Entrance to a guard-gated community (Paradise Village Grand Marina Villas, Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico).

Entrance to a guard-gated community (The Estates: Heritage Green, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada).

Spikes protect a gated community in the East End of London

In its modern form, a gated community is a form of residential community containing controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and sometimes characterised by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. Gated communities usually consist of small residential streets and include various amenities. For smaller communities this may be only a park or other common area. For larger communities, it may be possible for residents to stay within the community for most day-to-day activities. Gated communities are a type of common interest development, but are distinct from intentional communities. In countries with a low Human Development Index or Gini coefficient, gated communities provide genuine security to the upper class as well as expatriates.

Though they are called communities, there is no evidence to suggest that social capital is any higher within them than other forms of residential development. Given that they are spatially a type of enclave, they are more likely to have negative contributions to the overall social capital of the broader community.^[1]

Some gated communities, usually called guard-gated communities, are staffed by private security guards and are often home to high-value properties, or set up as retirement villages. Some gated communities are secure enough to resemble fortresses.

Amenities

The amenities available depend on many factors including location, demographic composition, and community structure. If there are sub-associations that belong to master associations, the master association may provide many of the amenities. In general, the larger the association the more amenities that can be provided. Amenities depend on the type of housing. For example, single-family-house communities may not have a common-area pool, since the individual owners may want their own pools; whereas a condominium may offer a pool, since the individual units generally cannot have their own pools.

Typical amenities offered can include one or more

• Swimming pools
• Tennis courts
• Community centres or clubhouses
• Golf courses
• Marina
• On-site dining
• Playgrounds
• Exercise rooms including workout machines
• Hot tubs

A worldwide phenomenon

In many parts of the world, buyers are expressing a preference for gated communities. While many see living in a gated community as offering increased security, they are not impenetrable. Gates can be bypassed by tailgating other cars.

In Brazil, the most widespread form of gated community is called "condomínio fechado" (closed housing estate) and is the object of desire of the upper classes. Such a place is a small town with its own infrastructure (backup power supply, sanitation, and security guards). The purpose of such a community is to protect its residents from outside violence. The same philosophy is seen on closed buildings and most shopping centers (many of them can only be accessed from inside the parking lot or the garage).

In Panama, people buy houses inside of them because of the increased security, mainly in big cities. The majority of these gated communities are built for the middle and upper middle classes. They are preferred from condos and apartments because of lower community payment, higher feelings of privacy, and lower house prices.^{citation needed}

In Argentina, they are called "barrios privados" (literal translation "private neighborhoods") or just "countries" and are often seen as a symbol of wealth. However, gated communities enjoy dubious social prestige (many members of the middle and middle upper class regard gated community dwellers as nouveaux riches or snobs^[2]). While most gated communities have only houses, some bigger ones, such as Nordelta,^[3] have their own hospital, school, shopping mall, and more. In recent years, this influx of people going from the big cities to the gated communities has experienced a backlash in Argentina. Visiting Buenos Aires, the renewed geographer and urbanist Jordi Borja from Spain who teaches urban planning at the University of Barcelona criticized gated communities calling them^[4] "the negation of cities". Architect and university professor Marcela Camblor, who heads the Urban Design Dept in Florida, USA^[5] told the La Nacion newspaper that "the gated communities experiment has failed", calling them "unsustainable from the economic, social, and now even energetic point of view".

In post-apartheid South Africa, gated communities have mushroomed in response to high levels of violent crime. South African gated communities are broadly classified as "security villages" (large-scale privately developed areas) or "enclosed neighborhoods"^{citation needed}. Some of the newest neighborhoods being developed are almost entirely composed of security villages, with a few isolated malls and other essential services (such as hospitals). A common mode of development of the security villages involves staking out a large land claim, building a high wall surrounding the entire zone, then gradually adding roads and other infrastructure^{citation needed}. In part, property developers have adopted this response to counter squatting, which local residents fear due to associated crime, and which often results in a protracted eviction process. Crime syndicates have been known to acquire property in some of these security villages to be used as a base for their operations within them^{citation needed}.

They are popular in southern China, namely the Pearl River Delta Region. These communities are often purchased by overseas Chinese, Hong Kong Chinese, and new-rich local Chinese^{citation needed}.

In Saudi Arabia, gated communities have existed since the discovery of oil, mainly to accommodate Westerners and their families. After threat levels raised since the late 1990s against Westerners in general and Americans in particular, gates have become armed, sometimes heavily, and all vehicles have been inspected. Marksmen and SANG armored vehicles appeared in certain times, markedly after recent terrorist attacks in areas nearby, targeting Westerners.

Analysis

Real estate developers build gated communities to appeal to buyers' desire for security and prestige.

Physical walls, in some cases fortified and surveiled, give the inhabitants a sense of security. Some sociologists have criticized the creation of these types of walls as fortressing and have compared them to historical fortifications.

Another criticism is that gated communities offer a false sense of security. Some studies indicate that safety in gated communities may be more illusion than reality, showing that gated communities have no less crime than non-gated neighborhoods.^[6] In addition, bicycle and pedestrian connectivity are often greatly impaired by gated communities.

