America Town: Building the Outposts of Empire

by Mark L. Gillem

American servicemen and -women are currently stationed in more than 140 countries from Central America to Western Europe to the Middle East, often living and working on military bases that not only dominate foreign territories but also re-create familiar space that “feels like home”—gated communities filled with rambling subdivisions, franchised restaurants, and lush golf courses. In America Town, Mark Gillem reveals modern military outposts as key symbols of not just American power but also consumer consumption. Through case studies of several U.S. military facilities—including Aviano Air Base in Italy, Osan and Kunsan Air Bases in South Korea, and Kadena Air Base in Japan—Gillem exposes these military installations as exports of the American Dream, as suburban culture replicated in the form of vast green lawns, three-car garages, and big-box stores. With passion and eloquence he questions the impact of this practice on the rest of the world, exposing the arrogance of U.S. consumption of foreign land. Gillem contends that current U.S. military policy for its overseas troops practices avoidance—relocating military bases to isolated but well-appointed compounds designed to prevent contact with the residents. He probes the policy directives behind base building that reproduce widely spaced, abundantly paved, and extensively manicured American suburbs, regardless of the host nation’s terrain and culture or the impact on local communities living under empire’s wings. Throughout America Town, Gillem demonstrates how the excesses of American culture are strikingly evident in the way that the U.S. military builds its outposts. The defense of the United States, he concludes, has led to the massive imposition of tract homes and strip malls on the world—creating mini-Americas that inhibit cultural understanding between U.S. troops and our allies abroad. Mark L. Gillem is assistant professor of architecture and landscape architecture at the University of Oregon. He is also a licensed architect, a certified planner, and a former active-duty U.S. Air Force officer.

Genres: Nonfiction

392 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Mark L. Gillem is assistant professor of architecture and landscape architecture at the University of Oregon. He is also a licensed architect, a certified planner, and a former active-duty U.S. Air Force officer.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an intelligent and engaging discussion of land use, architectural planning and the increasingly unilateral and dismissive grasp of American Empire. Joseph Chamberlain commented over a hundred years ago that "the British Empire is based upon a community of sacrifice. Whenever that is lost sight of, then, indeed, I think we may expect to sink into oblivion like the empires of the past, which...after having exhibited to the world evidences of their power and strength, died away regretted by none, and leaving behind them a record of selfishness only." Like the British before us, the US appears to be securing its frontiers by expanding them through the construction of vast military staging points across the globe. And rather than engage with the peoples we pretend to protect, the bloated corporate-military complex increasingly isolates itself in the vapid consumerist enclaves of faux-American suburbia.

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one really surprised me.

In keeping with tour of striking assemblage geographic works, I found this title and assumed it was a geographer’s breakdown of a typical US overseas base. The Introduction chapter quickly clarified that this was actually an architect’s analysis of the spatial regime of American empire. Gillem constantly situates his work between the urban planning and “empire” literature, reaching its zenith in the immediate post-9/11 period.

I have read some books from both genres that have, admittedly, let me down a bit in terms of content and/or execution, but Gillem seems to excel at both producing a unique collection (one might say assemblage(?)) of mixed methods analysis that really makes sense of the peculiarity that is the US overseas base.

Like any strong nonfiction work, the organization is top-notch. Gillem succinctly provides historical context for contemporary American imperialism, explanations for imperialism’s “suburban touch”, and concrete examples of empire suburbanizing itself beyond its contentious borders. Though Gillem modestly qualifies his work as applying primarily to Air Force bases, it is clear to the reader that the confluence of interests of the building developers, AAFES, military branches, and host nations are analogously operating across all overseas bases. To the extent there are differences, Gillem poignantly highlights them in the case studies chapters. Though the introduction does make the (cringy) statement of the book being beyond the ideological lens, Gillem has a sustained and coherent critique of American Empire’s outposts: gluttonous land consumption!

Yes, there are other concerns Gillem raises, but nearly all of them revolve around the consequences of empire’s voracious appetites for land. Difference in cultural values, demands for annexation, inequality in housing, intrusiveness, lack of privacy, and so many other issues all stem from the US’s (proud) mismanaging of their outposts cadastral allotments. One of the most striking ways Gillem shows this is through his tables/graphics. The comparisons of cadastral maps of imperial outposts and immediate surrounding host nation territory show the clashes in architecture, property values, and even cultural values. Comparing the size of typical land measurements of Japan vs the US, the typical new apartment of Korea va the US, or a typical Italian arcade and bell tower vs cheap American mimicry all highlight the follies of American planning overseas.

I especially appreciated how Gillem consistently connected these processes to both broader postwar American urban planning and the goals/desires of specific imperial institutions. American power is defined both on the mainland and abroad, having analogous landscapes in both geographic areas only strengthens this contention.

Admittedly, if there is any critique of the work, it is that Gillem can be a bit too passive with such critiques. It is a bit peculiar how much the author supports the privacy-minded behavior of overseas soldiers whose literal job is to embody America’s foreign projection of power; never-mind, privacy’s discrepancies with his critique of sprawl style planning and general American “avoidance” of the host nations. Also he uses pie charts, so that’s gross…

Nevertheless, this was a very fun and engaging book to read through. Definitely recommend to anyone interested in cultural landscapes, American empire, and/or urban planning. I’d like to end this review by listing a few of my favorite “tangents” Gillem brings to the table: the deportation of Native Okinawans to work in Bolivian farms, Japanese internal colonialism, the Palomares incident, questioning the urbanity of Walnut Creek (CA), Dallas’ objections to multi-story buildings, teaching me what a culvert is, the Korean obsession of American golf courses, the discussion of arcades and bell towers, the critiques of urban planning awards for military bases, and the various anti-survey rants.