Urban Gating and fortification Flashcards
Is urban gating a new phenomenon? Examples?
NO
Gated urbanism actually predates contempory forms of enclosed urban development. Many medieval cities effectively functioned as urba fortresses with extensive walls and gates that were constructed to keep out intruders and outsiders alike
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Pingyao, Shanxi province, 14th C Han Chinese City
Benin City, present day Nigeria (first cities ever to have street lighting)
Shibam, Yemen, 16th C
Jeruasalem
Quebec City
How has urban gating changed over the years?
The physical form
The sociocultural and political contexts are varied and changing
Conceptual shift in classifying gated communities as ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ boundaries
Gated urbanism/gated communites
“residential developments surrounded by walls, fences, or earth banks covered with bushes and shrubs with secured entrances.” OR “walled or fenced housing development to which public access is restricted, characterized by legal agreements which tie residents to a code of conduct and collective responsibility for management
What are three “ideal types” of gated communties in the US according to Blakely and Snyder?
1) Lifestyle communities
2) Prestige communities
3) security zone communities
What is a lifestyle community?
like retirement villages, golf/leisure community clubs and suburban ‘new towns’ in which shared public spaces and local amenities have become privatized with controlled access. Reflect the notion of “shared territory and exclusive sharing values”
What is a prestige community?
The sole purpose of gating is to symbolize residental distinction as well as to enhance and protect the image and property value of the neighbourhood, often lack the recreational facilities of lifestyle communities
What is a security zone community?
Created out of the need to secure the neighbourhood from crime. It is often the residents, rather than developers, who construct the gates and barricade themselves in an attempt to defend themselves from real and/or perceived threats
What are three main points that luxury gated communities in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv demonstrate?
1) The socioeconomic contexts and built characters of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv influence the aesthetics, marketing techniques, and residents of their respective gated communities.
2) Ideaological and neoliberal interests have converged in new luxury gated communities while emphasizing the diverse manifestatiosn of exclusionart development within a single country
3) Luxury gated communities in downtown Jerusalem and Tel Aviv illustrate the need to shift attention away from an increasingly outdated notion of ‘hard’ gatedness
What are some instances of hard and soft gating in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv?
Metal spikes at the Akirov Towers and guard booth towers in David’s village discourage access (soft)
The Savyoney Ramat Aviv complex is fully enclosed, there are fences and explicit signage at King David gardens (hard)
What is vertical gating?
Building upwards in high rise buildings which are elite and expensive, a subtle form of gating, makes people go around these urban enclaves
what are POPs? examples?
Privately-owned public spaces
Often owned by companies that create private, public-looking parks
ex) Amazon-owned plaza, Microsoft parks outside their buildings
What are some examples of vertical gating?
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Jakarta, Indonesia
What are some consequences of gating?
Neglecting less developed areas to focus on new gated communites
Displacement of traders and local sellers
How are gated communities the product of neoliberalism AND local forces?
Neoliberal policies increase the prevalence of new types of enclaves but the local government also has a role. Ideas may draw from global sources but the locals interpet and implement them in unique ways.
Reduced government intervention and privitization as well local ideas of spatial exlcusion and lifestyle developments
What does ELmond Bandauko discuss in his paper on Gated communities in Africa?
Discussing the drivers of gated communities and their impacts and implications on the planning and management of cities, he synthesizes findings from 31 peer-reviewed articles
What are some gating trends and implications in Africa?
- Communities do not allow informal sector players like street hawkers to appropriate public space
- converting public open space into closed spaces using gates, booms, fences, and walls
-proliferation of gating has resulted in widespread debate around their likely future impact on urban life and governance in Africa - concerns about ‘right to the city’
- encroachment of private property on public spaces
-undermining of traditional forms of citizenship bonding and civic trust
-Sociospatial polarization and urban inequality
What are the main concerns of people in gated communities in Africa?
Leisure, prestige, and security
What areis an example of gated communities in Africa?
Vision City, Kigali, Africa
What is New Cairo? Why is it coming about? Why are there so many gated communities in Egypt?
A new master-planned city in Egypt
- Involves Cairo Vision 2050, the neoliberal vision of a new administrative capital,
- Came after the Egyptian Revolution in 2011
Egypt is in an immigrant crisis and has a very inhospitable environment (desert), leading to rapid development
What are some post-revolution urban changes in Cairo and Egypt?
- Eastward expansion of massive urban communities for middle and upper classes
- intensification of spatial and social fragmentation
-proliferation of urban enclaves
-heavy reliance on cars, which many Cairo residents do not have
-gating without actual gates
What is Heliopolis?
Built as a middle class suburb in 20th C, became seat of the Egyptian presidency in 1970, had french-style avenues, Islamic-style buildings
The government removed the train line in favour of roads for cars
