Private neighbourhoods as club economies and shareholder democracies

Abstract

The spread of privately governed and often guarded neighbourhoods in many countries of the world has been interpreted by several authors as a manifestation of a “privatisation of public space”. However, it often remains unclear what exactly is privatised and how privatisation is carried out. The paper presents two approaches which offer some deeper insights into the socio-economic and socio-political changes which are underway with the spread of private neighbourhoods. On the one hand, the analysis of private neighbourhoods as club economies explains the economic attractiveness of this form of housing. On the other hand, the study of private settlements as a new form of territorial organisation shows that the political decisions are taken in a kind of shareholder democracy, and that social differences become institutionalised.