HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Comm Rpts./1996/03/27 (11)
Item: :!
Meeting Date 3/27/96
GATED COMMUNITIES
POLICY PAPER
FOR THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA
This report is not included here due to the need to perform additional research in the area of existing
gated communities in San Diego County. The report will be distributed to you prior to the April 10,
1996 hearing. The articles that were used in writing the report are included here.
Prepared by
The Otay Ranch Project Team
March 15,1996
e"/
Ne.,I.tter 0' the
Llnca
'olicy
SePt1'b~"S
Volume . umber 5
Fortress Communities:
The Walling and Gating of American Suburbs
Edward J. .'"kely
and Mary Gail Snyder
Gated communities are resIdential
areas With restricted access de-
signed to pnvatize normally public
spaces. These developments occur in
botb new suburban developments and
older inner city areas retrofitted to
proVIde secunty. We estimate that at
least three or four million and poten.
tia.l.1y many more Americans are seek-
ing !.!WI new form of refuge from the
Droblems of urbanization.
rhis rapidly groWUlg phenomenoD
s become ubiquitous in many areas
of the country since the late 1980s.
While early gated communities were
restricted to retirement Villages and
the compounds of the super rich, the
majority found today are middle to
upper-middle class. Along With the
trend toward "rorting up" in new dev-
elopments, existing Deighborhoods of
both rich and poor are using barrIcades
and gates WIth increasing frequency
to isolate themselves.
Gated communities can be classified
in three mam categories based. on the
pnmary motivation of theU' resIdents
(see figure on page 3). Two types or
"lifestyle" communities provide securIty
and separation for the leisure actiVitIes
and ameIllties Within. These Include
retirement communities and golf or
country club leisure developments as
one subgroup and suburban new towns
as another.
,~~
Land Policy in Estonia 4
Habitat Conservation Plans 6
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In "elite" communities the gates sym-
bolize distiDction and prestige. Through
both creating and protecting a secure
place on the social ladder, these commu-
nities become enclaves of the rich and
famous. developments (or the very
affluent. and executive home develop-
ments for the middle class.
The third type is the "security zone."
where fea.r of crime and outsiders is
the key motivation for defensive fortifi-
catIons. This category includes middle-
class areas where residents attempt to
protect property and property values:
working-<:lass neighborhoods. often in
deteriorating sections of the city; and
low-income areas, including public hous-
ing complexes. where crime is acute.
metropolitan areas and fueling the dnve
for separation. distinction. exclusion
and protection. Gated communities are
themselves a microcosm of America's
larger spatial pattern of segmentation
and separa.tion by income. race and
economic opportUD.lty. Suburba.n.i.zation
has not meant a lessening of segrega-
tion, but only a redistribution of the
old urban patterns. Minority and immI-
grant suburbanization is concentrated
in the inner rmg and oJd manufactur.
ing suburbs. At the same time, poverty
is no longer concentrated in the central
city, but is suburhanizing rapidly.
Gated communities are not yet the
normal pattern in the nation. They are
primarily a metropolitan and coastal
phenomenon. With the largest aggrega.
tions being in California. Tens and
Florida. However, gates are being erect-
ed in almost every state. Real estate
developers S~!~ ::~: ~~: ~:~and for_ ~
Urban Problems
Stimulate Trend to Gating
High levels of foreIgn iml!1.lgration. a
groWing underclass and a restructured
.er.oTlnmv ~rp ,..h~naina thp f~,..gnf ,...........
American Planning Association June 1994
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Fortr~ss America
Oregor. s Takings Tang]~
Computerized Zoning
Boulder Brings Ba:k the !\;ei~hhoThood Street
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9
ranging from portions of Dallas Cowboys
'wner Jerry Jones's 550.acre develop.
ent in Frisco, north of Dallas, to tiny
{13 acres, 10 bouses) Oakbrook Estates in
suburban Piano, where developer Jeff
Blackard is adding walls and gates and a
guardhouse to make his upper middle.
cIass residents feel secure. "People are
scared to death of letting their kids play
in the front yard or walk next door: he
explains, "We're all paranoid, but maybe
for the right reasons."
Ironically, the rush to gated communi.
ties coincides with widely reported de.
creases in violent crime statistics. The
latest Dallas police department statistics,
for example, show violent crime in the
city decreasing for 25 consecutive months.
and "cozy" to suggest a friendliness and
manageable scale that is supposedly miss.
ing outside.
. The Downs of Hillcrest in north Dallas
presents itself as "secluded from the world
at large, yet close to all the finer things of
life. Set apart from tbe rusb of the city,
The Downs offers peace of mind: The
pitch seems to be working; 58 of tbe
development's 114 lots were sold in the
last 10 months.
Stonebriar, a growing gated commu.
nity in Frisco, goes further by asking
prospective residents 10 imagine a "per.
fect place to live. . . outside the pande.
monium of the city: where there can be
"a return to simpler times. when you
knew you were secure within the bound.
tbe Community Associations Institute oi
Alexandria, Virginia, is the desire "to
protect and enhance housing values. "
In fact, during the real estate bust of
the 1980s. houses in gated communities
held their value far better than those in
non.gated subdivisions. Sales in Glen
Lakes, a gated community just north oi
downtown Dallas, ranged from S8 mil-
lion to Sl1 million annually from 1987to
1989, far ahead of the sluggish real estate
market. The large master'planned com-
munities around Houston reported simi.
lar gains. Piano developer Jeff Blackarc
estimates that the value of his lots in.
creased 20 percent the day he announcec
gates. Estimates in California often rulO
30 percent.
.
.\
"
.
!
.
.
,
"
From 1991 to 1993 the city's overall crime
rate fell 34 percent. Yet a May citizen
survey also revealed that 62 percent of
Dallasites are still afraid to walk around
their neighborhoods at night.
'"It's not that there is necessarily more
crime,. says Rice University sociologist
Stephen Klineberg, "but that it has be.
come so much more random and haphaz-
ard. It used to be that if you stayed out of
bad neighborhoods you'd be OK. That no
longer works. It's hard to find safe ha.
anymore. "
- ~velopers of gated communities ex-
ploit this anxiety by marketing their
projects as safer, friendlier, and more
economically stable than tradi tional ur.
ban, or even suburban, neighborhoods.
Their ads and brochures are sprinkled
with words like .viil.age.~ .communitv"
More going on
Gated communities arc
part of a broader pn-
vatization moverne.ct
which in turn is linkec
to a growing skepticism
about gov-ernment's
ability to police streets.
stabilize neighborhoods
and property values, and
generally look after the
public realm. Between
1980 and 1990, federal
funding to cities and
states slipped from 25
percent of total revenues
to 17 percent. In Dallas
to cite just one example
federal SUPPOTt fell from
12.3 percent to 6.3 per.
cent in 1990, at a time
when the city's tax base
was also plummeting.
People are responding
by taking matters into
their own hands. According to the 1990
Hallcrest Report II, commissioned by the
National Institute of Justice in Washing.
ton, private security guards now out.
number public police three to one, whiie
private businesses and private communi-
ties spend nearly twice as much on secu-
rity as city governments.
Eighteen Dallas neighborhoods now
hire off.duty police to patrol their streets
and parks, using cruisers rented from the
city. And some cities are experimenting
with private police forces, which work
on contract just like trash collectors and
ambulance services. Meanwhile, neigh-
borhoods that can't afford off.duty police
are turning to bollards and barriers to
keep nonresident traffic off their str~
George Washington University so~.1
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Gates don. " always wor'. Tlais (~nce
is in south central Los "'ngeles.
aries of your own neighborhood. . . [and)
w here children could play unattended
and be safe after dark:
Gated communities regard the outside
world as a threat, says Edward Blakely,
newly appointed dean of the urban stud.
ies school at the University of Southern
California in Los Angeles. Blakely is work-
ing on a major report on the phenom.
enon. .Other people are the enemy, and
they'll do whatever they have to to keep
them out,' he says. "This squeezes public
officials from both directions. They get a
lot of applications for gates; then there's
a big rush to stop them as anti.demo-
cratic. .
Yet experts say that fear of crime only
partially accounts for the proliferation of
walled and gated communities. equally
imnortant accord in'" tt).'1 1 Qq~ c,un.'P\' h,.
!
.
.
11
likely to get busted. They reinforce the
'dency to categorize people by race
. J sex, which only intensifies our social
problems. .
Yet money seems to count more than
race. In the Dallas area, for instance,
many black sports stars live in the vari.
ous gated communities that are part of
Las Colinas, the new town in Irving. And
black businessman Frank Simmons re-
cently moved into Regent's Park in DeSoto,
a small gated community where houses
start at 5350,000 and the security is presi-
dential. "I grew up poor, one of 15 kids,.
he says. "I wanted to have a nice house in
a nice neighborhood, where my kids could
go to a good school. .
Guarding the gate
The chief guardians of real estate values
in these new complexes are the commu.
nity associations, made up of residents,
builders, and representatives of the de-
velopers. Operating like shadow govern-
ments, they collect assessments, hire po-
tce, maintain streets and parks, and enforce
design guidelines covering everything from
the square footage of houses to the color
of mailboxes. In states like Texas where
zoning is nominal, they draw up ordi-
nances. Some of the larger associations-
in Columbia, Maryland, for example-
are authorized to issue bonds.
According to the Community Associa-
tions Institute, 32 million Americans now
belong to some form of community associ.
ation, a number expected to double by
the end of the century. Strapped local
governments embrace the associations
because they relieve community pres-
sure to build and maintain new parks,
playgrounds, and other facilities. Devel-
opers like them because they give their
projects credibility. Even if the builder
goes bust, the existence of a strong com.
munity association gives some assurance
that the development will survive.
"In Phoenix you can't start a new de.
velopment without a community asso.
ciation: says Brent Herrington of Capi-
ta! Consultants Management Corporation.
which manages of planned communities
around the country. "Houston is like that
and Dallas is getting that way. .
Questions remain
Still unresolved are the legal ramifica.
tions of closing off streets to the public.
In 1991, a group called Citizens Against
Gated Enclaves sued the city of Los An.
geles for allowing the residents of fash.
ionable Whitley Heights, near the Holly.
wood Bowl, to gate public streets agains:
outsiders. In January 1993, a superior
court judge ruled in favor of the plain.
tiffs, saying that "the city owes a duty to
the public not to allow gates on publJC
streets." The ruling was upheld on ap.
peal, throwing the city's approximately
200 pending applications for gates into
legal limbo,
Generally, local governments have little
control over gated communities, except
to ensure that their private streets meet
public standards and are accessible to
emergency vehicles. Many times the gates
go up after the fact, with no public reo
view.
But Piano, a mostly white, middle.
class suburb of Dallas, is now taking a
second look at gating. After approving
four gated communities in the last three
years, the city recently declared a mora.
torium on new ones until it can develop
guidelines.
Developers argue that they are simply
responding to the market, and that if
PIano bans gated communities, custom.
ers will go elsewhere. But opponents, led
by black city council member David Perry,
argue that more gates mean more segre-
gation and more fragmentation. "We should
have an open community," Perry says.
"When people move here, they should
have Piano as a whole as their focus, not
their own private utopias..
Plana's planning director, Frank Turner,
AICP, has urged the city council to be
cautious in approving more gated com.
munities. "We have one of the lowest
crime rates for cities OUf size in the state,"
he says. "I see no compelling reason to
create them for reasons of security, or to
promote them that way."
While experts generally agree that gates
and walls keep down petty offe~
peeping toms and hubcap thieves .
are les_s confident about their abl 1\\' t
MAN BITES TOWN
GETTING THE GATE
Make the City
More Like
the Suburbs?
There wes the
Neighborhood.
T
By
Harry Shearer
c:63
First impressions do count.
^ sWf.."\'pin~ g,11l-d l'ntry. pri,'oi!tC',
nighr-liJ;hlE"li tennis C(\lIrts... club hOllsc
with.1 bi~ N-itutiful 1='0<" ;md fitnC'ss
center,eVl'n your own Pitr J ~oif COllr~l'
-th~' things s,'y it 101 .,boul you and
thl." w":' you \\'"nt tn li\'C'.
rdrdl'l."S Vinl,1gl' HlIm<.'s .,t r.,IJcio
Ot" M.1r SolYS .,11 th.lt .1I1d more'. YOll'1I
know it rlw first linw Vt1U drin' into
Ihi~ luxurroll",ly ,'ppointL'ct pri\',1h:
community. .1nd l/'t'.I,1/ know it ft)(\,
Com\.' see why courles .lod (.'milie~
"l'ry much Id...I.' YOll ,1re chol,)~ing
\'IIH.\~l' Hom..,s. Whl'Ih..'r YOll W,1nt Ihl.'
Ctm\'l'niL'nn' 111 ., !"r.lcioll'-' on\.'.story
hOn1C' (If tilt' dr.1m., o( l1l1r twn-slnr\'
P!.1I,... wilh Ihrl'\.'-l"'f g.lr,'gL'~ ;'Ind lip 10
,'pprm:jm,'ld~' 2}JtJ! :-.qU.lfl' fl.'\.'t, Vinl.lgL'
Jlpml'S m.,kl.'S just tIll' right ImrrL'Ssinn
-II1\.' (ir~t Imll' <1nd L'\'l'r~' rimL'.
Taylor Woodrow
to release
Phase Three
at Ridgegate
Spurred by the success of the
recent grand openIng celebration
at the gated enclave of Ridgegate
in La Jolla, Taylor Woodrow Homes
released the neighborhood's third
phase of residences on Oct. 14.
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Nestled along the coastal ~. c.
foothil~, Ridgegate pres~ts' ~
residents with a private,'gated""
setting complete with ils"$n . -
proposed recreation centE!T, which
will feature a sWimming pool and ,-.
spa.
-. You don't have to be a
pT"\~fEy home buying e"pert to
'ls;3fj};'/lfeJ see how unique Count!)'
G!en really is. It oOe. s alTordable 2~4
bedroom homes in Temecula's private
gated communi!).,
From the $270,OOOs!
