Gated communities

Includes bibliographical references (p. 172-177).Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2009.published_or_final_versio

Also the Urban Poor Live in Gated Communities: A Bangkok Case Study

Gated communities, one of those originally Western developments, have suddenly been found in cities in the Global South. “Gated communities”, often defined on the basis of their physical form, have been criticized for disconnecting residents from their neighbors outside the gates and reducing social encounters between them. Focusing on cities in the Global South, a large body of research on social encounters between the residents of gated communities and others outside has used case studies of the middle class living in gated communities versus the poor living outside in slums, squats, or public housing. The assumption that gated communities are regarded as enclosed residential spaces exclusively for the middle class, while the poor are found solely in “informal” settlements, may have an effect of stigmatizing the poor and deepening class divisions. It is rare to find studies that take into account the possibility that there also exist gated communities in which the poor are residents. This article examines who the residents of gated communities are, and at the same time analyzes the extent to which people living in gated communities socialize with others living outside. Based on the results of qualitative research in Bangkok, Thailand, in particular, the article critically studies enclosed high-rise housing estates and shows the following: Walls and security measures have become standard features in new residential developments; not only the upper classes, but also the poor live in gated communities; the amenities which gated communities provide are available to outsiders as well; and residents living in gated communities do not isolate themselves inside the walls but seek contact and socialize with outsiders. This article argues that the Western concept of “gated communities” needs to be tested and contextualized in the study of cities in the Global South

Gated communities from the perspective of developers

Gated housing areas have increasingly become a profitable segment in the real estate market as well as a new marketing angle for developers to meet the demand for security, status/prestige, and lifestyle. The development patterns of gated communities in many countries show that developers recognize the opportunity to sell safety and security to a niche market. Against this background, the aim of this paper is to investigate the development process of gated communities in a metropolitan city, Istanbul, from the perspective of developers. The data and information used for evaluation are based on the extensive survey questionnaires filled out by developers of gated communities. A “logistic regression method” is deployed to identify the most important factors on approaches and behaviors of developers. Therefore, the motivating factors both in the decision-making and production-marketing process of developers are evaluated. This evaluation enables us to highlight the characteristics of the real estate market.

Gated Communities – by product of the lack of trust?

Gated communities are housing areas that have been enclosed in one way or another, typically involving heavy use of surveillance technology (see Addington & Rennison, 2015). Such areas were first described in the USA and South Africa in the late 80s and early 90s (McKenzie, 1994; Blakely & Snyder, 1997). Since then they has been focal points of several research projects in different regions of the world (Low, 2003; Glasze, 2003). There is a significant number of publications covering the increasing number of gated communities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) after democratization of formerly communist societies (Bodnar & Molnar, 2009). In the post-communist context, a general lack of trust, the increasing socio-economic polarization, fear of crime and the existential insecurity created in the democratization process have been forwarded as potential explanations for the rapid expansion of gated communities (Hirt & Petrovic, 2010). Paper will present the results of the project Like Fish in Water: Surveillance in Post-Communist Societies that commissioned field work in Estonia, Poland, and Serbia (2014-15). A representative and probabilistic sample of 1000 respondents from each country were interviewed face-to-face on matters of trust, security, surveillance and a range of contextual aspects, among others gated communities.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Change and continuity: a morphological investigation of the creation of gated communities in post-reform Beijing

Alongside the socio-economic restructuring from a central planning system to a free market system, Beijing is being transformed into a “gated city of tomorrow” by building massive gated communities as a new form of private neighborhood planning and design. Although certain scholarly attentions have been received through the international debate over gated communities, there is a lack of systematic research on how these private urban landscapes are actually created at the micro-level and how their creation is related with historical development and social process. Therefore, this paper aims to contribute to an understanding of the origin and nature of the creation of gated communities in the setting of Beijing through a careful morphological investigation. More exactly, a set of private gated community schemes and a set of public produced neighborhood schemes of the early socialist period will be cross compared according to the major neighborhood morphological components in order to reveal the differences and similarities in their morphology, or in another sense the change and continuity in their planning and design. Meanwhile, the ideas and logics underpinning the changes will be accounted. Finally, design origins and the links between the morphological changes and the broad social process will be discussed in light of the research findings

Sustainability of Gated Communities in Developing Countries

Gated communities, a recognizable form of housing developments in the Gulf region, have dramatic impact on neighborhoods and cities as well as on the quality of urban life of people. This paper attempts to understand the impact of this rapidly emerging housing typology on urban sustainability. It investigates the sustainability of gated communities and explores their perception by the society. Primary data was obtained through standardized questionnaire and personal interviews. Secondary data was obtained from publications, journals, and textbooks. The results indicated that the trend of living in gated communities is very low priority among Qataris. They do not consider gated communities suitable for their lifestyle, needs and wants. They prefer living in independent residential units which have no shared entries or staircases with others. The paper concludes that new legislation and guidelines are needed to make gated communities more socially and economically sustainable and attractive to residents and citizens. Keywords: Gated communities, Sustainability, Housing, Qatar, Doha

Gated Communities and House Prices: Suburban Change in Southern California, 1980-2008.

