The spatial and relational geography of prison expansionism in England and Wales: A developmental perspective

• In Event: PWG - Carceral landscapes: Space, expansion, and consequences

Abstract

This paper will explore the policy implementation process that are relied upon to translate the politics of prison building into dynamic built environments. I examine the spatial and relational dimensions of state capacity and build the case for a developmental perspective that illustrates how a decision-making nexus of prison siting, design and construction can combine over time to produce layered patterns of prison building activity. Drawing upon interview data, prison service reports and systematic analysis of historic satellite imagery, I present a typology of four interconnected developmental patterns of prison building in England and Wales since the punitive turn: single site expansion, ‘new for old’ site development, the single site complex and local prison cluster. I reflect upon the wider implications of the analysis presented here and what these unfolding developmental patterns mean for the moral and communicative functions of state punishment, the carceral texture of contemporary imprisonment and the way space is organized in contemporary societies.

Author

• Thomas Guiney, University of Nottingham