Common economic model types

• Lifestyle — country clubs, retirement developments.
• Prestige — gates for status appeal
• Security Zone Communities — gates for crime and traffic.

Examples

A limited number of gated communities have long been established for foreigners in various regions of the world:

• The worker compounds in the Middle East, built largely for the oil industry.
• The closed cities of Russia are also an example of purpose-designed gated communities.

Argentina

There are many gated communities in Argentina, especially in Greater Buenos Aires, in the "partido" (county) of Pilar, 60 km N of Ciudad de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires Federal District), as well as in other suburban areas, such as Nordelta.^[3]

Even though Tortugas Country Club was the first gated community developed in Argentina-dating from the 1930s/1940's-most of them date form the 1990s, when liberal reforms were consolidated.

Since Buenos Aires has been traditionally regarded as a socially integrated city, gated communities have been the object of research by sociologists. Gated communities are regarded as a direct consequence of social polarization originated by liberal reforms.^[7]

Lately, gated communities have been losing their appeal on security, due to well known murder cases and violent robberies: María Marta García Belsunce's as well as Nora Dalmasso's murders took place in their homes, located in upscale gated communities of Pilar and Río Cuarto, respectively. As of January 2007, the media have reported that dwellers of gated communities have been targeted as victims of assaults, robberies or simple vandalism.^{citation needed}

Australia

Although gated communities have been relatively rare in Australia, since the 1980s a few have been built. The most well-known are those at Hope Island, in particular Sanctuary Cove, on the Gold Coast of Queensland. Other similar projects are being built in the area. In Victoria, the first such development is Sanctuary Lakes, in the local government area of Wyndham, about 16km south west of Melbourne city. While these developments are suburban in form and easily identifiable, other less noticeable forms of the same kind of thing are the kind of residential high-rise towers constructed in the last 20 years that incorporate communal gyms, pools, meeting and dining facilities along with extremely high security systems and drive-in, drive-out secure garaging, meaning that residents are effectively insulated from public space in a similar manner to the suburban versions. Such buildings are not unique to Australia.

Brazil

Brazil also has many gated communities, particularly in the metropolitan regions Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. For example, one of São Paulo's suburbs, Tamboré, has at least 6 such compounds known as Tamboré 1, 2, 3, and so on. Each consists of generously spaced detached houses with very little to separate front gardens.

One of the first big-scale gated community projects in São Paulo city region was Barueri’s Alphaville, planned and constructed during the 1970’s military dictatorship when the big cities of Brazil faced steep increases of car ownership^[8] by the white middle and higher-classes, rural exodus, poverty,^[9] crime, favelas, urban sprawl and downtown decay, just like happened on the majority of American cities.

During Brazil 1990’s neoliberal era, many former São Paulo city public streets and villages in richer areas were converted into private gated communities with the tacit consent of political authorities.^{citation needed}

Canada

Planning laws in some Canadian provinces ban locked gates on public roads as a public health issue (they deny emergency vehicles quick access). Nevertheless, many newer suburban subdivisions employ decorative gates to give the impression of exclusivity and seclusion. An example of such an 'open' gated community exists on Navan Road in Ottawa.

China

• Riverside Garden
• Beijing Riviera
• Capital Paradise
• Eurovillage
• River Garden
• Leman Lake (莱蒙湖别墅)
• Beijing Yosemite (优山美地别墅)
• East Lake Villas (东湖公寓)
• King’s Garden Apt. (京润水上花园公寓)
• Oriental Grand Garden (Pudong District, Shanghai)
• Vanke Garden City -- (Wuchang District, Wuhan) is a gated community in Hubei Province.
• Austin Villa (Panyu) --The community consists of row houses, multi storey flats (apartments) and detached homes.

China, and Beijing in particular, has experienced a surge in gated communities.^{citation needed} These compounds, like most other gated communities around the world, target the rich. However, a significant percentage of the habitants of gated communities in Beijing are Westerners; foreigners from North America and Europe and also from other nations such as Korea. Often foreign companies choose the locations where their foreign employees will live, and in most cases they pay the rent and associated costs (eg. management fees and garden work etc.).

Mexico

• Bajamar in Baja California -- A gated complex of homes and condominiums, with a view of the Pacific Ocean, centered around a 27-hole golf course.
• Chula Vista Norte in (San Antonio, Jalisco) -- This secure development overlooks Lake Chapala, and offers various sizes of lots on which to build homes.

Philippines

The Philippines has a sizeable number of gated communities or "subdivisions" as they are locally called.

• Forbes Park in Makati City, Metro Manila - An upper-class subdivision in close-proximity to the Makati Central Business District.
• Valle Verde in Pasig City, Metro Manila - A series of six separate complexes of homes, all surrounded by walls and guarded by private security guards.

