Gated Communities and Market-Dominated Governance in Urban China
Publication: Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 146, Issue 3
Abstract
Approximately 300,000 gated communities (GCs) are distributed across urban China, presenting challenges to Chinese urban governance. Previous studies show interest in the relationship of GCs and security maintenance, and the role of GCs in the formation of the civil society. However, empirical investigations lacked testing of theory or hypothesis. A survey with 1,781 household questionnaires was conducted to find whether GCs are associated with residents’ security and community consciousness. The “convenience of life” rather than “safety” is the most important factor for residents’ choice of living in China. One possible reason is that the universalization of GCs has led to a lack of perceived security for residents. Further, differences in group consciousness and behavior choice were found between gated and open communities, and the homeowners’ concern for public affairs and participation is obviously insufficient with self-interest characteristics. Thus, it is worth mentioning that a GC is more of a new residential form rather than a space of civil society in China. This is due to the fact that marketization without effective constraints does not bring about the differentiation of social organization, as expected by liberal theorists, but rather creates a form of market hegemony in GCs, which results in the suppression of the development of social organization.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71774175), National Social Science Foundation Key Program (The urban and rural governance system at the grass-roots level in the new era) and Natural Science Foundation of Hu Nan Province (2018JJ3696).
References
Atkinson, R., S. Blandy, J. Flint, and D. Lister. 2005. “Gated cities of today? Barricaded residential development in England.” Town Planni. Rev. 76 (4): 401–422. https://doi.org/10.3828/tpr.76.4.3.
Atkinson, R., and J. Flint. 2004. “Fortress UK? Gated communities, the spatial revolt of the elites and time–space trajectories of segregation.” Hous. Stud. 19 (6): 875–892. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267303042000293982.
Bagaeen, S. 2010. “Gated communities: Social sustainability in contemporary and historical gated developments.” In Gated urban life versus kinship and social solidarity in the Middle East, edited by S. Bagaeen and O. Uduku, 26–37. London: Routledge.
Bible, D. S., and C. Hsieh. 2001. “Gated communities and residential property values.” Appraisal J. 69 (2): 140–145.
Blakely, E. J., and M. G. Snyder. 1997. “Architecture of fear.” In Divided we fall: Gated and walled communities in the United States, edited by N. Ellin, 85–99. New York: Princeton Architectural.
Borsdorf, A., R. Hidalgo, and R. Sánchez. 2007. “A new model of urban development in Latin America: The gated communities and fenced cities in the metropolitan areas of Santiago de Chile and Valparaíso.” Cities 24 (5): 365–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2007.04.002.
Breetzke, G. D., and E. G. Cohn. 2013. “Burglary in gated communities: An empirical analysis using routine activities theory.” Int. Crim. Justice Rev. 23 (1): 56–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057567713476887.
Cheng, Z., and R. Smyth. 2015. “Crime victimization, neighborhood safety and happiness in China.” Econ. Model. 51 (4): 424–435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2015.08.027.
Coy, M., and M. Pöhler. 2002. “Gated communities in Latin American megacities: Case studies in Brazil and Argentina.” Environ. Plann. B: Plann. Des. 29 (3): 355–370. https://doi.org/10.1068/b2772.
De Duren, N. R. L. 2007. “Gated communities as a municipal development strategy.” Hous. Policy Debate 18 (3): 607–626. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2007.9521613.
Deitzer, L. L. 2010. “2009 American housing survey.” J. Hous. Community Dev. 49 (9): 1758–1763.
Deng, F. 2017. “Gated community and residential segregation in urban China.” Geo J. 82 (2): 231–246.
Dick, H. W., and P. J. Rimmer. 1998. “Beyond the third world city: The new urban geography of South-East Asia.” Urban Stud. 35 (12): 2303–2321. https://doi.org/10.1080/0042098983890.
Dupuis, A., and D. Thorns. 2008. “Gated communities as exemplars of “forting up” practices in a risk society.” Urban Policy Res. 26 (2): 145–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/08111140802026800.
Firman, T. 2004. “New town development in Jakarta metropolitan region: A perspective of spatial segregation.” Habitat Int. 28 (3): 349–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0197-3975(03)00037-7.
Fleischer, F. 2007. “‘To choose a house means to choose a lifestyle.’ The consumption of housing and class-structuration in Urban China.” City Soc. 19 (2): 287–311. https://doi.org/10.1525/city.2007.19.2.287.
Foley, M. W., and B. Edwards. 1996. “The paradox of civil society.” J. Democracy 7 (3): 38–52. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.1996.0048.
Friday, P. C. 1998. “Crime and crime prevention in China: A challenge to the development-crime nexus.” J. Contemp. Crim. Justice 14 (3): 296–314. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986298014003006.
Giglia, A. 2008. “Gated communities in Mexico city.” Home Cultures 5 (1): 65–84. https://doi.org/10.2752/174063108X287355.