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PRESTIGIOUS GATED COMMUNITY
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IDA-Il'EST
~002
Rev~v;~g Dis~ressed Cn=m'~;ties
Rosenthal, Gilbert A
Jour-...al of Housing vSlr14 PP: 21-28 Jul/Aug 1994 CODEN: JOHOA4 ISSN:
0272-7374 JRNL CODE: JHO
Exce-jpt from article:
. . .Althoug:!:J. the
aevelopmenr: into
insta:lces, there
approacJ:l.
goal of physically integrating a public housing
its surrounding c:ommunity makes sense in most
are ~imes when rein:Eorc:ing the separation can be a viable
Often, there is an instinctive response on the Part of tile police, and S=e
t.ena..1:s and pl=ers, to the creation of a -gated" "c=ity.
A~istrators usually try to avoid this approac:h. -Gated. "communities.
give the impression that certa:!.z: members of society are deemed unsuitable,
'd 1:hus, IIIllSt :Oe kept out of . good. neigbborhoods. As one tenanr:
.=e~ed, this kind of .pla.nta~ion pOlitic:s. is not conducivQ to
establishing good community relations. ADd yet, it occ:asionally appears ~o
be t-~e preferred solution....
~0
11-' 2;,95
10: J4
'Z)'G'- 455 132;
IDA-ITEST
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Nov 27 09: 08 1995 tlNCL).sSZFI:E:D: mzmn : '/t:mp/lpr.66S6 : Page 2
ASSTAAC'!': Much of the public housing s1:ock chat exists in the 'D'S' large'!t
cit:ies was built as an approach to slum. clearance. 'D'nder a series of h<.:..,
prograI!l.S, att:empts have bee::. made to repair or rez:,~vat:e the deceriorat.e:;,
buildi.:1"s, add more mod/L'"n conVeniez:,ces, upsorade basic systems, and ot..b.er
tasks. These progra:DS have generally fallen short of complete success. In
1993. Congress appropriated nearly 3/4 of $1 billion for a new pro~r~
called HOPE: VI Urban Revitalization Demonstration (ORDJ. ORD allows housing
authorities and their pl~ers to approach redevelopment in a broad ~d
ccmprehensiv-e maDIler chat utilizes =eative strategies tllat take iI:.to
account comp let: e CO=unit:y pl"""ing issues. Revitalizat:ion programs :..r.
Philadelphia and Chester, p=syl-,rania. and Seattle. Washington. ax..
discussed.
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DIALOG(R)File 148:Trade & Industry Database (n1)
08221388 SUPPLIER NUMBER: 17566925 (TEIS IS THE rou. TE::.."'!')
For.:ress Communities: the Walling and Gating of American Suburbs.
Blakely, Edward J.; Snyder, Mary Gail
Nation's C~ties We~~y, vIS, n40. pl(2)
JCt 2, 1995
ABSTRl-.C'I': It is estilnated that: at least three to four millioIl Americ""''''
live in gated communities. or residential communities that rest:rict access.
Such co=unities, which have arise!l primarily because of a tear of crime,
reduce mutual cont:act:s and social responsibilities.
TJ::XT :
*Gated- *communit:ies- are residential areas with restrict:eci access
designed to privatize normally public spaces. These developments occur i~
both new suburban developments and older inner city areas retrofitt:ed to
provide security. We estimate that: at least three or four million and
potentially many more Americans are seeking this new form of refuge from
the problems of urbanization.
This rapidly growi::g ;JhenomenoD. bas !Jecome ubiQUitous in many areas of
the count=Y since the lat:e 1980' s. While ea.rly *gated. .CO!l1lm1Ilities* were
restrict:ed to retireme!lt villages and the compounds of che super rich. the
majority found today are middle to upper-middle class. Along with the trend
tOwc.rd "forting up. in new developca!1ts. existing neighborhoods of both
rich and poor are usizlg barricades and gates with increasing frequency to
isolat:e themselves.
. *Gated* .communities- can be classified in three main categories based
on the prima-~ motivation of their residents. Two types of "lifestyle"
communities provide s~~i~ and separat:ion for the leisure activities and
m~~;ties within. These include retirement communities and golf or country
.lub leisure developments as ane $1J.bgroup ar.d suburban new to,,>ns as
i!!lother.
In "elit:e" communities the gates symbolize distinction and prestige.
<::6"7
NOV 27 09:08 1995 UN~~S::IED
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Page.3
Through both creating and protecting a secure place on the social ladder,
these cl?mmunities becomOi enclave:; of the rich aIld famous, development:s for
the ver.f affluent. anci executive home developments for the middle class.
The !:.hird type is the "security zone," where fear of crime aIld
outsiders is the key motivation for defensive fo~ifications. This category
includes middle-class areas where residents attempt to prot:ect property aIld
prope~y values: working-class neig~~orhoods, often in deteriorating
sect.:.o!':s of the city; and low-income areas, including public housing
co=lexes, where c=ime i.s acute.
- O"rb= Problems Sti..!nulate Tre.!!.d to Gatting
High ~evels of foreign immigrat:ion, a growing underclass aIld a
rest~uct:U:ed economy are changing the face of many metropolitan areas and
fueling t:he drive for separation, distinction, exclusion aIld protection.
-Gated* -communities' are th~elves 11 microcosm of America's larger
Spatial patte= of segme.!!.t:ation and separation by income, race and econ~"!Iic
opportUIli.ty. Suburb=ization has not meant a lessening of segregation, but:
only a redistribution of the old urb= patterns. lfinorit:y and immigrant
subu:bar:.izarion is concentrated in the inner ring and old manufacturing
suburbs. At the same ::ime, poverty is no longer concentrated in the central
c::.ty, but is suburbanizing rapidly.
-Gated* *communities- are not yet the normal pattern in ~~e nation.
They are primarily a metropolitan and coastal phenomenon, with the largest
aggregations being in Califo=ia, Texas aDd Florida. However, gates are
being erected in almost every state. Real estate developers suggest that
the dema:r:d for homes iD "gated- "communities- is iDcreasing, and th~e is
evidence that housing appreciation in such developme!1ts is higher than
outside the gates.
Fear of crime is the strongest rationale for this new form of
com.":!U!J.ity. Accordi::lg to recent reports in Miami and other areas where gates
and barricades have become the norm, some forms of crime, such as car
t:heft. are reduced. OIl the other hand. some data indicate that: the cr:Une
rate-inside the gates is only marginally altered ~ barricades.
Nevertheless, reside.!!.ts report less fear of crime in such settinqs. This
reduct:ion in fear is important in itself, since it call lead to increased
neighborly contact. which can reduce cr.iJl1e in ::he long =.
Policy Issues For Community Life
The development of gated areas is related to the uncoupling of
iIldustry from cities and of professionals from the industrial core.
Geography compounds =ent trends toward f:agmentat:ion and priV11tizaticZl
~ undercutting the old foundation of cnmrmm; t:y and providing a ne-w
rationale for the lifestyle e.!!.clave or "gated- "community" based on sh.=ed
socioeconomic status. This nar=awing of social contact is likewise
narrowing the social contract.
Privatization--the replacement of public government: and its functions
by privat:e organizations which purcbase sL"'vices from the marketnis
promoted as a "benefit" of *gated* "crnmm1~ities*, but it may have serious
impacts on the broader communit:y. PriV11te communities provide !:heir own
securit.y, st=eet mainten.a.!:!ce, parks, recreation, garbage coll~iOI1 and
othe= sE;...""Vices, thus reliev.ing taxpayers of additional !::ru.."'"Ciens. However,
they may also have :.he U:linte.!!.ded Consequence of reducing voter interest: in
part:icipating in tax programs or voluntary effo~s to deal with C"mm"~; t:y
probl~ or additional pubic services such as schools, streats, police or
other que:!ces. What is the measure of nat:ior.hood when neighborhoods require
a..-rmed patrols and electric fencing to keep out other citizens? When public
services and ev8!l local gove=ments are privatized and when the cOImllW:licy
of respo::lSibility stops at the suhdivision gates, what: happens to the
c6~
Nov 27 09:08 1995 ONCL'''Sr:'!:E:D
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fu."lctiQIl and the very idea of democracy? In shott. can this nation fulfill
its sccial contract in the absence of social contact?
Edwazd J. Elakely is a visiting fellow of the Lincoln !nstit~te of
nd Policy and is dean and Lusk Professor of ?la=ing and Dev-elopmet for
..~e School of urbazl and RegioIlal Pl"T'T,;ng at the University of Southe.=
califor.lia. Mary Gail Snyder is a doctoral student iIl the Department of
City and ?egioIlal Pl=iIlg at t University of California at Berkeley.
Repri::.ted .,ith !)e=ission from 'LandLi"es.. the newslet::er of the Li~coln
T~~ticute 0: ~and Policy.
COPY7~Gh~ 1995 National League of Cities
?
"
cz1
-.
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Co~ten~-Type: c~xt/pla~i n~~e=nmmm6~; charset=Mus-asciiu
COnt~t-Disposition: ~ttacbm~~t; fil~ame='mrom6'
DT~LOG[R)File 148:Trade , Industry Database(TM)
07531800 ~W??LiER NUMBER: 16110657 CTEIS IS 7rlE :U~ TEXT)
Securi~y Sells. (Se~~rit1. Syste~ as Factor in Real Estate Sales)
GeIman, Brad
3uild~, v17, 411, p112(5)
Sep~, 1994
ISSN: 07H-1193
WORD CO'JNT: 2034
LANG'J1..GE: ENGLISH
LINE CO~'T: 00166
RECORD TYPE: FtJT...L'!'EXT; J..BS'Z'RAC':'
J..BST?_;CT: Tbe presence of adequate security systems h<is b&come a major
factor in real estate 5~les. Industry executives have given special
tr~ining to their sales p~sonnel as customers have given more priority to
security before purcha.si."lg a house. A consumer survey showed that new home
buye=s would spend aIou::d $1,500 to have a se=ity system attac:..'lecl to
""rospectivE; homes. Thus, builders h~ve to consider the inclusion of such
stems w~thout sCaring off potential buyers.
TEX.':':
You= neighborhood is safe, but the times are dangerous. :i~e' s how you
CCll sell that. e:rt:ra measure of safety that buyers call 'peace of mind..
Flip to any page in the SUnday Miaxni Herald real estate section and
YOU'll see it adve-~ised. Sometimes in big type, sometimes buried ~ a lon~
~ist of eme"ities along with the pool and ocec:n views. But it.'s !:hera, the
up ~d co~-in ~~ buyer amenity of the 19905: security.
Take the ad for-Deer~g E~Y, a luxury yacht club- Community, ::hat says
'Call ahead" and shows a two-sto~ gate house. Okay, so luxu..-ry communities
always hav gates. How about the ad for Montage by the :L.ake. an affordable
tOv."::house ;;J=oje~ in Fort Lauderdale with water '.J'iews? T'.c.e only feature
printed in bold face is the p~ime1:~ wall with the priV'ate ent~ gat.e.
'::t 's our biggest amenity,. say builder i:duardo Camet. 'We could:!l' t. have
built: the project without: it..
But. cion't (;,ink: security is just:: a Flori&. phenomenon. Shapell
-~~~::ries' ad for r"~ee Los Angeles projects is built around a phot.o of a
g-.:.;.rc clleck.i::lg ou!: car in fron:: of a sturdy-look.i::lg gate. A"d in Dallas,
!:n.::.lders ue training their sales teams t.o zero in aggressively on their
S::e.r:.dard se~.u-itv features dur:.ng the model h=e tour.
w~t's r~~aIkable about. all of ::bis is that. it violates a cardinal
rule of selling: Never bring up a negat.ive (like mentioning that. you. build
in a darlgerous area). But. :Ul South Florida. builders boast about their
yrojec::s' se~~ity features because everybody already knows it's a
c'=:;:gerous area. 'Crime is on the fro:!.t page all the time,' says :rar.k
Y'cJ
NOv 27 09:08 1995
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Robles, vice presJ.aent of Miami' Preniier Homes. "SO, Watthe hell, it
mi\;b.t as well be in the ads,"
Why se=ity sells. According to the lIIost recent BUILDER CO!lSUI!ler
~"'"Vey, two-thirds of new-home buyers in all price raIlges would. pay at
..ea.!t $1,500 lIIor for a se<:u.rity System.
Wnat's more, 83 percent of the builders we surveyed. in February say
se~~ity is more important to their buyers tOday than it was five Je~rs
ago, and 74. percent say buyers axe Pu:cbasin" more security features. "I
see couples walking into a sales office III1d the first thing they want to
~.ow is if the community is safe, says Houston-based sales COnsult~.t
Thomas Ri~ey. "That didll' t h~en 18 mcmth ago."
!n fact, reports Dallas research group Parks Associates, last year ODe
o~t of four new homes had a securi~~ alaDn system as standard equipment (at
an average cost of $1,200). Almost two-thi.rds of the builders we survE!'j'ed
predict that electroIlic security syste,!lIs will be standard by 2000.
Although nobody keeps statistics on the number of projects built with
walls or g'-.lardhouses, lUlecdotal evidence suggests they too are beoomiD.g
standard in =y =kets. 'We dOIl't recnmmoand a builder do a community
without a gate anymore," says market analyst Marta Bors~ of Robert
Charles Lesser &, Compeny in Newpor Beach, Calif.
In Hiami, 15 exist;ing neighborhoods have put up their = ~ti-crime
bar::::icades and bave seen cril'ne drop substantially over fivE: years. Six !Dore
existing communities are pressing Dude CounLl( for Pe--.mission to erect
gu",rd.1J.ouses a!ld peri.l1eter walls.
Advertising seC'Urity. How can you adveJ.'tise security without scaril:g
off buyers There is no cons=.sus amoIlg marketing mqJerts. While builders
like Camet have n qualms about pr=oting 3e=iey in their newSpaper ads,
the idea ma..1<:es Richard Elkman of Group Two Adve...""tising i.n Philadelphia
fliIlch.
