Is a gated community - a collection of homes inside locked gates - a freedom or a prison for the wealthy residents? The idea, of course, is that security and protection should provide a sense of safety and freedom. But could it also be the other way round, that the gates and barbed wire constitute a prison?
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Why a gated community?
A gated community is a residential area that is separated from the outside world with some form of control for people who want to pass through. The enclosure may consist of fences or walls and gates or barriers, possibly accompanied by guards and surveillance systems.
The aim is often to make those living inside the gates feel safer, and therefore perhaps freer. There are also gate communities that aim to bring together people with a certain lifestyle (such as golf) or to emphasise elitism or class. You could say that there is always an interest in consolidating a difference between "us and them". Sometimes because we want to be 'better' or 'different'. Other times because the world you live in seems so risky that you feel you have no alternatives.
Gated communities in South Africa
We're travelling in South Africa right now, where gated communities are very common. There's a reason, of course. The gap between rich and poor is abysmal and crime is both widespread and severe. You may not have many options. This is how you have to live in order to feel safe and free, and avoid the imminent risk of theft, robbery and domestic assault. Inside the gates, you can move around without fear and invite friends to large gatherings without worry.
For us, who are not used to the confinement, it still feels a bit like a prison. What, I can't move freely outside the gates? Do I always have to rush in before dark? Do I need this many keys, codes and guard calls to get in or out? Is there really barbed wire between me and the view?
And vice versa of course, all the places that we not can see, because we are on the outside of the community. On the map, we can see that there is a delicious grid of canals between the houses, but it is not for us because we are outside the gates...
Security or necessary evil?
Gated communities exist not only in South Africa but in many parts of the world, including the United States. In the Middle Ages, when Europe was a violent place, many cities closed themselves off behind city walls and gates in what were known as gated communities. The walls were torn down as Europe became safer, but now gated communities are coming back and gaining in popularity. Is it because Europe feels less safe again? Or is it just that we want a clearer distinction between 'us and them'?
We fully understand that gated communities are needed for security, even if in our world they feel like a necessary evil. The goal should be for the world to be so safe, so orderly and so fair that fences and gates would not be needed.
We too feel a sense of security when we fall asleep in the evenings in South Africa, in houses that are enclosed by fences, barbed wire and electric fences. But freedom, no, we don't feel that. All these attributes signal prison to us. We fully understand that it is sometimes necessary, but we dream of a world where it is not necessary.
How do you think?
What are your thoughts on gated communities? What advantages and disadvantages do you see with gated communities in different parts of the world? Where do you think the development is going, and why?
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Annar Aas says:
I've been wondering if this is really South Africa you're writing travelogues from. Just beautifully organised, without a dark-skinned man. Now I recognise you and realise that it is your fine lifestyle that makes the camera not show where you are. During my time in South America I lived behind walls and fences for the same reasons you describe. Great to follow you.
21 February 2024 - 9:10
Helena says:
Glad to hear you enjoyed the article Annar! South Africa is a special country. We see, meet and talk to many black people, but the country is very segregated. Guest houses are almost always (in our experience) owned by whites and you are discouraged from travelling in shanty towns on your own. The country is multicultural, but very divided. We try to talk to people, hear stories and get perspectives, but as a tourist, and given the safety considerations one must have, it is primarily certain sides one sees. We'll be back with more Wednesday musings related to this country!
21 February 2024 - 18:09
Ewa Axelsson says:
I have lived in a small (6-8 houses) gated community with guards both day and night when I lived in Zambia. High walls topped with barbed wire and broken glass. The houses were owned by embassies. A bit awkward when you wanted to talk to the neighbours "over the fence", but felt very safe at night when gunfire could be heard nearby.
One country where every single house is a kind of gated community is Spain. Every villa in a reasonably large town has high walls and a closed gate. Totally secluded.
21 February 2024 - 10:19
Helena says:
Thank you for your comment Ewa! Interesting to hear about your experiences from Zambia! Yes, the walls do provide security, but at the same time it feels a bit strange. And as you say, this type of accommodation is common in some parts of Europe as well ...!
21 February 2024 - 18:11
BP says:
Gated communities already existed in Florida in the 1980s, including Jupiter Island near Miami. To some extent, the holiday paradise of Maspalomas in Gran Canaria was also a gated community for tourists with 24-hour security. Ironically, most of the guards were dark-skinned. I imagine it is the same in South Africa.
21 February 2024 - 20:09
Helena says:
Interesting! Yes, I guess most of the guards here are either black South Africans or people from neighbouring African countries, who also come here for work. Of course you don't want to protect against dark-skinned people in general, but only those who are criminals, but I see what you mean!
22 February 2024 - 16:57
Lena - good for the soul says:
So insanely sad that it should be needed at all! I understand the feeling of both security and imprisonment.
Like your new Wednesday thoughts!
Hug Lena
21 February 2024 - 20:48
Helena says:
Glad you like our Wednesday musings! So far it feels like there are lots of thoughts to discuss, so we'll probably keep going for a while! 🙂
22 February 2024 - 16:58
Linda Vismer says:
Interesting thoughts. I also understand the need for security, it's a matter of life and death sometimes even though I, like you, wish it wasn't necessary. One thing I find difficult is that walls radiate so much distance between people, not least to all those who are "honest" and would never attack but still get "in your face" that you are not a trusted person. Creates gaps. 🙁
22 February 2024 - 15:02
Helena says:
Surely the walls radiate distance! It becomes an "us and them", and that perhaps means that the distance only grows. One would like to solve the problems in some other way, but I know that many people here feel a certain hopelessness about it, that they don't see the solutions ...
22 February 2024 - 17:00
Monica says:
You've been with us in our little villa/townhouse neighbourhood in our medieval village in Provence. It was also a kind of gated community with closed gates for cars and other vehicles without access to "blip" or code. And the area's private pool was also coded. On the other hand, you could enter the area via paths and unlocked gates so you were not completely fenced and "protected". But if you were not a guest of the residents, it was not public land. Quite ok for us, we avoided moped traffic, vandalism and only exceptionally thieving teenagers in the pool. We paid a high fee for this service and maintenance and thought it was perfectly fine. What did you think?
25 February 2024 - 13:46
Helena says:
Hi Monica! Many gated communities are fantastic and cosy. With you it was very nice! The same with several we visited here in South Africa. We write about a lot of nice places here, and most of it is inside the gates. But when we are here, we also experience how strange it can be when most of a society is behind bars. The more walls, gates and electric fences that grow up, the stranger it feels to walk in a city. Eventually, there is nothing left that is open and for everyone. We don't know if this is a positive development ...
25 February 2024 - 17:08
Monica says:
You know Annika from her blog Life in the suburb. Funnily enough, she has also just addressed the phenomenon of gated communities in the US. With many reactions and interesting comments. Check it out if you have time!
26 February 2024 - 9:18
Mr Jan Andersson says:
hello
Sweden is looking more and more like...
It used to be open to my son's courtyard in Majorna.
Nowadays there are locks on the gates...
On Särö when I was a child, they had closed gates on the roads.
Several still exist, but are always open,
at least since the 1960s.
Greetings Janne
26 February 2024 - 7:49