Gated communities in America: Walling out the world?

Abstract

Gated communities-enclaves of homes surrounded by walls, often with security guards-are becoming increasingly popular in America. This article introduces and analyzes findings of a Fannie Mae Foundation-sponsored panel on gated communities held at the 1997 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning annual conference. A key finding is that many people choose to reside in gated communities because they believe that such places reduce risk, ranging from the mundane (e.g., unwanted social exchanges) to the high stakes (e.g., declining home values).In many ways, gated communities deliver what they promise, by providing an effective defense against daily intrusions. However, some of their benefits entail a high social cost. A sense of community within gated communities comes at the expense of a larger identity with the region outside. Gated communities manifest and reinforce an inward-focused community culture, where the tension between the individual and society tilt toward self-interest.

Les quartiers résidentiels fermés : une forme ségrégative qui menace la cohésion sociale à l’échelle locale dans les villes latino-américaines?

“…Du dedans, elle pourrait donc être vue comme un lieu de production de cohésion sociale. Par exemple, elle nécessite souvent un engagement civique important à l'interne mais, fait-on remarquer à l'instar de Kearns et Forrest (2000), ce dernier a un coût : il réduit l'engagement civique en dehors des quartiers résidentiels fermés (Lang et Danielsen, 1997). Ceci rejoint les observations de Coy et Pöhler (2002) qui signalent que, dans les grandes métropoles sud-américaines, l'auto-administration de leurs ensembles résidentiels fermés donne aux habitants un sentiment d'autonomie et un sens de la communauté dans l'homogénéité sociale, même si l'auto-ségrégation peut parfois conduire à un sentiment d'emprisonnement dans un monde idéal.…”

“…McKenzie (1998b), de son côté, va jusqu'à parler d'un processus de marchandisation (commodification en anglais) de la communauté! On peut donc conclure que même sur le plan de la cohésion sociale interne en tant que communauté résidentielle, les quartiers fermés présentent un bilan mitigé ou qui suscite de nombreuses interrogations (Lang et Danielsen, 1997), en contexte étasunien à tout le moins. Revenons maintenant au thème de la cohésion sociale qui ne se limite pas au seul aspect de la communauté.…”

From picket fences to iron gates: suburbanization and gated communities in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Seattle

“…The gating process has intensified particularly with the advent of the second wave of diversification. 2 Certainly, research shows that not only whites live in gated communities in the United States (Lang and Danielsen 1997;Grant and Mittelsteadt 2004;Sanchez et al 2005;Vesselinov et al 2007). However, one of the most common features of the gated enclave remains racial/ethnic (Le Goix 2005b) and economic homogeneity (Le Goix 2007).…”

From public neighbourhoods to multi-tier private neighbourhoods: the evolving ecology of neighbourhood privatization in Calgary

“…architectural controls, landscaping features, recreational amenities) to the conditions of acceptable behaviour within the development, to the control of resident-eligibility and ownership, as in the case of age-restrictive covenants commonly found in gated retirement communities. Such rules and restrictions attempt to prescribe 'stability'; they are valued precisely because they protect the residents and their chosen lifestyle from unwanted neighbourhood change, both in terms of the physical and social character of the community (Blakely & Snyder, 1997;Lang & Danielsen, 1997).…”

“…There is little doubt that the supply of, and demand for, private and gated residential communities will continue, and that there will be increased product differentiation as developers refine these commodities to appeal to more 'tightly defined lifestyles' and market segments (Lang & Danielsen, 1997). This means that the geographical manifestation of private neighbourhoods in the city will become more complex and more differentiated as a result.…”