"We tell our clients not to highlight it," Elkman says. "Advertising
.. Suppose to whet your appetite to fulfill a dream," he oiXplains. "So why
bri.I!<; reality into the situation at that point?" Teeneck, N.J., marketing
guru Bill Becker agrees: "I wouldn't want to advertise the faCt: ~t I have
to put in a security system to protect yOU,"
But Peter Heinz, whose firm, Taglairino Advertisi:lg Group, wrote the
Deerinl; 3a ad, en:o=ages his cliel:ts to advertise their guardhouses and
shore a..Tld foot patrols. "Security isn't a negative anymore," he says. "It's
a pOsitive. Crime is the number-oDe issue on people's mdr.ds. So it should
be second nature for builders to tell buyers about all the Steps they're
tak.izlg to keep the buyers safe," says He:L=.
No promises. On the other hand, advertising securiey in a newspaper ad
ca..Tl carr a powerful risk: litigation. The fact is that you can't promise a
100 perCElt crime-free project no matter how ta.ll the wall, how mean tile
guard, or how loud the ala..."'m. And, if you make such a promise, and somebody
is assaulted or WOIse before build-out, you could end up p...::ting a lawyer's
kid through medical school. .
"The -..,ord 'se=ity' sends shivers up our atto=eys' =>acks," says ODe
:::alifo=i builder, who requested ano::lymity. "So we never try to tell
~yb9dy that they'll live safe, happy Ii ves if they buy one of our houses."
T~t' 5 why ads that play 0.. buyer fears of cri!ne must be carefully phrased
::0 avoid .,remising absolute, or even improved, personal safety.
Consider Shapell I~dustries' studiously const=ucted "Peace of Hind" ad
::or ...n"e S~. Fernando Valley subdivisions. The guard photo, headline, and
promise of "manned gat~~ouses for you and your loved ones' peace of m;~d'
~ the copy, suggest, but don't promise, increased personal safe~.
Su,.gestiz:.g without promising is also wb:y the ad avoids terms like
"
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Nov 27 09:08 1995
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"se~~ity. an "controlled-access' for legally benign euphemisms like
.private, *gated* *c==ities.' and "limi~ed-access." Buyers read safety.
"ut the copy doesn't guarantee it.
De.'!lo:lstrating in Dallas. Consultants Etichev and Becker boch advise
.,...ilders 1:0 escbew newspaper ads and sell security ollly durin. the model
h=e tour, "Let th buyer bring up I:he issue.' says Richey, and then let the
sales agent walk through !:he security features. Yet even this back-door
approac=. is taki."1g Oil aggressive new qualities in some markets, like
Dallas.
SEcmu!'Y SECOMING A STANDARD FEAroRE
Feature
Standard
now
Deadbolts
Electronic
security-systems
Motion-sensor lights
Lig~t: timer systems
Intercoms
61%
S~and=-d
by 2000
75%
13%
S%
4%
62i
42%
25%
10%
15%
ElectzoIJ2c seC"..l:ity Syst6lS will be standard in 2000, say almost 1:'...0' :..~irds
of
t~e builders we surveyed, equalling the number who say deadbolt locks are
st~dard i!! their houses today. Nearly half of responde.'lts expect motion..se
-sor
lights to be standard security equip~t in 2000.
SOURCE: BIJIT....DER/WJ-:E
For ex~le, ~here' 5 Saratoga Springs, an upscale tOw-nhome rental
co"...=ity tha is popular with professional welDeD. under the age of 40. "Our
:nE.rket is extremel conce=ed about =ime." says Joe l'e:ersen. Carbon
Developm~t Corporation's marketing vice president, so Che compeny insis~eci
on remote-con~rolled peri:nete gates and private, automatic ~ages for each
UZlit.
Leasing agents demonstrate the remote-controlled gate and garage doors
so Chat customers can "see how t.hey can pull into their own privC!.te g-crage
24 hours.. day aIld they're safe.. says Pe~e:::se.'l, who cla~ "Che
direct-access garage is a key to our success." (To limit Carbon
Developme.'lt 'S liability, age..'lts tell renters point-bl=k that ~eir
security is their own responsibility.)
In ano~er part of Dall~, Gehan Homes sales and marke~inQ' director
Shirley Boulter trains agents to tu...'"!l to ~he customer when the model tour
rea~~es the security keypad and ask: 'Is security importent to you?"
Then, the agent expla.i.ns the benefits of motion detectors and wired
w-:i::J.dows CUJ.d doors (faster police/aIT'.bulance respo:!lse). Sales agen::s tell
prospects about the monthly monitor;"g fee ($24) charged by Smit.h Ala=
SYSte:r.s. the security firm that works ...it..~ Gehan (and gives Gehan a volume
break on t...'1e UlstallatioI! cost)
To soothe clients' ~eties, Boul~er's team hands out a security
system se.1es brocJ:Iure that's aimed at children and designed like a coloring
r-~k. The book pro,~des a way to talk about crime without raising the
,cter of personal danger, she explains. "~ou bring out the book a..~d it's
f~
Nov 27 09: OS 1995 tlNC SI:IED
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~ ";i9~~~~
liJte you're talking to the dUld aboUt payi::lg a1:tention when they open a.
door,' says Boulter.
It seem.s to work. Gel:1an is the olUy nallas builder salling homes for
ass t.he:l $130,000 with a standard se=i~ package, and so Boulter says
.:he ala= gives the company a uni~e sales Story. Boulter crec!its some 10
percent of the fi='s 167 sales in 1993 to the feature. "When we talk about
c:ut~i:o.g the ala= to get. our COSts down, the sales people s=eam 'no, no,
:0.0, tha~'s OIle or our best selling tools, ,. says Boulter.
Target t.he in'OeC'oJre. Another strategy is to target a seC'.1:'ity sales
message to few worried buyers in-c;tead of broackastinl;' it allover the news
pages. That's what Elkman' s fi= effectively did last year when it targeted
a direct mail campaign for a Westchester COunt".l" , N. Y., to..."Ilhouse proj (2ct to
c::;ime-wary families in the BIOIlX and Queens.
One postcard, for example, shows a can of tear gas, a. loc:k, and a
""beware of guard dog' sign, and offers customers a chance to "trade in your
locks, I"'h"i."" , and guard dogs for swim fins, tetlIlis rackets, and friendly
::::Leigbbors." Tbe To..'Ilhomes at Winchester, 62 tOWDhouses priced at $23!!, 000
and up, sold out afte """'ee mailings, says Elkman.
Why aoesn' t a postcard wi:.h a can of tear gas tu= off buyers, while a
newsp;ape ad with a guard does? The difference, ElJanan says, is that .we
weren't selling seC'..u:-ity system.s in the house, we're sell;"" peace of mirld
in Westchester Countv."
"If you say in a Zlews;;>aper ad that we have se=ity, you may create
some u=ecessary fears. But if you target the message through direct mail,
or e"v"en a cOl!l!!IWlity newspaper, you can do anything,' says :5:1Janan" "Crime is
an issue ever:,-wb=e and security is an excellent marketing tool. The only
question is ho you raise it..
BUTT 1">ERS SAY SECt1RITY IS 11. HOT BUTTON
Se=ity is more ~ortant to my buyers now than five years ago.
Yes: 83% No: 11%
!!!y buyers buy more sec;urity options no,. than five years ago.
Yes: 74% No: 16%
My buyers are willing to pay more for security.
L~ss than $500 20%
$500 - $999 28%
51.000 - $1.999 39%
$2.000 - $3,000 11%
$4,000. 2%
Buvers w-..nt more se=itv and ere willing pay for it, says a :ebruary
3UIL~ERiNAHB sur~ey or 350 bullders nationwide.
Source: BUI!.DE!\/NAHB
00 SECURITY SYST:E:MS ~.!.LY HELP,
A gatebouse costs about $15,000 in Miami. Add another $100.000 or so a
year to hire the security guards. and anot!:uar $600 per house for a
!:!c::itored ala= syste:n (which costs buy=s about $28 a month iIl monitor;:o.~
=~s). Are your buyers really safer? The answer: Probably"
,Thieves looking for fast mon~ or an easy target typically move OIl to
t~e !lext house or neighborhood if they bit an obstacle (like a wall) or
==.t tell if a ilouse is oc:cupieci, reports university of Miami cri.'!!inology
;;:-ro:assor Paul Cromwell. And though some say dogs are thl! best crilIle
deterrents, gates and ala-~ clearly work too.
A recent Miami Herald study found crime falli.~g in *ga::ed*
"co==i::ies* and rising in nearby non-gated areas. Mie.!ni Shores, for
ex-c1!Jple. e.!'ected gates iIl 1988 and saw assaults drop 39 pe.!'cent, burglaries
f 'I 20 percent, and robj:)eries dip 13 percent. Meanwhile, crime rates in
.=by (and =gated) North Miami shot up 32 percent"
.,
13
..:~~""~'3.:-.
Noy 27 Og:08 1995 CNc..~SI;'-;.:;.': mmm : ItmP/lpr.66S... : Page 14
Al~ also Seem to work. Hore than 90 percenr. of !:he burglars
Cro!::',.;ell :iJ:lte:nl'iewed said they were deterred by alum systems, and 75
~cer:.t said they were even deterred by an ala...~ company's sign or w'-ndow
. .:icke.r. (On the other hand, some crooks take jobs with se=ity fi=s to
..earn how to disa= ala=s, and others said that: a. se=ity company sign
me= that something inside is worth stealing.)
Iror..ically, gates and ala..~ can lull owners into e. false sense of
se=ir.y. That's wha".: b.appened i:l !1ee...-o-wood, a Jacksonville, Fla., golf
ccurse commu=lity that was burglarized 30 t:imes over 18 months despite
having a perimeter wall, gate, and security patrol. Jacksonville police
att=ibute the community's proble to over-confident o'Wers who left their
doors and w;ndows unlocked.
GATES CDT c::RIME IN MTi'<MJ:
(~tes of ~der, rape, burgla..~, assault, robbery, and a~to thefr;, 1988-92)
Ungatec communities:
Shorecrest:
No1:"th Miami
+59%
+32%-
-Gated x .coroffiunities-:
Miami Shores
Keystone Point
-13%
-45%
Source: Miami Herald
COPYRIGHT 1994 Banley-Wood mc.
~PECIAL ~.".uKES: illust:ration; photograph
~~uSTRY CODES/NAMES: CNST Co~t-ruction and Materials
DESCRIPTORS: House buy:iJ:lgnTecbnique; Hou.s:iJ:lg--Safety and security
mee.salolzoes
:FILB: SEGMENT: TI File 148
'?
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- - .
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5/9/70 (It~~ 42 from file: 148)
DIA'OG(R)File 14B:Trade & mdustry Database(TM)
(c) 19P5 Info Access Co. All res. rese-~.
07196981 SUPPLIER NUMBER: 14804090 (THIS IS T~~ FULL TEXT)
?OIcre.ss Ame=ica. (Che walled pri-vate cnTTmr.'J"ity) (Colu=)
Slakelv, E:d...-ard
~l~~~~g. '160, n1, p46(1)
Jan, 1994
D~"T TY~E: Column !SSN: 0002-2610 r..Z>.NGUAGE: ENG!..IS:';:
RECOB.IJ '!'Y?E: FULLTEXT; ABS~CT
WO~ CO~"T: 564 L~~ CO~"T: 00045
.':':<ACT: The walled private co!t1I!!llnities, that are becom:iJ:lg preYal~t in
-,
y;!
.:--.:'&:~:.._._~
Nov 27 09:08 1995 .ONe SS!FIED: mmm : Itmp/lpr.66. : Page 15
pans ot ~he US, are a form of discrimination, just as restric:t:ions on
access to public facilities were in the past _ There are at least 50 such
;;>rivate cOI1IIllWlities in Califo=ia_ This economlc segregation represents a
:righeeIled middl.e-class ~hat feels the need for added se=ity. It suggests
~bAt Americans have g-iven up on the idea of racial aIld class inte~!ltio!l.
This trend should be debated by those involved in urban pOlicym,,!<-i"'g.
TEXT:
It has been over three decades since this nation legally outlawed all
forms of public discrimination--in housing, education, public
transporta~ion, and public acco=odations. Yet today, we are seeing a new
fo= of disc:-imination--the gated, walled. private community. ! call it ths
aforting up phe."'lomenon.'
A fe",' months ago, National Public Radio broadcast a program desc:-ibi.::lg
this increasing-ly prevalent settlement pa~tern--one that has roots as deep
as the Middle Ages. The most frightening- thing about the prog= was the
:-ationale offe:-ed by the residents of the "gated" "cozmnmities" ~o justify
removing themseh-es fr= the rest of society. To them, the city was si.'llply
a place of violence. They reasoned that l1igh walls and security guards were
Ilecessa.:ry to maintain their economic and social adva:c.tage. Lis~ening- to
them. I feared that the ft~erican experiment in social integration ,vas
doomed.
My most recent research shows over 50 of these settlements built or
p~oposed ~ California alone. That means I1alf a million Califorui<!!l,S will
,Soon be living in walled enclaves. They seek refug'e not just by moving to
the suburbs but by electing to live behind walls in private domains
protected by security mecb.a.!:l.isms. .Increasingly, a frightened middle class
that. in the past fled the cities to escape school bltegration or ~o ensure
~~preciation of housing values now feels it must move to prot.ect ies
:ope...-rty.
=:CODO:niC segregation is scarcely new. In fact. zoning and city
plann~g were designed in pe-~ to preserve the position of the privileged
by subtle varial:ces in buildiDsr and density codes. But the *gated*
"communities* go farther in several respects. They create physical ba=iers
1:0 access. AIld they privatize community space, not merely individual space.
Many of these c~~ities also privatize civic responsibilities such as
police protec1:ion. <!!ld communal services such as schools, recreation. and
=tertai.'1.'I!ent. W!len offices <!!ld retail complexes are placed withiD. the
w~lls, the Dew developments create a private world that aharas little with
its neighbors or the larger pOlitical systec. This fragmentation und~es
the ve...ry concept of civitas--organized community lite.
Thus far. the issues s\l..'"I'OUIldiDg walled co=1ties have been left
!!lostly to jO\l..=alis~s to describe. Yet the underlyinsr urban pl=ing issues
associated with this patte...= need more penetrating analysis. It is clear,
for example. ~hat such pla~~ing tools as enviro~antal regulat.ions, and
zoD.itlg and density controls are at times used in pla.ce of actual gates and
~lls to limit economic, or even physical, access to suburban developments.
