Countryboy1

Apropos of nothing in particular, this has been something I have mulled over during the 18 years I have lived here so now seems a good a time as any to ask this.
I have travelled to many parts of Europe and also to the USA as well having lived in the UK for the major part of my life. When I go back to the UK I am struck by the absence of large of walls surrounding houses in suburban areas where many have open plan frontages leading to the roadway. During my travels to the USA, even many of the most exclusive properties for example in Florida and California often have just open lawns, this despite their crime rate compared to many parts of Europe. So my question is this, when and more importantly, why, did it become the apparent "norm" for houses here to be surrounded by large walls?
Would I be a cynic to think it was and still is something to keep builders employed?

HeikeundAlan

hola
with daily people trying to open your doors and wanting to leave doors open, I am glad for the privacy it grants us.
even had our gate opened and looking into window, hence lots of dogs now

SimonJ22

People in Spain spend more time outside, in swimwear, do you want people walking past seeing you in your budgie smugglers?

Loafing Along

Not the norm !! We lived for ten years in a very pleasant suburban environment in Navarra and the houses in our road had open plan gardens (there was even the occassional evening party in summer that spilled over onto the pavement )by the road on one side and on the other small gardens with very low walls and short railings. I suppose it depends just which part of the country you live in..

HeikeundAlan

you use swim wear?

Countryboy1

Fair point, okay normal around my area and many parts of the Costas!
But my post was not to question the merits or otherwise of such walls but to wonder why in a (relatively) safe place like Spain, many houses are constructed with such walls and in some circumstances hugely high ones when in many other "riskier" parts of the world the aren't.

Countryboy1

And they don't in Florida or say, Los Angeles?

Loafing Along

What you do see everywhere which is unusual in UK are bars on the windows and often reinforced front doors and, of course external blinds. The latter maybe because of the heat as much as for security

snikpoh

... and the former too.

With bars on the windows, they can be left open to allow air flow without compromising security.

Loafing Along

Of course..

cermignano

Bars on the windows was traditionally where young lads did their courting as the girls were not allowed to meet formally unchaperoned, sort of Romeo and Juliet. They could communicate through the bars. Lots of Andalucia have high walls from the Moorish times when extended families would live around a walled courtyard

Countryboy1

I like that answer, thanks.

Fred James

We live in the Campo and the insurance company wanted to know the height of walls before they would cover us. Without bars they would only insure if there was a connected alarm.

Most of the robberies are carried out by eastern European gangs or the occasional chancer.

Retired in Euskadi

I think it's worth remembering that Spain was occupied by the Moors for over 800 years. The influence of Islamic culture was widespread, including the use of Arabic.
Only in parts of northern Spain was this influence less so.
In nearly every Islamic culture, property, including land, is invariably surrounded by walls above eye height.
Recently, an elderly Moroccan took over an allotment close to mine; the first thing he did was to prevent people from seeing the allotment with an ugly array of old metal beds, plastic and bits of wood in the front.

Johncarzx

Sometimes they are useful to keep the Jehovah's Witnesses out.