Gated Community

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In its modern form, a gated community is a form of residential community sometimes characterised by a closed perimeter of walls and fences, but always containing controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles. 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 Subdivision (land), but are distinct from intentional community.

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."Low, S (2001) The Edge and the Center: Gated Communities and the Discourse of Urban Fear, American Anthropologist, March, Vol. 103, No. 1, pp. 45-58 Posted online on December 10, 2004." http://www.anthrosource.net/doi/abs/10.1525/aa.2001.103.1.45

Some gated communities, usually called guard-gated communities, are staffed by private security guards. These communities 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

Swimming pool(s)
Tennis courts
A Community centre or club house
Golf course(s)
A marina
On-site Dining
Playground areas
Exercise areas that include exercise machines
hot tub(s)
Sauna(s)

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. Walls are frequently low enough for someone to climb over them. Gates can be bypassed by tailgating cars and, for those willing, access through the sewer system. Pedestrians can usually enter by means of pedestrian gates, which are generally unlocked.

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 centres (many of them can only be accessed from inside the parking lot or the garage).

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 snobshttp://www.clarin.com/diario/2005/12/18/sociedad/s-05301.htm). While most gated communities have only houses, some bigger ones, such as Nordeltahttp://www.nordelta.com/ingles/inicio.htm, 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 http://weblogs.clarin.com/los-amores/archives/2007/05/borja-los-countries-niegan-la-ciudad-de-las-torres-no-estoy-a-favor-ni-en-contra.html"the negation of cities". Architect and university professor Marcela Camblor, who heads the Urban Design Dept in Florida, USA http://www.lanacion.com.ar/Archivo/nota.asp?nota_id=933519 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". News magazine Veintitres published a story in its Jan 25, 2007 issue titled "the dream is over" which highlights examples of people who initially moved to high-class gated communities only to return recently to the city, citing the high cost of commuting, the false sense of security -there are robberies even inside the gated communities- and a sense of isolation and competitiveness between neighbors lived inside those communities. Elsa Allievi, of the important O'Connor real state agency, is quoted saying "we have an increasing number of requests from people who wants to leave the countries".

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 neighbourhoods". 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. 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.

They are popular in southern China, namely the Pearl River (China) Delta Region. These communities are often purchased by overseas Chinese, Hong Kong Chinese, and nouveau-riche local Chinese.

In Saudi Arabia, gated communities have existed since the discovery of oil, mainly to accommodate Westerners and their families. After threat levels raised since 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 list of terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia 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 type of walls as fortressing and have compared them to historical fortifications. Opponents of gated communities argue that physical segregation is not always necessary to create defensible space, that is, to establish control over a particular space. They claim symbolic barriers can be sufficient.

Another criticism is that gated communities offer false security. Studies indicate that safety in gated communiteis is more illusion than reality. Crime statistics show that gated communities have no less crime than non-gated neighborhoods. Blakely, E.J., and M.G. Snyder. (1998). "Separate places: Crime and security in gated communities." In: M. Felson and R.B. Peiser (eds.), Reducing crime through real estate development and management, pp. 53-70. Washington, D.C.: Urban Land Institute. In addition, bicycle and pedestrian connectivity are often greatly impaired by gated communities.

Gated communities are often insular and homogeneous; that is, grouped along boundaries of social class, race/ethnicity, or culture. The phenomena of "white flight" has historically coincided with the establishment of gated communities.

Common economic model types of gated communities

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 city 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.

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. http://www.nuso.org/revista.php?n=207

Lately, gated communities have been loosing 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.

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, Queensland, in particular Sanctuary Cove, on the Gold Coast, Queensland of Queensland. The success of Sanctuary Cove has led to other similar projects 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 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. Thus many of the city's suburbs resemble wealthy suburbs in North America, Europe and other wealthy countries.

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 sudivisions employ decorative gates to give the impression of exclusivity and seclusion.

China

Riverside Garden (Shenyang)
[Beijing Riviera (Beijing)|Beijing

Riviera

Oriental Grand Garden (Shanghai)(Pudong District, Shanghai) The facilities at this gated community include a swimming pool, spa, gym, tennis court, a hair salon, and a 24-hour convenience store.
Vanke Garden City (Wuhan) -- (Wuchang District, Wuhan) is a new gated community on the southern side of the Wuchang District of Wuhan City in Hubei Province, which currently (May 2005) is awaiting its first new occupants. Some residential buildings are still under construction, but most have already been built, with apartments being decorated prior to the new owners moving in. Facilities already up and running include the "Cross Country Jeep Bar" bar/restaurant. Facilities normally expected of such a community are expected to open once the new residents arrive. A similar Vanke development already exists in the northern Hankou area of the city, near the TianHe Airport expressway and the new racecourse.
Austin Villa (Panyu) --The community consists of row houses, multi storey flats (apartments) and detached homes.

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.

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

United States Most gated communities in the U.S. are unincorporated, but uniquely, there are several incorporated gated cities in Southern California, namely Bradbury, California, Canyon Lake, California, Hidden Hills, California, Laguna Woods, California, and Rolling Hills, California. To meet legal requirements, the city halls and municipal facilities are public, and private corporations own parks and other facilities within the gates.

Other Countries

Lima in Peru has several gated communities, especially in the wealthy districts of La Molina and Santiago de Surco. They are home to many prominent Peruvians.
Pokrovksy 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.
There is an increasing number of gated communities in Poland.
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 increasing number of Crime_in_South_Africa#Gated_communities, in part due to the Crime in South Africa.
In Malaysia, gated communities are increasing due to the high crime rate and is considered luxury housing. Successful gated communities are Sierramas and Sierramas West.

Gated communities in fiction J.G. Ballard has examined the phenomenon in his novel Super-Cannes and in his novella Running Wild (novella).

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 Sovereignty city-states.

The novel Parable of the Sower (novel) 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 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 Argentina, Claudia Piñeiro's "Las Viudas de los Jueves" (Thursday Widows) became a local best seller after winning the 2005 edition of the Clarin newspaper book award.. The novel depicts life of dwellers of a gated community, among them, families who enjoyed high incomes now facing economic hardships as a consequence of 2001 economic crisis, as well as their efforts at concealing these hardships. Piñeiro's characters are portraited as middle class men and women trying to cope with the demands of upward social mobility at a time of crisis: frustration leads to exile (to Miami) and violence.

References

See also

Homeowners association