Gated Communities Research Articles

Gated Communities (GCs): A Physical Pattern of Social Segregation

Gated Communities are becoming of a great significance in Jordan recently, particularly in the high- income areas of Amman. Al-Andalucia is the first Gated Community project in Jordan, which appeared for the purpose of creating a fully enclosed service compound for some specific Jordanian families and other categories of people classes. The present study discusses the theoretical background that affected the project design to evaluate the designers' intentions in revealing the social interaction between the community residents. The study also investigates the reasons behind residents' preference of living in a Gated Community. The results show that fear of crime and security factor are the most significant parameters affecting people's choice. Qualitative research methods, such as questionnaires and interviews will be used for both; residents of Al Andalucia and those who live in non-gated neighborhoods. The study suggests that Gated Community (GCs) concept is influenced by the resident's desire for security, class segregation, and a modern private atmosphere. It is also noted that the conditions of the surrounding urban area is an important factor affecting the GCs development. Hence, the increasing in crime rates, unhealthy settlements, urban congestion, growing squatter habitations and the lack of facilities are major reasons affecting the existence of GCs. As concluded from the observations GCs are becoming the symbol of social segregation (between insiders and outsiders), because of its gates, perimeter fences and security guards. All these elements that act like barriers, are usually erected to keep outsiders out, which seems to effectively segregate the rich from the poor families.

Inequality shaping processes and gated communities in US western metropolitan areas.

This paper investigates the social dimensions of gated communities (GCs) in US western metropolitan areas and how they contribute to segregation. We use geographically referenced data of GCs, and introduce a local metric based on social distance indices (SDI). This multivariate spatial analysis investigates homogeneity in three aspects: race and ethnicity, economic class and age between 2000 and 2010 census. The results indicate contrasting effects given different levels of geography. GCs significantly contribute to segregation patterns at a local level, and this has been locally reinforcing. Although socioeconomic segregation and ethnic status yield the most prevalent structure of local distance, gated enclaves are also significantly structured by age. The findings are considered in the context of a metropolitan decline in levels of segregation. Data also show that GCs are likely to be located within large racially homogeneous areas, and do not significantly contribute to racial segregation.

Sense of Security and Production of Place in Gated Communities: Case-studies in Lagos, Nigeria

The emergence of Gated Communities (GCs) represents one of the most intriguing phenomena and a crucial debate in an urbanizing globe. This study explored the link between sense of security and the negotiation of place by examining the potentials for place production in gated communities (GCs). Although a dearth of comprehensive data presently exists on GCs in Lagos, their increasing emergence is apparent. This research adopted a case-study approach, collecting primary data through field observations and qualitative in-depth interviews with eighteen (18) residents of four (4) purposively selected gated estates out of twenty (20) estates identified from preliminary mapping exercises. The qualitative data were subjected to content analysis and comparative evaluation. Findings reveal that characteristics that suggest the potential for place production vary according to the evolution and types of the gated developments. The medium-income gated estates originally built as public housing evidenced greater sense of security and place prospects than the private gated estates for the more affluent. The study concluded that the security-driven motive of gated communities could be a dominant factor in the negotiation of place, thus reinforcing the possible link between sense of security and production of place in gated communities.

Ограждение общественных пространств в Рио-де-Жанейро как следствие страха перед преступностью

The need for safety leads to an increasing fencing of entrance areas and to a structural spatial segregation in Rio de Janeiro. Today’s passerby moves along high grids instead of walking on lavishly planted ways along noble entrance areas. In the scale of urban development the stronger variant of spatial demarcation is taking place. Gated communities arise as a total spatial exclusion, in a safe distance to existing favelas and disposing of abundant safety equipment.Precisely because the need for safety is important in dwelling, both trends are problematic from the urban perspective. The increasing fencing and demarcating destroys pleasant urban atmospheres and fosters the spreading of mono-functional resp. mono-social areas. However, trust and a peaceful togetherness are required for a socially and functionally mixed and spatially diversified public space. But these conditions can only be realised in the context of the entire society.

