Old and New

Going through both Antigua and Managua in one day lead to thoughts of the difference between the old and the new.
In most areas of North America and Western Europe, architecture has altered and changed as the society around it has changed.  Not only did it change to suit the needs of the world around it, but the society around it also allowed those changes to be made.  There are large portions of the world where homes are designed as much to safeguard as to live in, an it seems the lower the income of the area, the more important it is to be able safeguard the few things you have.  The building design of Antigua and Granada both speak to me of times when the rule of law was very thin.  The walls of the houses, the public face as it were are bleak and have little ostentation.  The face they present totally mask the inside, as much as the trunk of a car masks the contents.  There are more than a few places where the detail on the outside hints at if not wealth, at least pride in appearance, but it is when the doors are opened that the true spirit is revealed.  All of the places I have entered have had a courtyard in the middle, a calm and quiet refuge from the noise and business of the world beyond the front wall.
The contrast between that of the old and the new as typified by Managua is strong.  the newer places echo that of the USA and yet instead of each house having it's own private wall, there are now gated communities banding together to give security. 
Any of the places in towns where there has been a compromise between the old secure style and either cheaper or more modern design it appears the security lost.  And it followed in my feelings of insecurity and disconnection with those areas.
As difficult as it is to warm to a neighbourhood where the houses all present a blank plastered cement wall to the public, it is much colder to see one where the dominant feature is barb wire, steel and bars.
At this point I have not searched to find information to see if there is a difference in crime figures between the various places, but it is an idea that does spring up, both if there is a difference in the crime rate, and the type of crime between say Granada and Managua.  It truly makes me wonder if too much has been lost in imitating the 'modern'  and losing touch with what may have been a more effective system from the past.
One of the rules from modern security is to not just lock up you valuables but to hide them.  Casual thieves do not steal what they cannot see, and the blank wall very effectively hides all.
Poverty also plays a large role in what I see traveling through, for it is not cheap to build a place that is truly secure, but it could be a part of the cycle, for it is hard to accumulate wealth without security.