Marques Vestal, assistant professor of urban planning at UCLA Luskin, is quoted in a Los Angeles Times column about the use, meaning and politics of a ubiquitous L.A. fixture — the fence. Wrought iron, chain link and the omnipresent horizontal, wood-planked — or so-called “gentrification” fences complete with cameras — serve as L.A.’s literal and actual gatekeepers of its various enclaves. The simple structures can have several functions and meanings, including a perceived need for security or changing ideas about neighbors, neighborhoods and whole communities. “People are moving into neighborhoods without the expectation that they will get along with the people there. They buy a piece of land and fortify,” Vestal said, describing a shift toward “inward home ownership.” Vestal also commented on the historical role that fences have played throughout the city, citing the heightened focus on crime and gangs amid the “war on drugs” of the 1970s and 1980s, when fences proliferated throughout Southern California.