He, S. J. 2007. “State-sponsored gentrification under market transition the case of Shanghai.” Urban Affairs Rev. 4 (2): 171–198.
Helsley, R. W., and W. C. Strange. 1999. “Gated communities and the economic geography of crime.” J. Urban Econ. 46 (1): 80–105. https://doi.org/10.1006/juec.1998.2114.
Jones, P., D. Adamson, D. Hillier, D. Comfort, and P. Shears. 2003. “Gated residential developments in the UK.” Manage. Res. News 26 (12): 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1108/01409170310783691.
Landman, K., and M. Schönteich. 2002. “Urban fortresses: Gated communities as a reaction to crime.” Afr. Secur. Rev. 11 (4): 71–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/10246029.2002.9628147.
Lang, R. E., and K. A. Danielsen. 1997. “Gated communities in America: Walling out the world?” Hous. Policy Debate 8 (4): 867–899. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.1997.9521281.
Le Goix, R. 2005. “Gated communities: Sprawl and social segregation in Southern California.” Hous. Stud. 20 (2): 323–343. https://doi.org/10.1080/026730303042000331808.
Leisch, H. 2002. “Gated communities in Indonesia.” Cities 19 (5): 341–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0264-2751(02)00042-2.
Lemanski, C. 2006. “Spaces of exclusivity or connection? Linkages between a gated community and its poorer neighbour in a Cape Town master plan development.” Urban Stud. 43 (2): 397–420. https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980500495937.
Leung, J. C. B., and H. S. W. Wong. 1999. “The emergence of a community-based social assistance programme in urban China.” Social Policy Administration 33 (1): 39–54. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9515.00130.
Low, S. M. 1997. “Urban fear: Building the fortress city.” City Soc. 9 (1): 53–71. https://doi.org/10.1525/city.1997.9.1.53.
Low, S. M. 2004. Behind the gates: Life, security, and the pursuit of happiness in fortress America, 7–25. London: Routledge.
Maher, K. H. 2003. “Workers and strangers: The household service economy and the landscape of suburban fear.” Urban Affairs Rev. 38 (6): 751–786. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087403038006001.
Márquez, F. B., and F. P. Pérez. 2008. “Spatial frontiers and neo-communitarian identities in the city: The case of Santiago de Chile.” Urban Stud. 45 (7): 1461–1483. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098008090684.
Mckenzie, E. 2006. “Emerging trends in state regulation of private communities in the U.S.” GeoJournal 66 (1–2): 89–102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-006-9019-y.
Miao, P. 2003. “Deserted streets in a jammed town: The gated community in Chinese cities and its solution.” J. Urban Des.8 (1): 45–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/1357480032000064764.
Pow, C.-P. 2007. “Constructing a new private order: Gated communities and the privatization of urban life in post-reform Shanghai.” Social Cult. Geogr. 8 (6): 813–833. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649360701712511.
Rennison, C. M. 2001. “Criminal victimization, 2000: Changes 1990–2000 with trends 1993–2000.” In Bureau of justice statistics national crime victimization survey. 1–1. Washington, DC: Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Tedong, P. A., J. L. Grant, and W. N. A. Wan Abd Aziz. 2015. “Governing enclosure: The role of governance in producing gated communities and guarded neighborhoods in Malaysia.” Int. J. Urban Reg. Res. 39 (1): 112–128. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.12204.
Tian, L. 2015. “Land use dynamics driven by rural industrialization and land finance in the peri-urban areas of China: ‘The examples of Jiangyin and Shunde’.” Land Use Policy 45: 117–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.01.006.
Wilson-Doenges, G. 2000. “An exploration of sense of community and fear of crime in gated communities.” Environ. Behav. 32 (5): 597–611. https://doi.org/10.1177/00139160021972694.
Wu, F. L. 2005. “Rediscovering the “gate” under market transition: From work-unit compounds to commodity housing enclaves.” Hous. Stud. 20 (2): 235–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/026730303042000331754.
Wu, F. L., and K. Webber. 2004. “‘The rise of ‘foreign gated communities’ in Beijing: between economic globalization and local institutions.” Cities 21 (3): 203–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2004.03.002.
Wu, X. L. 2016. “Homeowners rights-defending conflicts and governance in urban China: A survey in 9 major cities.” [In Chinese.] China Public Administration 10: 128–134.
Wu, X. L. 2018. “Utopian ideals and privatopia dilemmas in urban gated communities.” [In Chinese.] J. China Natl. Sch. Administration 2: 122–127.
Xu, Q. W. 2007. “Community participation in urban China: Identifying mobilization factors.” Nonprofit Voluntary Sect. Q. 36 (4): 622–642. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764006297675.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 21, 2019
Accepted: Dec 4, 2019
Published online: May 22, 2020
Published in print: Sep 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Oct 22, 2020
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.