Revision history Version 3. 4 First submission to the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, December 2009 ; Revisions in Sept 2010 and june 2011 ; Accepted Sept. 2011. Definitive version available at www.blackwell-synergy.comInternational audienceHousing prices being one factor thought to contribute to segregation patterns, this paper aims at differentiating gated communities from non-gated communities in terms of change in property values. To what extent do gated communities contribute to price filtering of residents, accentuated by patterns of price differentiation favoring gated communities in the long run? The paper provides an analysis of the territorial nature of gated communities and how the private urban governance realm theoretically sustains the hypothesis of better protection of property values in gated communities. In order to identify price patterns across time, we elaborate a spatial analysis of values (Price Distance Index), identifying gated communities with real-estate listings in 2008, matched with historical data at the normalized census tract level from Census 1980, 1990 and 2000, in the greater Los Angeles region. We conclude that gated communities are very diverse in kind. The wealthier the area, the more they contribute to fuel price growth, especially in the most desired locations in the region. Furthermore, a dual behavior emerges in areas with an over-representation of gated communities. On the one hand, GCs are located in local contexts that introduce greater heterogeneity and instability in price patterns, and by doing so contribute to a local increase of price inequality that destabilizes the price patterns at neighborhood level. On the other hand, GCs spread in contexts that show a very strong stability, in terms of producing price homogeneity at the local level.La sélection des résidents d'un quartier par le prix constituant un facteur fondamental de la ségrégation, cet article vise à analyser la manière dont les gated communities se différencient des autres lotissements non enclos, en termes d'évolution des valeurs immobilières. Les gated communities constituant avant tout des lotissements comme les autres, à la différence près que leur accès est fermé et contrôlé, notre étude porte sur la manière dont ces lotissements fermés se différencient des autres lotissements en termes d'appréciation ou de dépréciation relative des biens immobiliers ; et ce faisant dans quelle mesure elle contribuent à une sélection sociale des résidents accentuée par des logiques différentielles de production des prix immobiliers sur le temps long. Dans une perspective expérimentale à l'échelon local dans la région de Los Angeles, cet article vise donc, d'une part, à explorer la nature territoriale des gated communities, en particulier la manière dont leur appartenance au genre plus général des lotissements en copropriété (Common Interest Development) permet de structurer la réflexion sur la manière dont elles peuvent générer une plus-value immobilière par rapport aux lotissements non-enclos. L'analyse porte d'autre part - avec les outils de l'analyse spatiale (indice de discontinuité des prix immobiliers) dans les zones ou les lotissements planifiés (fermés ou non) sont surreprésentés (entre 1980 et 2008). A partir de données immobilières, nous identifions les gated communities et les comparons aux données fournies au niveau des Census Tract du recensement en 1980, 1990 et 2000, afin d'analyser les types de trajectoires temporelles des prix immobiliers. Les résultats montrent que les gated communities sont d'une part très hétérogènes, et contribuent globalement à soutenir la hausse des marchés immobiliers, en particulier dans les zones les plus attractives. De plus, les gated communities introduisent localement une plus grande hétérogénéité et instabilité dans les types de trajectoires temporelles des prix immobiliers à l'échelon du quartier

The Emergence of Gated Communities in Ghana and their Implications on Urban Planning and Management

Over the past few decades, gated communities have emerged as global commodity increasingly gaining patronage. In Sub-Sahara Africa, the city of Accra is fast recording the emergence of these communities. The research therefore examined the implications of the rising phenomenon in urban planning and management. By adopting a mixture of snow ball, simple random and purposive sampling and a face to face interview technique, the research accessed empirical data from planning institutions and households selected from three gated communities in the capital city of Accra. It was found that, gated communities in the capital have relatively good infrastructural facilities and services, the provision of which the real estate developers played a major role. However, a spatial policy gap on gated communities was identified in addition to missing legislative framework and low level of awareness on the part of planning institutions regarding the existence of some gated communities in the capital. In ensuring effective planning and management of gated communities in the urban arena as well as situating their occurrence within a broader spatial and socio-economic development of the country, the research concludes that, formulation of spatial policy and legislative framework and strengthening of planning institutions are requisite. Keywords: gated communities, urban planning, urban managemen

Beyond Walls and Fences: Exploring the Legal Geography of Gated Communities in Mixed Spaces

In the last three decades, a new type of physical seclusion has appeared around the world: the gating and walling of urban and suburban spatial residences. This phenomenon, led mainly by dominant socio-economic groups, is referred to as “gated communities.” This article focuses on the legal challenges that gated communities raise in ethnocratic societies that share a legacy of segregation and of unequal distribution of land. The main argument is that, due to this legacy, the legality of gated communities and walls that separate communities generate legal debates that goes beyond classic legal claims of rights violations of non-residents of the gated communities. Rather, it touches upon the historical, geographic, and legal contexts that constructed the power relations between the groups. Based on the Critical Legal Geography approach, the article asserts that addressing these contexts by the court provides a more comprehensive view of the gated communities phenomenon and its implication on the creation of urban space and group relations. Gated communities are an opportunity for initiating wider change in spatial and social relations of groups

Beyond Walls and Fences: Exploring the Legal Geography of Gated Communities in Mixed Spaces

In the last three decades, a new type of physical seclusion has appeared around the world: the gating and walling of urban and suburban spatial residences. This phenomenon, led mainly by dominant socio-economic groups, is referred to as “gated communities.” This article focuses on the legal challenges that gated communities raise in ethnocratic societies that share a legacy of segregation and of unequal distribution of land. The main argument is that, due to this legacy, the legality of gated communities and walls that separate communities generate legal debates that goes beyond classic legal claims of rights violations of non-residents of the gated communities. Rather, it touches upon the historical, geographic, and legal contexts that constructed the power relations between the groups. Based on the Critical Legal Geography approach, the article asserts that addressing these contexts by the court provides a more comprehensive view of the gated communities phenomenon and its implication on the creation of urban space and group relations. Gated communities are an opportunity for initiating wider change in spatial and social relations of groups