1 Introduction
As Setha Low explains in “The Edge and the Center: Gated Communities and the Discourse of Urban Fear“, a spatial analysis of the city prominently brings up separations and conflicts in both the center and the edge of the city (Low 2003, 387). Globally, cities are divided into different areas, segre-gated by cultural or racial differences and tensions. It is interesting to see how cities across the planet deal with issues that result from social pres-sures, cultural contexts and rapid globalization. For Low, gated communi-ties and other forms of residential development behind walls are a spatial form that offers an escape for some of the citizens. Analyzing why residents choose to live in such enclaves can give an important insight …show more content…
Low examined North American cities in order to find out where people’s wish to live in a gated community comes from and says that “anti-urban sentiment is often expressed as fear of violence and crime that is said to pervade the city” (Low 2003, 387). Coming from an East-Asian point of view, Sanjay Srivastava picks up on Low’s narrative of ‘urban fear’ and extends it all over the globe (Srivastava 2015, 112f). There is always the same narrative for a necessity of gated communities. Whether rural migrants and slum-dwellers that turn criminal or so-called “civilized” and “uncivilized” populations: the desire to keep out potentially dangerous or violent individuals of society motivates the creation of safe and fortified communities. The question is, do gated communities really improve a city’s situation regarding criminality? If the crime rate is reduced within a gated community, criminal activity does not just disappear; it gets pushed into a different area. Is urban fear the trigger for the emergence of gated commu-nities and do gated communities consequently reduce the rate of criminality in …show more content…
Karina Landman and Susan Liebermann explain the link be-tween crime and place, namely that a criminal act occurs at specific places: “For example murder, rape and serious assault (…) generally occur in these undeveloped areas. Robberies and hijackings often take place at isolated intersections and in hidden driveways, while many housebreakings occur as a result of the layout and land use of the affected residential areas” (Land-man and Liebermann 2005, 21). This shows how closely related the fear of crime is to urban spaces. Consequently, in order to reduce urban fear and prevent crimes, the spatial layout and development of a city needs to be im-proved. To effectively include crime prevention plans into local development, it has to be clear what kinds of crime are prevalent. People’s wish to move into a safely secluded and guarded area can be the result of many fears: from violent attacks, to robberies, breaking and entering, to political crimes, spreading of rumors and the general uneasiness and feeling of losing control (Landman and Schönteich 2002, 73). In regards to South Africa, which the case study in chapter 3 will focus on, another level of crime is important. During times of political transition, there tends to be more instability and violence among the citizens. From a social perspective, unstable bonds
As Setha Low explains in “The Edge and the Center: Gated Communities and the Discourse of Urban Fear“, a spatial analysis of the city prominently brings up separations and conflicts in both the center and the edge of the city (Low 2003, 387). Globally, cities are divided into different areas, segre-gated by cultural or racial differences and tensions. It is interesting to see how cities across the planet deal with issues that result from social pres-sures, cultural contexts and rapid globalization. For Low, gated communi-ties and other forms of residential development behind walls are a spatial form that offers an escape for some of the citizens. Analyzing why residents choose to live in such enclaves can give an important insight …show more content…
Low examined North American cities in order to find out where people’s wish to live in a gated community comes from and says that “anti-urban sentiment is often expressed as fear of violence and crime that is said to pervade the city” (Low 2003, 387). Coming from an East-Asian point of view, Sanjay Srivastava picks up on Low’s narrative of ‘urban fear’ and extends it all over the globe (Srivastava 2015, 112f). There is always the same narrative for a necessity of gated communities. Whether rural migrants and slum-dwellers that turn criminal or so-called “civilized” and “uncivilized” populations: the desire to keep out potentially dangerous or violent individuals of society motivates the creation of safe and fortified communities. The question is, do gated communities really improve a city’s situation regarding criminality? If the crime rate is reduced within a gated community, criminal activity does not just disappear; it gets pushed into a different area. Is urban fear the trigger for the emergence of gated commu-nities and do gated communities consequently reduce the rate of criminality in …show more content…
Karina Landman and Susan Liebermann explain the link be-tween crime and place, namely that a criminal act occurs at specific places: “For example murder, rape and serious assault (…) generally occur in these undeveloped areas. Robberies and hijackings often take place at isolated intersections and in hidden driveways, while many housebreakings occur as a result of the layout and land use of the affected residential areas” (Land-man and Liebermann 2005, 21). This shows how closely related the fear of crime is to urban spaces. Consequently, in order to reduce urban fear and prevent crimes, the spatial layout and development of a city needs to be im-proved. To effectively include crime prevention plans into local development, it has to be clear what kinds of crime are prevalent. People’s wish to move into a safely secluded and guarded area can be the result of many fears: from violent attacks, to robberies, breaking and entering, to political crimes, spreading of rumors and the general uneasiness and feeling of losing control (Landman and Schönteich 2002, 73). In regards to South Africa, which the case study in chapter 3 will focus on, another level of crime is important. During times of political transition, there tends to be more instability and violence among the citizens. From a social perspective, unstable bonds