In Rio de Janeiro public entrance areas disappeared behind railings out of fear of crime

The need for safety leads to an increasing fencing of entrance areas and to a structural spatial segregation in Rio de Janeiro. Today’s passerby moves along high grids instead of walking on lavishly planted ways along noble entrance areas. In the scale of urban development the stronger variant of spatial demarcation is taking place. Gated communities arise as a total spatial exclusion, in a safe distance to existing favelas and disposing of abundant safety equipment. Precisely because the need for safety is important in dwelling, both trends are problematic from the urban perspective. The increasing fencing and demarcating destroys pleasant urban atmospheres and fosters the spreading of mono-functional resp. mono-social areas. However, trust and a peaceful togetherness are required for a socially and functionally mixed and spatially diversified public space. But these conditions can only be realised in the context of the entire society.

Discussion: Gated communities: definitions, causes and consequences

Discussion: Gated communities: definitions, causes and consequences

"Hard enclosure" and "soft enclosure" in the gated communities: some theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence in China

Ad oggi nessuna ricerca ha mostrato davvero attenzione alla forma di recinzione fisica delle gated communities stesse, alla sua complessitŕ e al suo possibile significato extraarchitettonico. Anche la questione di una possibile differenziazione delle forme di recinzione nelle gated communities a seconda dei Paesi o delle aree culturali non č ancora stata affrontata. Per contribuire a riempire questo vuoto, il paper ha l'obbiettivo di studiare il tipo di recinzione delle gated communities in Cina, attraverso un lavoro empirico svolto sul campo in varie cittŕ (Pechino, Shanghai). Questo contributo mostra che il tipo di recinzione delle gated communities cinesi č caratteristico; esso sembra piů "soft" che "hard", a differenza di Paesi come gli Stati Uniti o il Sud Africa.

From Gated Communities to the Yaak Valley: Identity and Territoriality in Montana

Habiter un lieu necessite une demarche d’identification au territoire. Les liens qui unissent identite et territorialite sont ici etudies a travers l'examen de deux demarches en apparence opposees. Les gated communities, enclaves residentielles fermees qui ont fait leur apparition il y a une dizaine d’annees dans le Montana, repondent a la volonte pour certains de se forger une identite collective basee sur l’entre-soi. Ici, le besoin d'habiter un espace cerne, borne permet de renforcer le sentiment d'appartenance et d'existence. Pour d'autres, tel l'ecrivain Rick Bass, la construction identitaire necessite un rapport fusionnel entre soi et un espace que l'on souhaite garder inviole, territoire de l’intime et de la contemplation. Cependant, une analyse plus approfondie montre que, quelle que soit la demarche envisagee, l’individu a besoin de borner son espace pour s’identifier a lui. Qu’il soit naturel ou construit, le balisage ancre le lieu et territorialise celui qui s’y installe.

Hyper-Rich and Hyper-Luxury in China: The Case of the Most Expensive Gated Communities

Hyper-Rich and Hyper-Luxury in China: The Case of the Most Expensive Gated Communities

Gated communities, gated life

L'articolo esplora l'evoluzione delle forme del vivere urbano, attraverso l'espansione delle tecnologie di sicurezza privata e la diffusione dellein Brasile, negli Stati Uniti e in Italia. Nell'analisi si procede mettendo in luce dimensioni diverse dei processi di separazione e reclusione su una base spaziale (orizzontale e verticale) e temporale (velocitÀ). Sullo sfondo permane il tema della paura del diverso e della difficoltÀ di confrontarsi con le differenze nei nuovi contesti urbani.

Symmetric Development of Informal Settlements and Gated Communities: Capacity of the State - The Case of Jakarta, Indonesia

Paired informal settlements and gated communities are prevalent phenomena in the developing countries. In the Jakarta metropolitan region, one of the high-density Asian urban centers, it is observed that informal settlements are ubiquitous in its central city, while gated communities are concentrated in the suburbs. This dual process of informal and formal urbanization, or co-existence of urban kampungs and gated housing estates, is a result of state incapacity and ineffective governance over the land development market. As a result of inadequate supply of housing both as social and private goods, informal housing is a popular initiative for the self-provision of shelters. However, under the pressure of rising population, urban kampungs are trapped in a self-perpetuating spiral of deterioration because of the property rights situations of the commons and anticommons. When public governance fails, private governance arises to fill the void. The mode of gate housing estates facilitates the private provision of urban amenities and facilities needed for the fulfillment of the emerging middle class’ housing aspiration. However, social polarization is exacerbated by the spatial segregation. The key to the ending of spatial dichotomy of social segregation lies in the effective state.