The forting up phen=enon also has enormous policy consequences. 3'.r
allowin;, some citizens to inter:talize and to exclude others from sharing in
their economic privilege, it aims directly at the conceptual base of
co=,"'; ty a.:ld citizenship in America. The old notions of community mobility
are to= apa..-rt by these changes in community pat~L""DS. It is tiIne, I
suggest, for this phenomenon and all of its manifestatior~ to become pa~
of the public debate on urban policy. Do we really want to gi-". ~ on the
~"'erican dream of racial and c:lass inte-gra~ion. What is the measure of
:io:Ulood wIlen. the divisioIlS betwQe:l neigbborb.oods requ~ ~Q a=ed paU'ols
yS-
Nov 27 09:08 1995 ttNCL- ~IED : mmm
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~d el~c~rj.c fencing to keep out. o~bU citizens? can chis nation, in short:,
fulf~ll its social contract in the absence of social contact?
COPYRIGh'T 1994 American Planning Association
. ll.-1:IUSTRY CODES !NAMES: GOVT Gove=ment and Law
DESCRIPTORS: Segreqation--A.~alysis; communi~ development--Soci~l aspec~s
PRODUCT/INDUSTRY NAMES: 9307000 (Co=ity .. Regional Develop-LOCal)
:~~ SEG~'T: T! File 148
?
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Tb..:.s article sounds great but it wasn't available in full text from Dialog.
Sorry! UCSD and SDSU both have the journal "CQ Resea1:"cher". This issue
should be in t:he bound periodicals. The call number at UCSD is R 35 . E3 52 .
At SDSU it is H 62 .E352.
DL~~OG(R)File 88:IAC EUS~~SS A.R.T.S.
02992567 SUPPL!~ NUMBER: 14386196
Are Gated Communities a Reasonable Response to Crime?
:otis, James J.: Miring-off, Marc L.
CQ Researcher, v3, n33, p785(1)
Sept 3, 1993
~: 1056-2036 ~~~_GZ: English RECORD TYPE: Abstract
ABSTR..~_CT: AIl increase in suburba.'1 crime has sparked a debate over the
moral ~'1d et~ical aspects of gated communities. Same see gates as the only
deterrent to cr~e, claiming t:hat socie~ is no~ safe, but homes can be.
They claim t.:'!at qa.tes are not put up 1:.0 segrega1:e or discrim;,.,"te, lr.1t only
to protect the people inside them. Others see the gates as a sign of
~~E~ica's incrE~s;ng class and racial segTegation. By PUtting up gates ~.d
;.;alls. they say, people are drawing borders between themsel-,res =d the rest
of A.rae~ica~
:J=:SC?.I!'TORS: Suburba::c. c~i.mes--l'.nalysis; Co=unl ty life--Safety and
security .t!lJ;asures; D.Nellings--Safety and securi~ meaS1.lres
-
--============_-1394866638==_=====;=:.===:
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Gre\j Sorin!
gsorini@connect.net.com
13334 Caminito Ciera ~31
San Die~o, CA 92129
619.538.2161
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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3,1995
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Li.n i......1UI11 f(or Tilt. New V",.. T,,'IIt'~
~.Jr.:: AI'!:e:-:cans are choosing to live in private, guarded communities like Klahanie. which is east of Seattle.
IVlany Seek Security in Private Communities
tually everything that local govern-
ment used to do. But in place of
municipal rules are a set of regula-
tions so restrictive th:ll many could
be found unconstitutional Should a
elt overnment enact them.
More than ever, a wa e -in prt-
vate town like Bear Creek is exactly
what the American homeowner
wants - even here in the Pacific
Northwest, a largely white, low.
crime corner of the country With
barely a hundred-year history of
city-building.
The fastest-growing residentlaJ
cammunJtjes in the nation are pn-
Y;7
By TIMOTHY EGAN
BE.,R CREEK, Wash., Sept. 2 -
There are no pesky doorbellers, be
they po1itic:ans or Girl SCOUtS, al-
lowed insIde this community of hIgh
celJmgs sprouting under the fir trees
east of Seattle. A random encounter
is the last thmg people here want.
Tr.e!'~ is a new park, every blade
of grass In shape - but for members
only. Four private guards man the
entran~O' tes 2~ hours a day. keep-
mg th 500 eSIdents of Bear Creek
in a nc :: cnme-free bubble. And
c;huuJd J dog ~jY to stray outside IlS
y:::! rd. rhe pet wouJd be instantly
The Serene Fortress
A special report,
zapped by an electronic monitor.
The streets are private. The sew-
ers are private. There 15 gun controJ.
Residents tax themselves heavily,
dictate house colors and shrubbery
heIghts for their neighbors, and have
built In the kinds of natural buffers
and environmental protections that
are the envy of nearby middle.class
communities that remain open to the
public.
Bear Creek is doing for itself vir-
Continued ~OI1 Page 10, Column J
Conunued From Page 1
vate and usuaJly gated, governed by ~
a thIcket Qf covenants, codes and'
restrictions. Bv some estimates
~arlv four m111;~n Americans rw~
in these closea-o ,galea communi-
ties. About 28 million live In an area
i'(Werned by a private community'
assocIation, including condommi-'
urns and cooperatives, and that nurn.
ber is expected to doubJe in the next
decade, saId the Community Assocl-'
ations Insutute of Alexandria, Va. I
And the very things that Republi-
cans in Congress are trying to do
away with for the nauon as a whole
- environmental protection, gun:
control, heavy regulation - are:
most pronounced in these predoml.'
nately Republican private enclaves.
Amencans have long had gated
communlues, usually peopled by the
very nch and built around a lake or
golf course. For retirees, SunbeJt
states like Flonda and Arizona have
been a lure. \Vh:llIS different now IS
that a big porlJon of middJe-cJass
fa.mllies, 10 non-retirement, largely
whIle are:IS of the coumry, have
chosen to wall themselves off, opt 109
for private government, schools and
police.
. One of the l2.!.g~es{ consequences of
. thIs tre urb,:m experts and even-
: many resIde. e new {rac s
'Sav, IS thJ! the nation will surely
Jecome more balkamzed. ~
worrY that:Is homeowners withdraw
mto pnVJle dom,:Hns. the lanzcr
sem2' oj communHY spJrlt will ulsap-
pear.
~e worst scenarIO for Amenca
with this trend would be to have a
n.:luon of galed communities where
each group chooses to live among
people JUSt iJke themselves and Ig-
nores everyone else," said :o.1ilenko
:-V1Jl.Jnovlc, dJrector of the Pome-
gran.:ue Center. a nonprofJt group
'from Issaquah, Wash., that works to
build communHY Jinks among new
suburbs.
~ary Gall Snyder of San Francis-
.co. who has been researching gated
communities :or a book she IS wnt-
mg With Proiessor Edward BlakeJy
of the Unlversay of Southern Califor-
nia. said, "What we're dOIng is pnva-
llzing our public space." The re-
searchers conducted focus groups
with people who had moved to such
I places and found widespread disgust
WIth the idea of paymg for common
space outslde their Immediate com-
jmumty.
"What we heard agaIn and agam
were people savmg they're tired of
3.Yln2 taxes th.:lt went to somebody
..r somerhm2 else. and they lust
wamed to take care of themselves,n
Ms. Snyder said. ''In that sense, they
probably aren't that different than
most AmerIcans these days."
The Issue of Loyalties
I Community Spirit
'Is Put to the Test
Whether communities as a whole
are still wilHng to tax themselves to
pay for public space and common
amenities will be tested soon in Se-
"attJe, a city consistently named one
of the nation's most livable.
In what seems to some people like
an old-fashioned effort to build a
better city, Seattle voters will decIde
on Sept. 19 whether to raise theIr
taxes to build a huge new park and
residential community, called the
Seattle Commons, in the center of
the city, near the downtown area. On
the same ballot will be a King Coun-
ty proposal to raise taxes to build a
$270 million major league baseball
stadium with a retractable roof. The
votes from the (,]st-gro\Vlng pnvate
communities in the county will be
crucIal to the outcome of the st.).
dium proposal.
L.:ller In the faU. Seattle voters will
decide whether to raise taxes agJJn
to heJp bUJld housing for first-time
homeowners and low. to moderJtc-
Income rcnters.
These three measures arc de.
signed to shore up the kinds of basIC
amCOltJes that cities have always
provided. Mayor Norm Rice said the
Seattle Commons proposal. a 5100
rnllJion property tax levy that woulu
cast the averiJge Seattle homeowner
<1bout 548 a ye:Jr for eight YC:HS.
would lure families into a wcll-
planned neighborhood close to
schools, parks and open space.
As It is, Seattle is not exactly a
paradJgm of urban decay. The num-
ber of Jobs, new housing and prop- I
erty values are aU riSing, and cnme :
IS falhng. It IS a city at detached ,
homes on hillsides, with views of '
mountains and water. The CIty, with
a population of 530,000, has had 3;
murders this year, a 37 percent drop
compared with the number at this
time last year.
StilI. many have simply given up
on the concept of a workable public
city. With so many residents retreat-
ing into neighborhoods with their
own pnva(e parks and open space,
and with distrust of government so
hIgh, the late of Seattle's nearly $500
mJilion effon at urban renewal is In
doubt.
"ResIdential areas in Seattle wiJI
simply not Improve," said Hal Mills
president of the community associa~
tion at Bear Creek, reflecung a fair-
ly common view of people who Jive
here, across Lake Washington from
Seattle. The east sjde suburbs, in-
cluding the private communities, rls-
109 from the forests, now have a
combined population nearly h:1Jf th:1t
of Scattle.
Mr. Mills, ~ retIrcd all compan\"
executive, lived In H.:I\Y3Ii and the
San FrancIsco area before mO\,ing to
the suburbs east or Seattle In 1959.
He goes (0 Seattle to see plays or an
OCC.:lSlOnaJ baseball game and for
restaurants, he said. But hc can nor
see much of a future for Seattle. the
biggest city In the Northwest, as a
pJ.:Jce where people would want 10
live.
laces like Bear Creek. ;\1r:
Mills said: e ns JI'e
m ve ah d of o\'ernmen.
20VPrnment hJS not t'Dt up \,,'uh
wh:u npoole want."
. In Bear Creek, most homes r.:lnge
In cost from $300.000 to 5600.00U. Jnd
there are at least a haJf-dozcn pri-
Vate commIttees go....crnllln cver\"-
thmg from house colors CI(usuaJi\.
nOlhing strongcr Ih.1n beige or grJ\:j
to Whelher baskctbaJl hoop:' can f)l'
attached 10 thc garJge ((hc\' arC'
prohlbHCd). .
B<1ck in 5(':1111(', a ur(':tm of Ihe'
Common::; \'ISIOI1<1neS IS to return
salmun lu a t.'reck tll.:1t \\'oulJ iJO\\
from the c('nter of Ihe 11(,'Y pJrk.
ne:.lr UOWlltfJ\\'n. 10 ne;lrb\" LJl\c
L'nlOll. DUI 111 13(.';11' (reck, ,ir. \Il!i:,
says wllh pnde. salmon .IIIT;II.J\'
::;wlm 111 !he 1\;cJ! ...;I~'':':.Im. Rl'~uJc:1tS
not only tax IllcrnseJvcs 10 pay foJ'
their pn\'..He green Sp:1cc. hut the'.
pr:1C!Ke a Slnct CI1\'lrOnmeI1(.J! e!htl
JS '.ve'11. he saul.
The Life SIj'!e
A Plethora of Rules
Seek Perfect World
The pn\'i.UC lo\\"n.s seek 10 c~'e.J!C
an !deahl.cd Amcnc:.!. and U1e:r ~U~I-
ncss 1$ boom mg. The \V':.lIt 01.jnc::
Comp:.Iny, better known far i?1'Q-
ducm~ fantJsy theme parks, Just In.
nounc:'d plans 10 dc\'elop IlS first
complete City, c:1l1ed Celebr.:ltJon. 3
planned community of 20.000 resI-
dents south 01 Orlando, Fla.
Pnvate communJtles arc popuJar
in many areas of the naUon. In
Southern California. rC31 estate
agents say a third of all new develop.
ments bUIJt in the last five years
have been gated and are regulated
by private governments. The sub-
urbs outside Dallas, Phoenix, Wash-
Ington, D.C., and major Cltles In FI,---
ida arc also big strongholds of prt-
vate communltles. Last year, Minne.
SOla's fIrst galcd community, Bear-
path, was built near Eden PrOline.
TYPlcaJly, the developments are In
unmcorporatcod areas, Oftt'n, as ]i?eJ
Garrcau paint cod out 10 hIS book
"Edge City: Life on the New Fron.
tier," (Anchor/Doubleday, 1991), %
[hey are named for the species or
land.-';.:mc lh:u was ellmm:Hcd to
rT:Jke: '.\":.1:.' for the de\'e!opmcn!. !:-!
the map, which is the way some
residents prefer it.
The develdpers of these communi-
~s sell security, predictability and
. ;en space. "Secluded from the
world at large, yet close to all the
finer things in life," promises an
advertisement lor the Downs 01 Hill-
crest in Texas, near Dallas. AI~
though private communities typical~
ly will regulate everything Irom the
color of a person's house to the type
of toys that can be left on the drive.
way. the Supreme Court long ago
lorbid them Irom excluding people
on the basis of race or religion.
In a promotional video lor Kia-
hanie, a private community of near~
Iy 10,000 people east 01 Seattle, a
homeowner says. "We're a real com-
munity, with sidewalks on safe
streets, more than 300 acres of open
space and, best 01 all, our commit-
ment to the environment."
In Klahanie, which caters to first-
time homeowners and middle-class
,families, there are prohibitions
.against fJagpoles, firearms, visible
clotheslines, satellite dishes, street-
.side parking and unkempt landscap-
ing. The community was supposed to
take 20 years to develop, starting in
,J985, but demand has exceeded sup-
~Iy, and now Klahanie is nearly lull.
itesidents are proud of their two
.dkes. Their private parks are full of
children. Lawns are kept well
groomed by legions of "Tru-green
Chern lawn" trucks. There is an
exception to the perfect picture,
though. Residents complain th<:it the
one big public park within their en-
clave, donated and kept up by the
county, has let its standards slip. Its
grass was brown in the summer
heat.
