the large red gate reminds the transients that they are not free

to interact with the place. It illustrates the dystopian idea of control. One can only be here if a

higher "power" allows them to. Like in a government agency, there are working hours. One can

only come for a specified period. As mentioned, the hours are not posted on the site, so it

becomes a matter of being at the place at the right timing. As mentioned before, there is no

entrance fee; nonetheless, the gate creates a differentiation between being inside versus being

outside. It creates the sensation that you are let in, which, by contrast, means that there is such a

thing as being left out.

The restrictive nature of the place is also shown through the design of the space. The

Forest has narrow pathways that only accommodate one person at a time. This highlights how

the design of the place does not create a space of interaction. We can see this clearly by

comparing TNF to another green landmark of San Francisco: The Golden Gate Park. The latter

has vast lawns in which people gather in circles, that is in line with the idea of spending time in

nature, which is many times linked to communal experiences. Bonfires, for example, are a

2
#composition: I use clear language and organize my ideas linearly which allows the reader to follow my
communication with less effort. I also tie the conclusion of the paragraph back to the topic sentence.
LBA RESEARCHING UTOPIA 6

long-established tradition in which friends gather around a fire and talk. In the TNF, it is even

hard for two people to stand side by side and have a conversation. The garden also lacks benches

or any other seating space. This can create the sensation that the visitor is not meant to spend

time there. Research has found that time spent in nature reduces stress, anxiety, and improves

concentration (Baur & Tynon, 2010). Therefore, if the main focus of the TNF was the individual

and community well-being, it should be conducive for the visitor to spend time in it.

Unfortunately, the opposite is accurate. The lack of standing spaces combined with the lack of

seating restricts how much a person can do in the space. Restriction is another dystopian

characteristic. In Vonnegut's story, the citizens that have physical or mental advantage have to

wear handicaps that allow the government to adjust what they can do. In the case of TNF, the

physical space limits what visitors can do there. 3

The Forest size shows its preservation of inequality. The TNF is one of two small green

areas in the neighborhood, both under 0.1 acre (Angelini, 2011). They are suitable small spaces

to take a break from the busyness of a big city like San Francisco. However, in order for the

population to experience the full benefits of spending time in nature, they would need more

space. Baur and Tynon (2010)4 show that having a place to realize activities in nature in your

neighborhood can improve the amount of physical activity you realize and, therefore, the overall

health and psychological well-being. That is especially important in the context of the Tenderloin

because low-income residents are "more likely to report a lower overall sense of health and

well-being than people living in wealthier communities" (Subramanian, Kim, & Kawachi, 2002,

3
#organization: my paragraphs start with a topic sentence that allows the reader to understand the
content better. I organized the text in shorter paragraphs that are easier to follow.
4
#evidencebased: I used a scholarly source that support the importance of green spaces for low income
residents and therefore support my claim. I also use physical features of the site to support my argument.
LBA RESEARCHING UTOPIA 7

as cited by Baur and Tynon, 2010, p. 198). By keeping the Tenderloin National Forest, the city

government can continue ignoring the fact that there are not enough green areas in the

neighborhood. When compared to other sites in the City, the 0.06 acres of the TNF depict the

magnitude of the inequality between San Franciscan districts. The Golden Gate Park, which is

surrounded by upper-scale districts has 1017 acres (​SF Rec & Park​, 2019), The Presidio, a park

that is a neighborhood itself has 1500 acres (Presidio Trust, 2019). The availability of green

areas, consequently, become a way to reinforce economic segregation.

At first sight, Harrison Bergeron seem like a dreadful tale disconnected to reality.

However, as discussed above, we can see similar dystopian principles in the Tenderloin National

Forest. The area's history of disregard by authorities, the nonconformity created by it, and the

restraining design features in the place counterpose the good intentions of those who first built it.

The Tenderloin National Forest stands as a monument of remembrance that physical spaces hold

symbolic meanings that record their utopian or dystopian history.