Gated Communities - Edited by Rowland Atkinson & Sarah Blandy

Gated Communities - Edited by Rowland Atkinson & Sarah Blandy

A story of success

Winner of the SecEd Headteacher's PA of the Year Award in 2008, Pam Waters, is crucial to Forest Gate Community School. Susie Sell visited the east London school to meet Pam and find out more about this amazing institution

The rise of gated housing estates in Ghana: Empirical insights from three communities in metropolitan Accra

In metropolitan Accra, Ghana’s economic and administrative hub, the global phenomenon of the gated housing estate is burgeoning, representing a substantial part of the new housing market. It has a recent history dating back only to the neoliberal era of the mid-1990s. Because it is a new phenomenon in Ghana very little is known about the motivations and contentment of residents, interactions within and outside the gates, and perceptions toward gated residents. This paper takes the first step by providing empirical insights from three communities (Manet Court, Devtraco Villas, and Regimanuel Estate) located in Metropolitan Accra. The data suggest that perceived concern for security is the primary motivation for the residents to live in these communities. Contrary to findings of other studies, the current research reveals that there are appreciable levels of interaction among the residents in these communities, although such interaction exists purely on the economic level, with gated housing estates providing a considerable level of low-income employment opportunities to surrounding residents. The paper concludes by identifying some of the key urban planning challenges that have so far accompanied gated housing development.

DYNAMICS OF GATED COMMUNITIES, THEIR IMPACT AND CHALLENGES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY OF LAHORE, PAKISTAN

The purpose of this study is three fold. Firstly, to provide a historical as well as an up to-date account of the temporal journey of the gated communities through various phases of human civilization. Secondly, to analyze the dynamic role played by them in bringing about social integration or otherwise in the urban fabric of developed countries as well as developing countries during primary, secondary civilizations; and also to conceptualize their anticipated role during the incipient high tech tertiary civilization. Thirdly, to study the impact and challenges of gated communities for sustainable development. The time-series analysis of the dynamics of the gated communities will be carried out with the help of both the published data about the gated communities at large, as well as a case study of the city of Lahore (Pakistan).

Gating Communities: An Introduction

This issue of Home Cultures presents papers originally delivered at the Symbols of Division and Markers of [Dis]order: Gated Communities as Fortified Spaces in a Neo-colonial World panel at the American Anthropological Association Meetings in Chicago in 2003. The five articles take as their subjects communities that reflect the many varieties of fortified social space in the Americas, including a U.S. military officers' retirement community and emergent gated communities in large urban centers. The authors of these articles address the specific ways in which the built environment reflects and reinforces ideologies of segregation and fear, illuminating the way in which such barriers literally and metaphorically manifest ideologies of the powerful, solidify social hierarchies, and control the movement of people inside and outside of the gates

'Gated communities' in Vlaanderen

'Gated communities' in Vlaanderen

Gated minds and gated lives as worlds of exclusion and fear

Three interrelated concepts about the “gatedness of life” are addressed in this essay: gated communities, gated lives, and gated minds. All are important components in understanding the places where gated communities are located within a city as well as those who live in them. Mapping these concepts is a further theme discussed.

Gated Communities: (Ne)Gating Community Development?

Gated communities are becoming increasingly common across England, yet very little is known about the impact these developments have upon the residents of the wider community or those within the confines of the gates. This paper draws on empirical research carried out in a gated community in the north of England to explore social ties amongst the residents, in the presence of a legal framework (lease and residents' management company) which provides behavioural rules, sanctions and a structure for resident management of the development. The data suggest that gated residents' rights and responsibilities are, by and large, confined to legalities, rather than extending to a commitment to enhance social networks either within the development or in the adjacent wider community. The paper concludes that gated communities of the type discussed here, ready-made new developments introduced into established neighbourhoods, may also exacerbate the effect of physical and social barriers between residents within and outside the gated community.

New landscapes : gated housing estates in the Lisbon metropolitan area

Abstract. This paper examines the main features of the social production process of condomínios fechados across the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. This residential form first appeared in Portugal in the 1980's and spread quickly in the 1990's. The article opens with a preliminary analysis of the development of secured residential complexes, aimed at understanding its specificity and pinpointing the main factors involved in its social production. In this analysis, we do not focus on the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA) alone but rather adopt a broader approach. In the second chapter we describe the research methods used, such as a survey of condomínios fechados built in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area between 1985 and 1999, interviews with social actors and content analysis of promotional materials. Finally, we present selected research results and discuss several issues central to understanding the social production of gated housing estates in the LMA, including the importance of foreign modeis, the supply side agency of the real estate market, and the broader social context.