For centuries, human beings have been reinventing the gate.
Exclusive gated communities that shield mansions with walls, hedges and uniformed security guards may seem like a modern phenomenon. But the notion of rich people living in protected areas is not a recent idea. There were castles in the Middle Ages; Romans built real walls as well as symbolic boundaries around their towns.
"It was the line between civilization and chaos, between order and disorder," says Evan McKenzie, associate professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago and author of Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government.
book review, and the expensive gated community slide show.
2 Comments
according to mckenzie, residential community associations "are based on an 'ideology of hostile privatism,' where the supreme goal is the protection of property values, to which all of the nobler aspects of human life are subordinated."
residential community associations "glorify a 'culture that links ownership of private property with freedom, individuality, and autonomy, rather than with responsibility to the surrounding community.'"
residential community associations, which he also calls 'common interest developments' "undermine the 'real city.' they are illiberal and antidemocratic, and they represent, to borrow robert reich's phrase, 'the secession of the successful' from the disaster areas they left behind."
i'm probably closer to mckenzie's views but, while the review (by john mclaughry from reason magazine) is awkwardly slanted against mckenzie's view, quotes of mckenzie's own statements make him also sound a little bit extreme.
i'm in agreement with mckenzie in many ways.
also, the statistics from the forbes article/ad are alarming for architects. 'nearly all of new housing development in cali, florida, new york are gated communities.'
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.