| RETURN TO ESSAY National Security Sprawl by Deborah Natsios

The defence systems of the 19th and early 20th century defense systems circumscribed the capital city, framing its centralised form. Sprawl's diffuse urbanisation introduces a new paradigm for the 21st century homeland's defence: the national security apparatus is superimposed onto geographically dispersed civilian infrastructures, including police and fire services newly designated as paramilitary 'first responders'.