Gated Communities: Genesis, Proliferation, Types and Consequences

 The emergence and spread of planned residential developments with hard and controllable boundaries called gated communities and the social consequences of living in such communities have attracted the attention of researchers for decades. The increasing growth of these communities signifies a new form of residence and has led to many studies on how and why these communities emerged. Despite the emergence of gated communities in Iran in the 1960s, there is a dearth of research on such communities in Iran. Reviewing theories and empirical studies conducted in this area, this paper is an attempt to examine the existing definitions of gated communities, their types, causes of their expansion, and their positive and negative consequences. The origins of gated communities can be traced back to the previous century and the strong fortifications of ancient cities which were built to protect against invaders, enemies or even wild animals. Systems of class segregation and differentiation such as citadels and fortified cities, common in ancient Iran, were designed to protect against enemies and strangers and prevent them from entering the community. During the early Islamic period, the walls and gates of the inner city were destroyed. In this period, encouraging the expansion of the outer city, that is, part of the city whose people did not belong to upper social classes, toward middle city was the most important policy adopted by the Islamic state. The disappearance of the walls and gates of the inner city and a new relationship between the new government and people who were oppressed before then led to the formation of new strata in opposition to the old strata. The inner walls and gates were destroyed in an effort to bring justice and eliminate class segregation. However, as a sign of city’s defensive power, the outer walls remained intact to protect from attack and enhance security. It seems that new gated communities first appeared during the early 1960s with the enforcement of the third (1963-1967) and fourth (1968-1972) Reconstruction Plans of the country. During this period, as housing proved to be a major issue, housing provision by the private sector burgeoned. The target profile was an emerging social class formed owing to the economic and political changes of the early 1960s. With the formation of the new social class and the entry of the private sector into housing market, gated residential communities became a marketing opportunity and a means of attracting particular markets for private housing developers. The developers of large-scale projects started their research considering this reality and the needs of the new social class. Although the first gated community of the country appeared in Tehran, today, gated communities have increased their market share not only in big cities but also in smaller cities of the nation. Gated communities have four main features: (1) impermeable boundary and controlled access to the community, (2) shared private ownership of common spaces and private access to them, (3) the presence of private facilities and amenities for communal use of residents, and (4) the presence of a common code of conduct to regulate behaviors and activities. According to existing typologies, gated communities in Iran can be grouped into lifestyle, prestige, and security zone communities. Lifestyle communities focus on leisure activities and shared amenities and facilities offered within the community attracting those looking for an identity and a shared lifestyle. Examples of lifestyle communities in Iran are Daryakenar and Lavasan. Prestige communities attract people caring about the image of their socio-economic situation symbolizing wealth and social status. Such communities are exemplified by developments such as Park in Isfahan and Saeedieh in Hamedan. Security zone communities in Iran include communities that were not originally gated but were later gated by residents. In such communities, public streets are often closed to non-residents. Ekbatan is such a community in Tehran. The advocates of gated housing claim that gated communities meet individuals’ needs for security, identity, and sense of community; provide services and infrastructure in the areas that were not previously well-equipped; secure property values; prevent outsiders from entering the community; provide a safer environment for pedestrians due to their lower traffic flow; and often feature high quality spaces and attractive amenities. Those against gated communities emphasize the social costs of gated communities. They believe that gated developments are a threat to social integration and their expansion has led to many physical and social problems in urban areas. Social differentiation leads to the fragmentation and segmentation of the society. Despite these negative views on gated communities, it is unignorable that there is an increase in demand to live in such developments. Neither the demand in the housing market nor the negative consequences of gated communities can be denied. Hence, it is necessary to find a way to achieve a balance between their consequences and mediate their negative effects since gated communities have the potential to become even more prevalent in the landscape of cities in coming decades.