Although the people in Klahanle
vOle heavily Republican, they cher.
ish their regulations and their envi-
ronmental restricl1ons.
"For 99 percent 01 the people, the
reason they're in Klahanie is be-
cause 01 all the restrictions," said
Victoria Baldwin, director of the
community association. "The whole
idea 01 a sel'-sullicient community,
with regulations for color of house
and standard 01 lawn care and pro-
tecting the envirpnment, is what's
driving this. n
Many residents proless to have
little use for government, even the
local kind. They have resisted ellorts
~y nearby Issaquah, where most
ople do thei r shopping, to annex
.Iahanie. "What I hear a lot 01 pe<>-
pie say is they don't think they will
get anything out 01 I~" Ms. Baldwin
said.
IPralse and Criticism
.Bucolic 'Villages,
Or Fortresses? .
i Other private communities have
lincorporated as cities but remained
closed to the public. Canyon Lake, I
;south 01 Palm Springs in Southern
California, caUs itself the lar est ii~
~vate incor ora ate communit
in e nation. It is a town 0 13 0
t Vir y a Its streets an
I ar s, an Its a e, are 0 en ani to
resl ents 0 e own or their u
Ie s ree ,par s, private securi~
ty and restrictions are governed by
. the community association. A city
: manager runs the standard munici~ .
pal lunCtions, like contracting lor'
garbag~ and the pollee. But the pri- ;
vate government is stricter, enforc-
ing laws against personal water.:
cralt, like Jet Skis, on the lake, rust-:
ed cars and yard signs,
Jell Butzlall, .the city manager 01 I
Canyon Lake, said there was some:
truth to the notion that his city's!
residents have withdrawn from the I
community at large, even from the
prosperous, surrounding suburbs of
Riverside County.
"The issue is the extent to which'
Americans are becoming a country
01 separate communities walled 011
: inside their fortresses," Mr. ButzlaH
,said. "H's too bad we need gates to
,protect ourselves lrom each other,
I but on the other hand, It's reaJly nice
,to know that you can go lor a waJk at
night and not get hurL"
Some experts say that while prl~
vatc communltJCS seek to create a
~UCOJ1C village atmosphere, free or
~rJme, mey succeea at nenner.
. "We have not found evidence that
i gated communities are any safer
than a similar community that is not
closed 011," said Ms. Snyder, the San
Francisco researcher. "The major
problem, still, is teen-age propeny
crime,"
I Gerald Frug, a prolessor olloca.
: government at the Harvard Law
I School, said the new private commu-
:nilies, while harkening back to an-
other era, were unlike anything
iAmerica has ever seen.
J "The vUlage was open to the pub-
lic," he said. "The village did not
I ha ve these kinds 01 restrictions. The
vUlage had poor people, retarded
people. Somebody could hand :'ou a
. leaflet. These private communities
lare totally devoid 01 random encoun-
ters. So VOII develop this instinct that
OVERVIEW
The Growth
Of Community
Associations
The number
of community
associations,
not including
condominiums
and coop-
eratives.
66,000
4.000
~
1970
."
"'-;":,
'.~
.. or
1990
The Community Associations
Institute lists three characteristics
that define a community
aSsOciatIon: 1. All owners are
automatically members.
2_ Members must obey the rules
set by the associatlon's govern-
ing bOdy. 3. Member.s must pay a
lee to support the operation at
the assaClallon.
Source Comrnuf1Ity ASSOC~tlOfls Ins"'IJ'~
everyone is just like me, and then
you become less likely to support
schools, pt:lrks or roads for everyone
else."
I That two-tiered view of communi-
,ty is, in part, driving the politics 01
,Washington State. Several 01 the
:state's legislators. while living in
IsmaIJ communities east of Lake
!Washington in which Jand. use is
:heavily regulated, are promoting a
;property-rights bill that would make
(it ncarly impossible for government
ito protect wetlands, open space or
forest reserves.
"You know Winston ChurchHl
Isaid, 'We create architecture and
!that, in turn, creates us,'" said Mr.
iMatanovic, of the Pomegranate Cen-
Iter. "My hope Is that we aren't creat.
,ins something that Will be the worst
ithing to happen to the greater com-
,munily, in which you borrow Irom '
Ithe place you live by, but you don't
give anything back. We are truly on
la new frontier."
91
(
DiM ~larn..... Y.n Tunes
/01
~ lO~y
..)UL 18 199s
IA
COVER STORY
Citizens can
be a community
or be cut off
'Fear of
. ,
cnme IS more
devastating
and limiting'
than the
crime itself
By Anne Willette
USA TODAY
Afraid of crime, weary of
incivility, many people are
SUrTounding themselves with
concrete and wrought iron
and bathing themselves in
brighL white lights.
They're banicading ~ts,
office buildings, neighbor.
hoods, even parks. A people
" known for aercely private and
...~ependent ethos are welcoming surveillance cameras
and secUrity checkpoints.
Experts call the defenses "target hardening" and "defen.
sible space," and they're changing the look of the nation.
Critics say that in the extreme, the changes themselves
mi!\it actually be feedin2 the fear
" ou get into thIS kind of crazy, backward logic: If it Is
ted and walled, then there is something I must be afraid
o an, ere ore, m a to have L says p ay or,
pro !!$Or 0 cnmma us ce at emp e University.
For years, planners and architects designed neighbor.
hoods and building; to withstand ares, earthquakes and
hurricanes. Now, architectural design routinely takes into
account crime and terTorism, and it goes far beyond bars
on W1ndows and metal detectors in airports and schools.
Designers' solutions range from medieval to modern de-
fensive to offensive. The trendiest response - waJled~d'
gated neighborhoods - seeks to isolate communities from
criminals. Other rP<nnn""". like glass elevators in parking
garages and homes with front porches so residents can
Please see COVER STORY next page ~
CoDtlnued from 1A Upman, head of GuanIsrna.I'k. a .
curtty ~ "U you doo't do aD)"tt:
watch the street, seek to Isolate crim- at.Jill. you're going to be a \ar1:et:
IDaIs 10 the community, The de1eoses are going up 10 S;
ID tact. the arcIII~ reactions of a falllDg crime mle.
come down to two opposlDg ap- For the 1IJ'St half of tbJs )'ea:-. :
preaches: ODe focuses 00 security Dumber of hoIttlClaes lell In at Ie;
~ware: the ather orIeD uses de- ~en of thp nAtI"n', ] 0 la"Ve5! CO:
Sign to foster a sense of communltv, t fear oever baS heeD greater: S~
Where nei['hhnr knows clliO'hMr 01 people are concerned abOut C:!
80d knows If som~ Is ~ persooal safety and taking actlo=
Mostly, however, e ID 00 protect themselves, accordiog
baS heeD to wall and barricade. and YBDkelovich Partne~
maoy arclllteds fear an eocroacbIDg Says Randall AtlaS. a Miami arc.
"moat and dmwhrldge and fortress teet aod criminologist "Fea:-
AmerIca mentality," says OIet WI- crime is more devastati!lg iiiiiP.E
dom, president of the American !II- mg tIIItD the actual1ty or crone;
stitute of ArdIJteds. "You pay a . h .
price when you do that because you High-rise meant hlg crIme
begin to build bUDkers.1s that a state- Using design to reduce crime t
ment you want to make?" gan in the early 19705, With the bo
Maybe ooL But using design to Defensible Space, Author Ose
jlght crime Is a growtog treDd: Newmao studied crime in ~f
~ Coocrete barriers block PenD- York's public hOusing proj= a:
sylvaoia Avenue - the Datioo's MaiD fouod that a complex of large !:J,
Street -10 froot of the WhIte House. r1se buildings had 50% more c:-:.
And 10 established oeigllharlloods !haD a complex of three- to six-5''''
natioowide, barricades are turning buildings a= the ~L
grid-pattern streets IDto cuJ~e-sacs Each complex had the same n::::
to Umlt crim1DaIs' escape routes. her of resideots With the same c::r
~ Public parks 00 lODger are built acterist1cs. They even shared poll
as secluded refuges from the DOIse, 01llce~ The maiD dI1!ereoce: t!
smeJI and hustle of the city, Instead, buildings themselves.
designers are removlDg DOOks and Residents of 10w.r1se buildings r,
crannies. thinning greenery, addIDg a greater connectioo to - and t
security 01llcers - maII:iDg activity, sponsibWty for - their buil=
rather !haD oature. the focus. Newman coocluded. They koew wt
~ Mlllloos' of people show ID belonged 10 the buildings and wI
badges everyday to get IDto work- dldo't, which deterred crimiDals.
places. At the World ';l'rade Ceoter~ Newman eveD goes sa far as
the model for o1llce security since blame the natloo's growing fea:
terrorist bomb exploded in 1993, 250 crime, 10 part, 00 the arch,!t~'"
huge concrete planters keep away since World War n.
aplostve-paCked vehicles. Huge, mooolithlc buildings pi
~ After a bomb clestrOyed the AI- clucecl an BDOOymlty and de!Ze
!red P. Murrah Fedeml Jbl1M1ng to ment that made It easier for c::in
Oklahoma Cty In April. Attorney naIs to take over. The downtowns
Geoeml Janet Reno ordered secun- dtles like Las AlU!eJes and A~
ty Improvements at hlll1dreds of fed- !1ave "blOCks and blocks of 1>.0 fe
eral build logs. Omclals say the cne = ra~e .yeef' .
bombing mIgI1t have been preventecl of 'WlD oW! I1DJ( peo~
bad oearby perJdng been resttictecL fgjIte -, he '"'e,.
~ Cosed-drcu1t televlsloo cam. SlDce the 19705, Newman's the
eras aod prtVll!e security IIW'dS r1es have Shaped pUblic hOusIDg. J
monitor people 10 tIIetr a1IIces, shop- clay, they're ..h""g/ng the look
pIDg malls and oeJ&hbo!1Ioods. AI- m!cldJe.class nelghbor1loocls. 0111,
mast three times as ~-re bJ1IMln"" and commercial areas. ar
. watt far pnvate securI ''''''''P''"I~ . while the verdId Is still out 00 Whet
.. Itian Jor UDUC JaW t:WUI~ fIii er the m~a1ft1!\: reaua: c:nme.. pe
ce partment "Ie say th~ feel mer. II-Jr--'t'
DO . .Ii-' ""DIere Is tbJs sense JD tile gener
.\\0' ';~'~!Jt!!!C,that.. '. ~p:''''~~~"~S)
!em' 'Iust~ , :yr.
- .;J .~':.~..';"'":-.....~'Dt
~E . ._....-
/0/
gue !bat nelghborboods d.!!JI't need
walls and gates to be sa!er~ey say
daslng streets, slowtng tra1IIc with
speed bumps and OD-5ll'eet parking.
and nelghborb!!!!ll wa!CII groups can
do just as muCII.,J
About two yems 1180, the dty ot
Da~~ O~o, ~ed Newnmn ~r
help reviving the mlxed-lncome, ra-
cially diverse Five 0aIis neighbor-
Itood near downtown. Drug dealing
and pl'll5t1tutlon were moving In, and
permanent residents were moving
out. "We really !lad to take bold ot
ibis nelghborbood and slabW%e It
I1gbt now, or we were going to lose
It," says Ray ReynoldS, Dayton's ur-
ban development diredor,
Newman's solution: Barricades on
35 stree1!I and 2S aneys. 1bat turned
the neighborbood's grid streets Into
cul-<le-sICS. Without easy escapes,
drug dealers and prostitutes lied.
Cbl1dren started playing outside.
Adults got to know their neighbors.
In the IIrst year, crime In Five
the Justice Department's researcb~ Newman recently looked at cbar- Oaks teU 26%, even as crime In-
ann. "So we have to do it Drivatelv." acteristlcs ot the 50 newest develop. creased siIgI1tiy In the dty as a
The de!enslble space approa ments In the New York area. '1'0 our Whole. And 61 % ot the residents said
can be as simple as adding Ugbts, Iotal surprise, we tound that all 50 - Five Oaks was a better place 10 live.
Many property owners are switch- regardl5 of Whether they were Oakland arcbJted Mlcbael Pyatok
Ing from lights that put out an orange bJgb-nses or SI.5 million bOU5eS on bas lncorpomted Newman's princi-
glow - and make It hard to Identify their own lots - they were all gat- pies In bomes be desigDs tor low-In-
skin and clotblng color - 10 ones eeI," he says, come, inner-dty residents.
that are clear and Wb!te and bligllt It's no wonder. BoU5eS In gated. Be 'mimics nelghborboods In old
enough 10 light a tootball 1Ie1d. comm ties sell tor 25% moretllan- : dtles: townbouses wItb front doors,
Ulndscaplng Is another easy, anti- entIcal utslde waJJs and stoops and porches llning the street.
crime design !Ix. Sbrubs should be ~ sell taster. Newman says. "You get security on the street be-
no higher !ban 3 teet, expertS say, 1be gate Is what sold Jean ana Da- cause there are an ot these eyes on
and tree branches no lower !ban 7 vId LewIs on The Colony, a golf- the street," be says.
'teet from the gro1!Dd..ae:ating a 4- course community tor people older The retro look also Is gaining pop-
toot window ot visibility, !ban 55, In Murrieta, CaIlt.., ~een ularity In mlddle<lass, suburtlan de-
Los Angeles and San Diego. .' velopments, Uke The JC_n'lond< In
Walls, gates are sales aids "It's a very secure facility. God Gslthersburg. Me!. Though not de-
torbld, If something should happen signed spedllcaIly to reduce crime.
But d...tgTIing against crime also to my busband rd stay 11gI1t Where I the arcbJtecture bas an added bene-
can be as extreme as ereding walls. am,"saysJean, 61. "We don't have to lit ot providing natur1Il surveUlance.