Thailand

Nichada Thani is a gated community based around International School Bangkok.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, gated communities can usually be found in London, especially in the Docklands, such as New Caledonian Wharf, Kings and Queen Wharf and Pan Peninsula and East London, for example Bow Quarter in Bow, London, although there is an increasing number across the whole of the country. There are an estimated 1000 gated communities in England.^[10]

United States

Most gated communities in the U.S. are unincorporated, but uniquely, there are several incorporated gated cities in Southern California, namely Bradbury, Canyon Lake, Hidden Hills, Laguna Woods, and Rolling Hills. To meet legal requirements, the city halls and municipal facilities are public, and private corporations own parks and other facilities within the gates. By 1997, an estimated 20,000 gated communities had been built across the country.^[11] Approximately 40% of new homes in California are behind walls.^[12] In 1997, estimates of the number of people in gated communities ranged from 4 million in 30,000 communities^[13] up to around 8 million, with .5 million in California alone.^[14]

The village of Rosemont, Illinois, just outside Chicago, maintains a security checkpoint at the entrance of its main residential section.

There are other incorporated gated communities outside California including Sea Ranch Lakes, Florida and North Oaks, Minnesota.

Other Countries

• Lima, Peru has several gated communities, especially in the wealthy districts of La Molina and Santiago de Surco. They are home to many prominent Peruvians.
• Guayaquil and Quito, Ecuador have many gated communities. In the coastal city of Guayaquil they are mostly located in Samborondón and in Quito in the Valleys surrounding the city. They are home mostly for the wealthiest people, but there's a trend, specially in Guayaquil, of houses in gated communities with moderate prices as well.
• Pokrovsky Hills and Rosinka are gated communities in Moscow.
• Because of the high crime rate, Metro Manila in the Philippines also has a large number of gated and heavily defended communities.
• In Saudi Arabia, expatriate workers are required to live in Saudi Aramco-controlled gated communities. The largest such community is Dhahran. Gated communities are also popular with well-to-do Saudis. The largest communities include, in addition to Dhahran, Ras Tanura, Abqaiq, and Udhailiyah.
• In the United Arab Emirates, gated communities have exploded in popularity, particularly in Dubai, where the 2002 decision to allow foreigners to own freehold properties has resulted in the construction of numerous such communities built along various themes. Examples include The Lakes, Springs, Meadows, and Arabian Ranches.
• South Africa has an increasing number of gated communities, in part due to the high crime rate.
• In Malaysia, gated communities are increasing due to the high crime rate and are considered luxury housing.
• Because crime rates are very high in Indonesia, a gated community is preferred by most people. Some gated communities are luxurious (with lots of up to 740 square metres (8000 square ft)), and some are very affordable (with lots ranging from 700 to 1300 square ft). Some examples are houses in Pondok Indah and Kemang.

In fiction

• J.G. Ballard has examined the phenomenon in his novel Super-Cannes and in his novella Running Wild.
• T. C. Boyle's novel The Tortilla Curtain is also set in and near a gated community in California.
• Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash depicts a future where gated communities are mass-produced by franchising systems and operate as sovereign city-states known as "burbclaves."
• The novel Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler takes place in a world where much of civilization lives within gated communities.
• The book and film adaptations of The Stepford Wives take place inside an idyllic city-state that secretly enslaves its female members to conform to the standards of the men.
• The Snowman and Crake characters of Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood live and work in corporate-owned gated communities known as Compounds.
• In the Season Six episode of The X-Files entitled "Arcadia," Mulder and Scully investigate disappearances within a gated community that seems to be harboring a terrible secret.
• In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode Squidville, Squidward temporarily moves to a gated community of squids.
• In one episode of Veggietales, Larry sings a song about gated communities in Silly Songs with Larry.
• In Argentina, Claudia Piñeiro's Las viudas de los jueves (Thursday Widows) became a local best seller after winning the 2005 edition of El Clarín newspaper book award.^[15] The novel depicts life of dwellers of a gated community, among them, families who enjoyed high incomes now facing economic hardships.
• Mexican film La zona, directed by Rodrigo Plá, talks about a gated community invaded by a group of very young and poor children.
• In the ABC Family movie "Picture This", Drew lives in a gated community called Camelot.

References

See also

• Private community
• Homeowners association

Further reading

• Edward J. Blakely and Mary Gail Snyder; Fortress America: Gated Communities in the United States; Brookings Institution Press, New Ed edition (June 15, 1999); ISBN 978-0815710035
• Arizaga, Maria Cecilia: El Mito de comunidad en la Ciudad Mundializada. ISBN 987-9035-28-3
• Arizaga, Maria Cecilia: Murallas y barrios cerrados, La morfología espacial del ajuste en Buenos Aires. Nueva Sociedad, 166, 2000.[2]
• Low, Setha M: Behind the Gates: Life, Security and the Pursuit of Happiness in Fortress America. Routledge: New York and London: 2003.

External links

• Built Metaphors: Gated Communities and Fiction, by Stéphane Degoutin and Gwenola Wagon
• Gated communities as an urban pathology?, by Renaud Le Goix
• The Privatization of Urban Space: Gated Communities - A New Trend in Global Urban Development?
• Land Use and Design Innovations in Private Communities
• China's Transition at a Turning Point
• Forbes: Most Expensive Gated Communities In America 2004
• Fortress Bulgaria: gated communities