Gated Communities

Gated Communities are residential areas, ranging in size from individual streets and neighbourhoods to entire cities. Enclosed by walls and gates they are intended to prevent unauthorized entry by non-residents.

Gated communities such as Emerald Hills, offer further protection against the outside world private security guards and electronic security systems. Since security systems and round-the-clock gates prevent public access, gated communities represent a form of urbanism where public space is privatized. They differ from condominiums and secured apartment complexes since they include public infrastructures and spaces behind the gates such as streets, parks, sidewalks and beaches, which may, otherwise, be used by everyone.

In more recent times, a much larger number of gated communities has rapidly developed in various regions throughout the world, especially in China, Mexico, Brazil and the United States. Especially in China, the trend towards gated communities is accelerating, in response to changing laws and economics.

In 2000, eight million U.S. residents lived in gated communities and in many parts of the world, buyers are expressing a preference for gated communities.

Asia’s fastest growing large economy might also be the greatest innovator when it comes to entrepreneurial urban governance. A recent law requires all new major residential developments to be gated. Municipal authorities now routinely rely on private companies to supply neighbourhood management functions and vast communities are organized in various corporate-style structures.

Real estate developers design and build gated communities because buyers want them; the existence of walls and gates around a community enhances the value of the homes located there. Many homeowners prefer to live in gated communities, just as many apartment dwellers prefer secured buildings, not only as a deterrent to crime, but also to enjoy privacy and peace of mind.

The reason people cherish life behind gates or walls begins with the need for safety. Gated access " limits the amount of people who can come in." says Henry Shane, president of an architectural firm in New Orleans that has developed 25 gated apartment complexes.