And InCTl'~<ln01v, tllat's What con- be concerned about people knocldng "There's just so much activity go-
sumers say ey want. They're puf. lIS on the head. ... People our age Ing on an the lime," says GerI Edens,
tlng up W!WS, gates and guards are dellnltely atraId and they are WbOse tamlIy moved Into The Kent-
around their neig!J.borboods. 1bat moving to places that are safe." lands tour years agc>"People see
desire spans an economic levels. But' have found = what's' happening, And they aren't
WbJie WBIIs and gates have become a ~rboods Isolate peo"le. a1rald to talk to each other."
bot selllng point tor new suburtlan David LewIs other iislaen1s ot, When people talk to their neigh-
developments, estabUsbed inner-dty The Cclony are Involved In Ioca1 po bars at The fC""tlRnd. cbanceS are
neJgbborboods are adding them, too. ermnem. resean:bers say they are . they're talking to someone not just .
. JoJ.least 3 million = live In ~t-. the ezceptIon. Reslden~': UkeJhem..The community, by lnte-
~mmu:.e5, _;no ~ ~ communltl= are. ~large single tamlIy bomes
~ Wi1rd Blak~ e ~ ~ '"'1 outside tile ;~:;>. wItb lDWIIIIouses and 8JIII1'!II1eDts
,UD1vers! ot Soutbem orula does ibis mean ror e ~' . bas mI%ed Us residents. . .
and Mary GeJ.1 Snyderotll1e Ulllver- dalcoDtrad,thetabricofournatlon. That Idnd ot.in!egnItIoil, iays Jo-
. sty ot Call10rula ar Berkeley. ' When we're waWng ourselves ott?" sepb AItandre, wtIo startei! The
"In most places In tile country Snyder asks. "Can you have a socIaJ fC_ntlRnd<, Is vr:rj' dI1rereilt tnm)
tIIey were unheard of just 10 years contract wttbout socIaJ aIDIact?" ..' what llappens In mast suburbs and .
II8O,"Snydersays. '., .' .~. -..Snyder, Newman and otbenl ar-.,satedCX'mmnn'tle5,Wben!"_'gI1hnrs
L'" \ .' ;",;~,t;i-i..~~~~~iic~~q?~'~~!ii!~,,>\,j;i:i':~i!'~Z'''''''
By BoD RIha Jr" USA TODAY
CARDED: The gate is what sold Jean Lewis on The Colony, a golf-<X)U!S8
community in Murrieta, Calif, On duty is gatekeeper-sea.rrily guard Jerry Ben,
(
/o;{
usually share age. lDcome Bad tace.
"That builds In BO automattc skep-
ttctsm of other people," be says,
Suc.ll skepttclsm Is sbDWtag up In
park plans.
Just 4ndlng sitts tor_. PirXs ls
dlfllcull because DeJ&hbors feel
threatenec:l, says LauI!Ie ~mtniv>, a
San Francisco I.........pe arclIItect
BOd assJstant professorat the 9D1ver.
slty of California at l!erteJey. Nel&/1.
bors otten resist p_ Uabts OD bas-
ketball collI1S, for eampJe, because
they don't want to 8!tI8ct teeD-egers
to the park at DIgIIt. . ,
In fact, anyone In a part at DIgIIt Is I
suspect. So small nel&hborbood. ,
parks Inc:reasIngIy are IeItIDg fences ' I
and gates, whtch are dosed BOd I
locked at sunset. . ..,."'....-.:-:..,
. "That gives a very cII1ferent VtsIon I
of the park. Rather ttum the. netgb- I
borboOcl SOI1 of spWIDg In, there's II
demarcatton," MIIZIDBo says, C' . ,
In the 19705, an:bIteds tri~ to
counter the fear by gIvtng parb a de-
fensive look. Bencbes ~ DBtIed
down to prevent theft,' Bad ornamen.
tal shrubs were rlppe~f out to In.
crease VtsIbWty. JIut, 'the cbaages
contributed to parks' 'decline.
"It you make ugly places, people I
will be ugly, too," says laurie Olin, a
Philadelphia landscape architect.
"We have to make parIts be places at
least of enough attnldlon BOd delight
so people want to come to them."
Olin doubts the secluded comers
of places llke New York's Centml
Park would be built tocIay. But that
doesn't mean parks have to be
stripped of greenery. What's 'lmpor.
tant Is'that Shrubs Bad trees are ar-
ranged ,so that people cIon't feel
trnppedor cut olr. '
Bryant PIIrk In Monh.Itft'l shows
bow. Since tts 1992 I"eIIOVIItIOD, the
park has been traastonned from an
"absolute clrug-lntes!ecl, DIgIItmare"
to a place wbere people feel sate
enough to nap by the aower gardeos,
says Olin, who cUd the redesign.
But every bit as Important as the
design. Olin says, Is the wtWnsness of
people to ptan park adlvtttes., '
In fact, physical ""onll"'" by,them.
&elves - whether In a park; :nel&b-
borllood or downtown -IIiIDDSt nev.
er eradicate cr1me, aper13' say.
Clttzens must get InvoMcL ;'
"When you think about the Amerl.
ca we love tn our IIOIIBlgIc mtnds . . .
what was cIt1fel"eDt? It WIISII't that
people had more locks," SnYder
says, "They !lad more CODDIIUDIty,"
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I
SHAPING THE CITY
'Gated' Areas:
Start of New
Middle Ages
By Roger K. Lewis
If you had a choice, in which residential
neighborhood-type "A" or type "B"-wouJd
you choose to live?
Neighborhood type A consists of a pattern
of blocks, parks and intercoMected public
streets leading to other neighborhoods.
Houses are comparable in size and style with-
in each block but exhibit more diversity from
block to block and neighborhood to neighbor-
~ood, reflecting the economic and social di-
rsity of the local community. In turn, the
.ocal community is one of a constellation of
diverse. interdependent communities making
up an identifiable urban area.
Neighborhood type B offers houses much
like those in type A, but with imponant dif-
ferences. First, its streets. sidewalks, park-
Jands and recreational facilities are private.
Second, it has walls or fences around its pe-
rimeter and a supervised entrance gate con-
trolling vehicuJar and pedestrian access to
the neighborhood. Third, it has its own set of
codes and covenants-apart from city or
county regulations-governing design and
construction, exterior maintenance, use of
property and neighborhood security,
If you prefer neighborhood type A, you are
bucking a trend. Type B increasingly'is the
choice of home-buying Americans, especiaJJy
those with means. And judging from evidence
revealed by real estate market studies, ever
more home buyers are being dnlwn to such
"gated communities."
The reasons for this trend are easily un-
derstood, but its implications are troubling.
Warnings have been sounded repeatedly
by urban planners, architects and sociolcr
gists. Articles about !be gated community
-I,enomenon have appeared regularly in The
shington Post and other newspapers, The
weptember issue of Landlines, the newsletter
of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, includ-
ed an article called "Fortress Communities:
The Walling and Gating of American Sub-
urbs."
The article clearly reveals what underlies
the trend: Americans are seeking "refuge
from the problems of urbanization." _
According to the article, written by Ed-
ward ]. Blakely, a professor of planning and
development at the University of Southern
California, and Mary Gall Snyder, a doctoral
student at the University of California at
Berkeley, gated communities fall into several
categories reflecting the primary motivations
of their residents.
"Lifestyle" conununities, usually built for
retirees or empty nesters, are built around
natural open space, lakes, golf courses and
country club-like recreational facilities. Sub-
urban and exurban "new towns," providing ai-
fordability, recreational amenities and securi-
ty, attract younger families.
"Elite" communities offer distinction and
/ . prestige, These ~- ~cl.;ves for the
..... affJuent.
"~" . In "security zone" communities,
"fear of crime and outsiders is the key
motivation for defensive fortifica-
tions." Residents of such neighbor-
hoods are concerned above all with
personal safety, protection of physical
property and maintenance of real es-
tate values. Often these neigbbor-
hoods are within cities, and their oc-
cupants may be middle class, blue- or
white-collar workers or low-income
housing tenants. '
Immigrntion, a growing underclass
and a restructured economy, accord-
,ing to Blakely and Snyder, are "fuel-
ing the drive for separation, distinc-
'tion, exclusion and protection. Gated
communities are themselves a micra-
- COSln of America's larger spatial pat-
tern of segmentation and separation
by income, race and economic oppor-
tunity. "
The authors noted that gated com-
munities are found everywhere but
are most popular in the Sun Belt states
of California, Texas and Florida, as
'well as in New Yark City, Chicago,
Phoenix and several southern cities.
. They also point out that, ~il.. mme
'rates in ted nei borhoodsmay be
u mcom n
un ted Rei borlt reS! ents
aruaen ' e n eless-
IiiinisIL Walls and gates serve as psy-
ChOlOgIcal placebos.
In a New York Times article last
"r. weekend. reporter Timothy Egan un-
. _ derscored the economic, social and
political dimensions of p~te com-
munities. Not oaIy are Qtizens wor-
ried about aime, they also are discon-
tent about taxes and spending,
reduced quality of municipal services
and ineffective public education.
Many of these citizens want to re-
move themselves fiscally and govern-
mentally from the greater metropolis.
They see the gated community as a
. - --- ---..--. .,
ipend more of !beir tax dollar
themselves instead of others. !
!ber, !bey take comfort in !be sc
homogeneity of such COmmunit
knowing that their neiihbors act
think much as they d2J
Modern tecImofogy has acce1e::;
the proliferation of gated co=:
ties. Sophisticated teJecommw:.:
tions, highway building and ell!
gasoline, computer-based mana.
ment and automated production aJ;'
longer commuting distances or
commuting at aU. Proximity betv;,
workplace and residence is becorrc
Jess essential, as is the need for C(
tact with other hwnan beings.
Today one can shop, conduct be
ness, engage in recreationaJ ac-~
ties, exchange ideas with people ,
line or attend schoof without e\
leaving home. And it aU can be de
solo. Face-ta-face interactions are ~
necessary, Thus we are tending
build more and more private spa_
and fewer public spaces.
"The resuJting loss of COMect;,
between citizens in privatized and t::
ditional communities loosens soc:
, contact and weakens the bonds of r.-,:
tual responsibility that are a norr..;;
part of community living," Blake!y am
Snyder observed. "As citizens diV1C(
themselves into homogeneous, inee
pendent cells, their place in the gre2t-
er polity and society becomes attenu
ated, increasing resistance to efforu
to solve municipal, let alone regional
problems." Words such as "alienation-
and "apartheid" come to mind.
Welcome to the new Middle Age,_
We are building a kind of medieval
landscape in which defensible, walleri
and gated towns dot the countryside,
Will moats and drawbridges be includ.
ed in the amenity package? Only rib-
bons of roadway, fiber-optic cables
and digital electromagnetic signals in.
tercoMect these settlements. Even
the commons where people might
meet-the shopping mall or Wal-
Mart-is entirely private.
Gated communities are a symptom
of this nation's abandolUDent of its cit-
ies. But people are not just seeking to
escape from the problems of the city,
They are abandoning the whole "idea'
of city-its culture, its physical form,
its intellectual and commercial vitali-
ty, its complexity and unique capacity
for acconunodating disparate individ-
uaJs within a shared environment.
The growth of gated communities
delivers a clear and disturbing mes-
sage for the future: The problems of
cities will continue to get worse, and
Someday there may be no "city" left,
Roger K. Lewis is a practicing
architect and a professor of
archit<<ture at the University oj
Maryland. //'JL/
16.1
Pnvate Governments and the Law in California
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maintenance of public parks in standard subdivisions. through their
taxes, the owners in standard subdivisions are not paying to keep up the
parks in the common interest projects. "27
C Advocates of CIDS have long contended that the assessments resi-
dents pay to their associations are the equivalent of property taxes
because the assessments go toward the maintenance of services and
facilities ordinarily provided by local government. They contend that if
they are paying for their own trash removal, for maintenance of their
own streets, and for upkeep on their own park, they should not have to
pay property tax assessments for such services as public trash removal
and street and park maintenance. Paying both the full measure of prop-
erty tax and common areas assessments is unfair, they feel. The solution.
from their perspective, would be to permit cm residents to deduct some
or all of their assessments from their property tax bills. In areas with
large numbers of cms. this could amount to a serious loss oflocal govern-
ment revenues.
The double taxation argument does not emphasize the fact that cm
residents have access to the public streets and other facilities supported
by their taxes and those of nonresidents of cms, though nonresidents do
not have access to the private facilities supported by cm assessments.
One logical but impossible implication of the double taxation argument
would be that cm residents, once relieved oftheir tax burden. would be
banished from public streets, parks, and other facilities supported by
property taxes.
Regardless of the degree to which cm residents use public facilities,
they benefit from the existence of such facilities, which are essential to
the overall environment in which their developments exist. For example,
their food supply arrives through public streets maintained by local
property tax, and the public parks serve an important. even indispens-
able, social function of providing a place for people to gather and play. A
metropolitan area lacking such facilities would have a very different
character from those to which most people. including cm residents. are
accustomed.
In fact, the private facilities enjoyed exclusively by cm owners are
luxuries that they purchased and for which they are consequently ex-
pected to pay. Public facilities are open to everybody. and for that reason
everybody pays taxes to support them. Many people do not use public
parks because they belong to health clubs or use public libraries because
they are college professors who have access to superior research facili-
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166
Private Governments and the Law in California
ties. They pay for these assets in one way or another, but ther are ,
permitted to avoid property tax liability as a consequence. Public 5'
vices are not provided on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Whatever its problems, the double taxation argument has persis:"
and it was discussed by the task force, It represents a wedge that. so~
say, could forge unity among CID owners and make them into a force,
electoral politics. This issue ultimately was not acted upon by the 1eg:s;,
ture in the CIDA, and double taxation remains a rallying cry for ::
advocates. In 1991 a prominent lobbyist wrote that "no issue is like;y :
have more political fallout at the state and local level, to gaJvaruce
constituency where once there was no constituency, than that of :::
taxation/double taxation of community associations. And yet this ISSLOe :
being all but ignored by policy-makers....l
Rosenbeny and the task force also adtressed another issue tha t :::'
legislature did not act upon: the degree to which CIDS should be restric:er
by constitutional standards or other strictures meant for governmer. ~
entities-i,e., the issue of whether CIDS are private governments. Roser.
berry writes:
It is unclear whether the United States and California Consti tu-
tions apply to common interest projects. The court in Laguna
Publishing Co. v. Golckn Rain held that the U.S. Constitution
did not apply to the planned development in question, but that
the state constitution did. If courts decide that either constitu-
tion applies to common interest projects, numerous questions
are raised. Does developer-weighted voting and one-unit-one-
vote, violate the principle of 'one-person-one-vote'"? Could an
association that unconstitutionally interferes with a unit own.
er's due process rights, by passing a restriction against leasing,
be liable for damages on a theory of inverse condemnation? Are
the board members who enforced age restrictions prior to the
O'Connor decision liable for punitive damages if age restrictions
are found to be unconstitutional? Do security projects violate
one's right to privacy? The questions go on and on!"