Word Count: 1751

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References

Angelini, J. (2011). Tenderloin National Forest. Retrieved from:

http://www.luggagestoregallery.org/tnf/​ ​(popular)

Jonathon Angelini, who was a resident, describes thoroughly the history of the Tenderloin

National Forest from 1989 to 2009. His summary is very useful since he explains the basics

such as who chose the name to some of the legal procedures involved in the creation and

maintenance of the place. The author’s main evidence are photographs of the Alley over the

years. The lack of official sources for some of the legal information mentioned decreases its

credibility.

Baur, J. W., & Tynon, J. F. (2010). Small-scale urban nature parks: Why should we care?.

Leisure Sciences, 32(2), 195-200. ​(scholarly)

The authors discuss the benefits of contact with nature to individuals and communities as a

whole. The article is divided into three parts. In the first, they make a case for the

convenience of small parks in densely populated areas. The second, they discuss the

necessity of broader research in the area, and in the third one the importance of green areas to

low-income residents. The article supports their claims by citing other scholars.

Graff, A. (2018).Why the 1980s was the best decade for San Francisco. Retrieved from

https://www.sfgate.com/chronicle-history/article/1980s-San-Francisco-history-fashion-cultur

e-decade-13207115.php​ ​(popular)

This article was posted on the SF Gate. It talks about the advances that were happening in

San Francisco during the nineteen-eighties. The article encompasses different aspects of life

during the time, ranging from the art scene, natural disasters and the devastation caused by
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AIDS. The most important part regarding my essay was the description of the fast growth of

the technology industry and the economic development followed by it. The article doesn’t

cite external sources. There’s no main claim since it’s rather a description of historical facts.

MacLeod, G., & Ward, K. (2002). Spaces of utopia and dystopia: landscaping the contemporary

city. Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography, 84(3-4), 153-170. ​(scholarly)

The authors discuss how the composition of cities were going through a transition. Their

main claim is that the creation of utopia (gated-communities is the most prominent example)

and dystopia (the war against homeless in squares) is a new way to reinforce historical

segregation between rich and poor. They also discuss how cities are not planned for the use

of all people but rather as a way to perpetuate gentrification. The article is based on many

scholarly resources ranging from architecture to sociology. The author’s claim generally

expand on quotation from other scholars.

Presidio Trust (2019). The presidio. Retrieved from ​https://www.presidio.gov/​ ​(popular)

This is a governmental source that talks about the Presidio area as a whole. There are no

explicit claims. The main idea is to attract visitors and residents to the Presidio Park. That is

attempted through presenting pictures, attractive facts, and all the possible activities that can

be realized in the area. This page was relevant to my work as a means of contrast between the

amount of work put into this neighborhood and the Tenderloin.

Sandel, M. J. (2010). The greatest happiness principle/ Utilitarianism In Justice: What's the right

thing to do?. Macmillan. (cite only chapter 2, so I don’t have to annotate everything)

(popular)
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In this chapter, Sandel explains the guiding principles and the history behind Utilitarianism.

Even though he is talking about scholarly themes, philosophy, he doesn’t cite external

sources of brings further evidence for his claims, consequently, I categorized it as a popular

source. He doesn’t have a claim as his purpose in mainly educate the reader in the strength

and limitations of the Utilitarian theory. He delegates most of the chapter to applying

Utilitarianism to real contexts.

SF Rec & Park​ (2019). GOLDEN GATE PARK. Retrieved from

https://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/​ ​(popular)

This website is an advertising page for the Golden Gate Park. There’s no main claim or no

main text. The website is divided into pages sorted by themes. One can find information

about activities that can be done in the park, the history behind it and even geography and

topology. Since it’s a governmental page, they don’t cite other sources. In spite of that, the

information can be assumed to be trustworthy because they are bringing mostly facts that are

controlled by official authorities: such as the total area of the place, regulations, the kind of

soil, permitted and prohibited activities.

Vonnegut Jr, K. (1991). Harrison Bergeron. Ark. L. Rev., 44, 927.