This post first appeared on aud.life

I live in HB. It’s a small city – LA is made up of tons of these – with an area less than 1.5 square miles. One of its best features, I think, is The Strand, a paved path that runs for 22 miles along the beach from Pacific Palisades to Torrance. It’s a bike path, ostensibly, but it’s used by pedestrians too. Kin and I love it because we can amble along and talk and think and not have to worry about being hit by a car. (“Being hit by a car” is a big concern as a pedestrian in LA.)

Many of Hermosa Beach’s streets are, in fact, alleys, including two right near my apartment building. This is where I walk. Unlike the majority (?) of those in LA, I don’t own a car. I don’t drive. I walk. I walk to the farmer’s market, I walk to the post office, I walk to the restaurants, I walk to the bank, and so on. I choose to walk in the alley some days because it’s a faster route. I choose the alley some days because I want to avoid the main thoroughfare – both its pedestrian and motor traffic. I choose the alley because it’s interesting to walk along the back sides of buildings, to see the side that’s not designed to be seen. No surprise for LA, the alley designed for cars and trucks – for parking, for deliveries, for sanitation. I’m not sure why it’s a surprise for me when I nearly get mowed down by a vehicle, driving down an alley at top speed, treating it like a regular street.

As I was walking down the alley today, I noticed that a restaurant around the corner from us has finally fenced in an open patch of land behind it. Before now, there was just a sign reminding dog owners to pick up after their dogs. It’s a sign I can’t un-see and can’t stop thinking about: “oh god, the back of this restaurant is full of shit and piss.” Needless to say, I never eat there.

But as of today, they’ve erected a fence; I guess it’ll no longer be the place that the neighborhood’s pet-owning apartment dwellers take their dogs. (The neighborhood cats are likely to be undeterred.)

It’s an interesting choice: putting up a fence rather than, say, leveling and paving the area.

(I probably still won’t eat at the restaurant.)

We’re steered down certain routes by design. We’re steered away from others. The alley does not have a sidewalk. The message: I’m not really supposed to walk there. Take the main street. That’s where the entrances to the shops and restaurants are.

As I walked down the alley this afternoon, I couldn’t help but think about technology – its infrastructure and its ideology. (I mean, that's what I do all day: think about technology – its infrastructure and its ideology.) There’s a lot about the traffic and “flow” of technology that steers us down certain routes as well. We’re pushed towards certain interfaces with certain interactions in mind.

The “back end” like the “back alley” isn’t really designed for everyone. It isn't designed for "regular folks." And purposefully so.

Walk on the main street. Shop on the main street. Do not deviate.

Moreover, you’re not really encouraged to ask about who owns the buildings or investigate the political connections of businesses leaders within a community. You’re not supposed to notice the infrastructure at all.

(Image credits. Image does not depict my alley.)