Rosenbeny views the issue in terms of its negative implications,
inclining in the direction that imposing constitutional limitations is a
bad idea. She goes on to question the Cohen v. Kite Hill decision, saying
-
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19.)
Reflections on Privatopia and the City
entirely trnthful. The fact is, I am only a messenger, and the message has
got to be that the common interest constituency, that rag-tag of 3,5
mi1lion Califomia homeowners, is organizing, watching how their legis-
lators vote on CID issues, and acting based on what they see....
Stewart makes the political equation clear: in Califomia, voting
power has shifted to the suburbs, and, "in Califomia, the suburban voter
is the common interest community voter. "43
(Like most CID advocates, Stewart is convinced that the issue of
double taxation is the key to persuading CID owners to see themselves as
a group with common political interests. "No issue is likely to have more
political fallout at the state and local level, to galvanize a constituency
where once there was no constituency, than that of the taxation/double
taxation of community associations. And yet this issue is being all but
ignored by policy-makers. . . . It is only a matter oftime before the tax-
and-equity bomb blows. . . . AB yet there is no clearly identified champion
for the people who live in CIDS. . . . The politician who manages to capture
this constituency, speak to its needs and olTer it a voice, will be amply
rewarded with gratitude and votes. Those time bombs are ticking, but is
anyone listening?'"
It would appear that legislators in New Jersey and elsewhere are
listening to this new constituency, because they have responded to the
double taxation charge by providing for special tax rebates to CID owners.
Early in 1993 a law was approved in New Jersey requiring all cities to
reimburse cms for the cost of providing for their own snow removal,
street lighting, and leaf, recycling, and trash collection, or to provide CIDS
those services "in the same fashion as the municipality provides these
services on public roads and streets. 'C' Property tax rebate measures
have also been put in place in Houston, Kansas City, and Montgomery
County, Maryland.'.
The probability for mobilizing a CID c:onstituency is greatest at the
state and local level, where political decisions often direc:tJy alTect prop-
erty values and where the conflict between funding of public and private
services occurs. But there is at least one national issue that could gal-
vanize a nationwide CID voting bloc. As Robert Jay Dilger explains,
"Another tax equity issue involves the national government. It allows
taxpayers to deduct their property taxes from their taxable income when
determining national tax liability, RCA [residential community associa-
tion] members are not allowed to deduct their association fees from their
taxable income even though a portion of their fees is used to provide
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196
Retlections on Privatopia and the City
j
services similar to those provided by property tax dollars. 'Ib promo~ :<
equity, RCA members want the national government to allow theI::
deduct from their taxable income the portion of their assessment :e.
used to pay for services that are provided by their local govenuner.: :
other residents in their community.'"
Whether the issue is local property tax or federal income tax. :.~
central concept is the same: to cm advocates, "tax equity" means t::a
people who are paying for exclusive services in their own neighbornoo<
should not have to contribute to the cost of providing similar ser,,;ces :0
the rest of the community. Vet cm residents could use and benetit frot:
the public services for which they would not have to pay, while outside,.,
could not use or benefit from the private services for which cm resider."
nonetheless would claim a tax deduction. Advocates of cms are tlji::.
equate the payment of assessments to a contribution to the public wel.
fare. The analogy to property taxes is inapposite, however. These priva~
payments do not benetit the public in the same sense as property taxes.
Property taxes represent an individual taxpayer's contribution toward
supporting clean streets not only in his or her own neighborhood but
throughout the city. cm assessments are targeted for small pieces of
private property from which the public can be, and often is, excluded.
It is emblematic of the CID movement that this distinction is lost. In
effect, advocates identify the cm interest with the community interest
because, from their perspective, the cm is the community. Having at-
tended to the property they own, CID residents would be deemed to ha ve
satistied their duties to the community at large, and would be free to take
advantage ofits benetits without further obligation. This is an extension
of the unique idea of citizenship promoted in cms, in which one's duties
consist of satisfying one's obligations to private property. The double
taxation argument would extend that concept: one's duty to the entire
surrounding community would be satisfied by paying the cm assess-
ment. The cm definition of citizenship would be extended to the commu-
nity at large, This entire line of argument, and the fact that it is stated so
confidently, as though the unfairness of double taxation should be ob-
vious to anyone, are evidence of the "quiet secession' Robert Reich noted.
Should a mass politics coalesce around this ideology of privatism, it
could harness enormous energies and resources in the service of disman-
tling local government. Vet government is itself a variable in this equa-
tion. It is not clear whether the emergent relationship between public
and private governments will be cooperative or con1lictuaI. The Advisory
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Reflections on Privatopia and the City
Commission on Intergovernmental Relations has made recommenda-
tions that seem to contemplate both dimensions. On the one hand, ACIR
recommends that state and local governments "recognize the potential
problems' of CIDS, and "give careful attention to the intergovernmental
issues raised by their existence and activities,' On the other, ACIR ulti-
mately recommends as well that government should "cooperate with the
private sector and local homeowners to facilitate appropriate develop-
ment and successful operation of residential community associations. '0.
These two objectives may not be compatible. It is not clear that
governments will be as inclined as before to encourage further prolifera-
tion of CIDS in their present fonn before coming to grips with the issues
that would present. The privatization represented by CID housing is
largely the product of unregulated private policy making. As awareness
increases ofthe attendant social and political consequences, public scro-
tiny and regulation beyond simple consumer protection may result. Reg-
ulatory efforts could be aimed at making CID governance more democratic
and less managerial, reducing the burden of CID disputes on local courts,
countering secessionist tendencies, resisting the construction of new
CIDS, or other issues.
But such regulatory efforts have the potential to provoke a political
response from the industries that build and support CIDS and may them-
selves mobilize CID residents to organize for mass political action. Ul-
timately, electoral politics may become the arena in which it will be
detennined whether, as Ebenezer Howard predicted, the city as we know
it will die and a new kind of city "ri~e on the ashes of the old.:J
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!26
Note. to Page. 163-167
24. Ros.nb.rry drafted and .igned the Stirling "Form Letter for Background:
from which this information was obtained.
25. Katharin. N. Ro.enberry, "!'h. Legi.lature Addr..... Probl.m. in the La..-
of Condominiums. Planned Development and Other Common Interest ProJects.. 3
Californi4 Real Pro/1<rty Journal 24-27 (Winter 1985).
26. Ibid., 25.
27. Ibid., 27.
18. Robyn Boy.r Stewart, "Homeown.r As.ociations Sally Forth into the Polia.
..I Wan,' Californi4 Journal (April 1991): 269-72. Stewart anticipates that the
double taution issue will be ~e next Propolition 13- and will one day be the 5ubj~
of a .tatewid. ballot iaau.. Wh.n property tax reform cam. to California in 1978. "
happened through an initiative because the .tate governm.nt failed to agree on a plan.
By the time the governor and legislature arrived at a proposal. the popular momentum
behind the more drastic m...ure, Proposition 13, .... too creat to be diverted. It ..
conceivable, .. Stewart lugge.tlt that thia pattern may repeat itlielC. Stewart aJso
..rved .. al.gislative c:onaultant in 1991-92 to the Assembly Sel.ct Committee on
Common Interest Subdivisions. which considered and recommended amendments to
the Common Interest Development Act in 1991. (Author interview with Robyn Boyrr
Stewart, January 19, 1993.)
29. Ros.nberry, "Legi.lature Addreue. Probl.ms," 28.
30. Ibid.
31. Author intervi.w with Gary Aguirre. On March 31, 1985, CAI adopted an
"approv.d draft" dated March 29, 1985. That draft, d..cribed .. an "official polic:y
statement" of the CAI Board ofTrusteel. contains references to the legaJ authoriti~s.
including citel to CoMn and O'Connor. The document has a section entitled "Back-
ground" that gives some indication of CAJ'S limited view of member rights. "'Commu-
nity uaociationa are subsocietie. with power to atrec:t the quality of members' and
residents'Uves. M entities that are neither govem.mentB nor businesses. community
associations ,hauld provide basic righta of a conatitutionaJ nature to all memben and
residents. but 1IDt impose tM full pcmoply of 6overn~ntallimitGtiolU on tM PT'OCt$S.
All members and residents of community auociations should be treated fairly, reason-
abJy. and without invidious discrimination. All owners .hould have a voice in. and an
opportunity to .hap. the actions of their community association" (.mph..i. addedJ.
The CAJ position. if adopted by the state, would not hold .nociations to the
ltandanls prescribed for .ither governments or busin...... Laguna Publi3hi"8.
O'Connor, and Cwn all would be legislatively ov.nuled. Note also the upressed
intention not to extend "governmental limitations" to cm action. and the restriction or
political participation rights to own.n. Th. remaind.r of the docum.nt i. a li.ting of
procedural matten, largely parliamentary, that are the "rights" re..rved for the
own.n-alI of which are ".ubject to the community ...ociation'. duty to 1UJ1ill its
pulpOIOI, and .ubject to the need for timely re.pense to .m.rgenci.... Th..e "rights"
are more properly eharacteri2:ed AI the dutiu corporate managers typically owe their
Iharehold.n, including llllllual m.mbenhip m..tinlll. regular reports !rom the
board. fair elections. and .thical managem...t. Th. docum.nt does not really pIa.. any
part of the individual'.lif. beyond the reach of private governm.n, because the rights
are .umnmded by worda .uch.. "reasonabl.," '.. appropriate," and "in IiJht of needs
and c:ircumltancea." For ezampl., the right to privacy merely provid.. that the ".0'
ciation shall "minimiz. intrusion into the privacy of individual units, individual
aIfain and penonal recorda."
This"bW ofriibts" doe. not includ. any right to an ind.pend.ntjudic:iary, leaving
the association boanI with the power to make tho lUl.., charge peopl. with violating
.-- ,; ---
---
. -
i
....
.
-;:'! -- .:.~
..t':.. o'
;.... 7. ..-:-. ..- :
.
'- -.
..
230
Notes to Pages 192-197
34. IDa Collin, supemsor oe Sacramento County, quoted in Robyn Boyer Ste...
art. -Homeowner Associations Sally Forth into the Politiea.l Wars: Califol"ni.a Jo:..,..
1101, April 1991, 272.
35. See Mike Davis. City of QUGrtz: Ez.cavating tM Futurr in Los An&t;.t!
(London: Vena, 1990), chap. 3.
36. Kenneth Budd. -A Force in the Ring: How Condominium and Hom!'O....-ne'~
AlSociatiODl are Landing Blowe in the Political Arena,- Common Ground. November-
December 1992, 15.
37. Ibid., 16, 20. The headings ear these "tips" explained by the cm lobb~,sl.S
include -Infonn the membership of the iuuee. . . . Get out the vote. . . . Establish J,
presence. . . . Do your homework. . . . Be hone.t and even tempered. . . . Create wm......U':
situations. . , , Go through the proper channels, . . . UN the medis."
38. Ibid.
39. Author interview with Robyn Boyer Stewart, January 19, 1993; letter frorc
Stewart to the author dated January 19, 1993.
40. Robyn Boyer Stewart, "Homeowner Auaciations Sally Forth Into the Poli:>.
cal Wars," California Journal CApriI1991): 288-72.
41. Ibid., 270, 272.
42. Robyn Boyer Stewart, "'Power to the People: The Growing Political Clout oi
Common Interest Development Aasoc:iation.- (Speech delivered at the Calitoma
Society oeCertified Public A<:countants, Common Interest Realty Association. Con.
eerence, San Francisco, July 29, 1992).
43. Robyn Boyer Stewart, "Board Immunity Bill Now Law! EQ Insurance Pr0-
gram Repealed!" Common In~rest, September-October 1992, 1.
44. Stewart, "Homeowner Auociations Sally Forth," 271-72.
45. 1993 New Jeney Laws 6; C.40:67 -23.2 .. amended; 1992 Senate Bill no
1154. Under the law reimbunement will_dually incre..e f'rom 20 pen:ent in 1993-
94 to the "total cost or.emces" in 1997-98, Thereafter,"the municipality shall either
provide the services . . . or enter into a written agreement to annuaIly reimbune the'
qualified private community in full.-
46. Robert Jay Dilger, N.itfhborhood Politics: Rauuntial Community AI.""ia.
tians and American Gov.men<< (New York: Now York Univenity Press, 1992),28-29
47. lbid.,29-30.
48. Advisory Commission on Intel"JOvernmental RelationB,lU.iMntial Commu-
nity A.uociGtiDns. 7.
III
Bibliotaphy
Selected Sources Used
...:..:.~~:.:.:~~~~~L'{I):g~':'~~,oi~&,:'r;~':'_~~':.-~~;f..~~,!,~q>i'.t..'g;'r...!If(X~1\"~;~;"~~~~~~~~fT~~~~;:;'~~~!:\:.I.;.;F""'-;'~~~
:\ LUlUmbla CrlJverslt'}' urban uevelopmem scnoJar oriers :>urvey.
;J Jet:Jded history' ::md .J.n3Jysis of the past century's move-
ment Toward the suburbs. noting (he good intentions but
-..:mi<.:izing the loss of community in Amenc:l'S cities.
Books
Fishman. Roben. Bourgeois l:topias: The Rise aad
FaU of Suburbia. Basic Books, 1987.
A Rutgers Cniyerslry hIstory professor critiques the move-
ment ro [he suburbs. discussing crime issues and the s~a.
catIon from the Clcy'. He nores the recent rise of
dtechnosuhurbs. -. such as DlifomiJ.'s Silicon VaJley and the
Boswn Jre3 S Route 128.
Life on tbe New Frontier,
. .
--
GribelZ. Kenneth with H. Paul Jeffers, !tlurder Along
the Wa)'; A Prosecutor's Personal Account of Figbting
Violent Crime in tbe Suburbs, Pharos Books, 1989,
The distnct anomev for New York's Rockland CounN de-
sCflbes several murder and bank robbery invesugatigns and
thdr impact on a suburban communit)'. His counry was the
scene of J holdup of:J. Brink's armored [ruck at a shopping
center by radicals leftover from the 1960s and the murder of
a :"orweglan irrUIJigr:lllt by a man who had picked him up
-...... '
I
-J ...,.,.........- ~':J!Idr5on.....~~t:b:'T.:-c,..-u~lb:3,;J llm1uC7. r....~ ....-,_.
banization of tbe United States. Oxford Universiry
'Ieely, Richard. Take Back Your Neigbborbood: Orga-
tli:illg a Citizens' Patrol Farce 10 Figbt Crime ill Your
Cummunity. Donald 1. Fine Inc., 1990.
The chief jus rIce of the West Virgin!;] Su~reme Coun
...ke';\"ers tTJ.uiuon:1J liber.lJ views of cnme while explaining
j:()~. CHIzen enroe comrol orgJmZJ[jons cJ.n supplement bw
...:nr'orcement ~"1 fighting [error and vIOlence.
Articles
",\merican Fear: Why We're So Afraid. Where to Turn
for Hope." Utne Reader, March/April 1993.
.0\ ..enes of reprinted Jrticles e.xplores ho'tv formerly "Iib-
erJ.r' .-unenc.:ms have sou.~h[ refuge from cnme. .,,\rt1cies "::.s-
cuss ho~... the cnme W:J.Vt:' has affected WC)m~n .1nd m:r.or-
jties.
Farnham, Alan, "U.S. Suburbs Are Under Siege:' For.
tune, Dec. 28. 1992, p. 42.
:\. business mJ.gazine writer intervje~.s shopping mJ.JJ eX-
ecutives and home securiry industry spokesmen to d~r::J-
tize the recent increases in suburban crime.
McQueen, Michel. "People With the Least To Fear
from Crime Drive the Crime Issue," The WaD Strf!et
Journal, Aug. 12. 1992.
Published at the height of last year's presidential am.
paign. this feature anicle details how candidates' oppeaJs to
suburban whites on the crime issue highlight a sput be.
['Ween perception and realiry.
Reports and Studies
Bureau of Justice Statistics. Crime Victimization in
-......J, ;:uJ1J1rtW"!~~ ...ftd'"'Rttf'ttf AT. ~d~J...u.... ~~.!. .
Conclusions on recent crime !tends are dl"Jwn from the
Federal Burau of Investigation, C,rime in the United
Slates 1991: Uniform Crime Reports, Aug. 30, 1992-
These data tables and analvsis of !tends are based on 0;)-
tlOnwlde arrest records for .1i1 major crimes. The report
bre:lks cnrne down by urban. suburban and rural incidence.
U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Rela.
tions, The Role of Gtmeral Government Elected Offi.
ciaLs in Crimina/Justice. May 1993,
A congresslonaJJy appointed panel of federal. State and
local offiCIals assembled this overview of the "fl"Jgmenred"
U.S. justice system. with recorrunend3tions on how to be!ter
t3rger antl-cnme re::iQurces through \2oordina[ion bern.'een
junsdialOni.
I/~
Septemi>er 3, 1993 789
The
Qi
Step
Additional information from UMI's Newspaper
& Periodical Abst,.acts database
Community SecuritJ'
Carron, S,R., "Cltiz= Crimd>usltrS: Public's Not
AfraId to Get Involved - Neighbors Get Involved,"
Cbicago Tribune, Nov. 10, 1991, p. 18D3.
.John Millner, chief of the Elmhurst, lIl., Police Depan-
men: and presidenr of the Du Page County Chiefs of Police
Assocl3uon. says that crimmaJs lend to leave neIghborhoods
alone ".hen they knov.- a Neighborhood Watch program is
In place.
:;~~1.~.A1~4s~'~~(~'Ji~t~I:l&.o fi~ji:~~~tti: d~:-.t,i~~-~r..';;~- :<: <'-
. P~a)'une, May 13, 1993, p. BWl.
."'>. ::JQ.JUI,;. "-~L...It:.... b~'~C:I;;I, ~~Ao:UJI;;JU, ....... ~ dnJUen~ I....r.:Sl-
"'ood E.su,es and the poorer C'"Dress Grove subdivision has
L ~ L..I ~ i!f.::> v t:' among reSloen on Dorn sloes.
Cresrn..'ood Estates residents "'-ant the ba.nier to remain, say-
mg it is 2 deterrenr [0 criminals, '~,rhiJe Cypress Grove resi-
aent5 53)." it hinders their .access to a shoncut.
.1, David, "Crime Log's Pages Tell Tale of VlgI.
lance," Atlanta Constilutirm, Oct. 5, 1992, p. '04.
Aher a rash of burglaries in the Steeplechase neIghbor-
hood in ~'es[ Gwinnen Counry. Ga.. gOl residents up in
arms. resident Chns Peterson SWled keeping a log de",illng
!'uSDiciou" l2oinc,,-on in the ~uhdn.'i<;jor: Bec3ust' of the> T!"<;;-
~:~;, ,~, .~r;--' . ,.. ~ ,-:. .
..:~~....
~-,.=,-
-~!iOIt;
'~!'ikf~h.~ '
Shuman. Mark, "Busting Crime: Neighborhoods Are
on the Watch - When It Comes to Solving Cases, Po-
lice Are Happy to Get a Band from Citizens," Cbicago
Tribune, No,'. 29, 1992, p. 18J\"W3.
Tnt' Posnive Acuon Commurury Alliance and tht RegJon-
.aJ ACHOr. Planning Projec! are ",'0 programs tha: get ci[i-
zen~ 111 ChjC4~O'S northv.'eS[ suburbs invoJ\'ed in pohCt
-,\'ork D:-' hdpmg pre\'ent and ~oh'e crunes,
Ohinions
h..~uani.soz>. Carrie Izard, "AmId the suburbs, a mo-
ment of kar," Boston Globe, June 6, 1993, p. W'\'IO'Z.
~90
CQ Jl:esearr:b"
Came Izard Richardson commenLS on the spread of \'1(,_
lent crone to the suburbs, noting that she recently feJ! ex-
tremely threatened by a man who v.'as on her joggm!-: rou[~
in Waltha1m, Mass., although she could not explain "'hy.
"Wave of Suburban Crime Is Not New," Micbigan
CbTVnicle, Oct. 2, 1991, p. A6.
An edi[Qrial assens that crime in Deuoit is nothinJ:: new
and that crime only seems like a ne". problem because 11
has moved into the suburbs and is getting more medIa at-
.. -., .: '. -.----.--
".7:r.~.. '~"":;'~;'Y_'.":"',,,....,,\,~..r.... ~'.._ _ ,__
Research and Studies
Reardon. Patrick T.: Lucadamo. ohn: McRohen...
ynn; 0Z10 '0 e Up 10 percent In Cook
Suburbs," Chicago Tribune, Nov. 8, 1992, p. 1.
Reports of violent crime jumped 10 percent in suburban
Cook Count)', IlL, in 199J while the rate rose nearly 4 per-
cenr t!;.rOUPIOUt the entire suburban area, according to a
Tribune analysis of Winois State Police S"'liSlics. The in.
crease was anribured ro the increase in drug use and ganf:s,
-
Stahura, John M. and Sloan, John J. m, "Urban Strati-
fication of Places, Routine Ac:tIvltle.; and Suburban
Crime Rates," ocia! (I. -g. .~
,.. ;t.'
~
Tobin, .lames, "Ory Iimits don't divide safet). and dan-
ger," DetTV;! News, Mar 25,1993, p, AI.
A DetrOIt News analysis of neIghborhood cnme r-.tes
shows safet)' and danger are not neatly d,,'ided by tht
boundaries be",'een the dl)' and suburbs. Still, percepllom
thai every Delfoit neIghborhood is dangerous, and all are
more dangerous than any suburb. are srrong.
Suburbarl Crime
Barbancl, Josh, "From L. I. Tclier Machine.; to G"" Sta-
tions. Suburban Robberies Are on the R.I..e," The ',eu'
lark Times, Feb, 18, 1992, p, B~,
v"hilt chances of being mugged in )\e,,' York Cm' are
still far greater than !hey are 10 the suburbs. suburb.,; ror>-
beries, from gas station holdups to purse 5narchin!Z~ to
//3
.J.rmed theits of luxury' C.J.rs. .J.re on the rise. The panem is
raJ~in3 concerns by crimmologists anu victims .J./jke.
Br=don, Karen :utd Thomas. Jerry. "Police try cUm.
ing influence." ClJicago Tribune. :\Iarch 3. 1993. p.
2L1.
In an anempr to preempt crime and re:1ch OUt [0 a grow.
ing HIspanic population. .\lunde1em. IlL. police plan to
Qpen J. SubsG:HIon in a village .2partmem complex in spring
1993. undersconng a national trend to"'ard adopting such
trJ.oitionJ.lIy urban policmg measures in suburbia.
CaneUos. Peter S.. "City sees its pain spread to sub-
urbs." Boston Globe. April 20. 1993. p. 13.
.-\iter nonsrop ne'ws of biz:1rre suburban slayings from
Dartmourh Io .-\.cushnet. .\1assachuserrs to Foster. Rhode Is-
land. residents or BosIOn-s Dorchester Jnd Roxbury nej~h-
7S"c"e;:,,>:".~tiii:.f!~;~
-... - ,.r"'~'..-:,...~'l'.~'~"" '"L..~~o/l3J.~.' -,~ . '
~"'~'"".;t:;:;''';1';n:1:p'OU.' ,":JI+
~~ --'-.l~f..:..r':~oC"...,~.....:~:;i~:'-..i~ ~.. : ..,-~
~; -~ ,.'~j ir.;.~':'~1;t:.p&.:OO
~~--,'-z,_"-<::,--...ir'.~.;:..' "":~ ' .
~~';':::~~:-.:l~~'':~~~",,-'' -~ .
FerreiL David and Sengupta. Somini. "A stain sprc:uls
in suburbia." Los Angeles Times, April 6. 1993. p. AI.
The shocking news that a group of Lakewood ICalif.]
High School boys forced girls to have sex has become a
.,ymbol of troubles in suburban commuruties thought to be
havens from crune Jnd violence.
edly in (\\-"0 years. lowering' crime rates in most m~t;opoli.
tan Boston corrununjties to mid-1980s levds.
Pemberton. :\Iary, "Big.city problem of I_breaking
moves to COUDtry," The Washington Times. ~Iay -to
1993, p. B3.
Violent crime, once considered pnmarily a big-city prob-
lem. is gro"'ing along with the popul3oon in suburban and
rural areas of .\laryland, with repoltS of assault. honucide.
rape and other violent crunes rising ~O percent bem'ee:"!
1975 and 1992.
Reid, Alexander. ~24-hour Stores easy targets in crime
spree," BostOD Globe, April 18. 1993, p. SWI.
Since March 1993. more than 25 robbefles have been re-
ported in Boston's south suburban communities. accemuat-
in~ the \'ulner:zbi1if\- of con\'eni~nce stores.
f!r, ."';.:~. "';.'~":i; .........:.......~.~
... ... "'~.:'\i. ..,.....3''1,(-..-
.:-:~...ifi<I _J!D3t#_~
"~-,, ~'r~~"'~--""""-"
~. . '!~~ . -r.~"-;'!~~~':'~
'-.. k ~-!!t :.;..:.it;\~~:....:;:,
south of Boston. violent CTlIDe. especially dom~stlc violence.
is on the rise in those suburban are:1s. ProperTY crimes such
as burgl3ry and larceny have also increased there.
f o.I.u'L';.un. J""do.....:> i.U uuL.....-nu..d I..uuudt;;:) .:>uuuuuJlus .1.L-
lama are gerting overwhelmed by an explosion in the cnme
..-,.,.::~.~~1Ju~,-~~~~,,~~I:~'h::'i!i.:"'~~~'~:;=''':'':'kt~~:"~~~~~~\I'~~:c:~;.,~?~_-.~::7'i~:'_1:?"..~~'.-,~
"---8Qs,on&rooe:-feb. 'it,"fo)9'3,p.'1 .
Long a sleepy suburb for horse farms and mnberry Walker, TolD, ~Growing Fe:u- of Crime Changing llie
bogs. Pembroke. .\1ass.. lately has turned into a landscape In Suburbia," Att.n.t" Con.stUutton. Dee. 17, 1992. p.
of ~nme scenes. yello't\. police tape srre:1ming past ancient H3.
stOne ~val1s .:md whHe clJ.pboard colonials. The smJ.1l town The Dec. 28. 1992. issue of Forrune magazine says "'*2
expenenced .six murders in 1992 aione. percent of Ammon 5uburb3nlteS :1re aft:lid to walk in thetr
neIghborhoods at mght. The suburban crime r.He is beio,,'
historical peaks. but a """. '\'ave o(caTJackmgs. muggmgs
and parking 101 roi:>beries frightens suburbanites enough to
change the way thev live and do business.
Hill. John C, "Terrytown wants to fight blight,"
Times-Picayune, Feb. 26, 1993, p, Bl.
Residents of TefT}1own, La.. are bemoaning the spread of
._"""L..J~I... 11 _..I'. .....4JJ ., , I
~t3nv TefT}1o,,'ners left New Orleans to escape such prob-
;....,,-' ..;.>1...:. .u.... ..un .....JUI;.......UO ~H lL..... V"U L~\"~ "o.I.j.~.
--
Koziol. Ronald. "New way of computing crimes
add up to problem for some," Chicago Tribune,
17, 1993, p, 2C6.
.\ ne~vly mand::ued cnme-reponing system is drnwing
complamts from many suburban Chicago police chiefs. who
bdit:\-'e ~he new computations make crime in their 3re:lS
look much worse than jt actually is.
may
Feb.
:\Iurphy, Se:ut P., "Crime on the nm In Boston's sub-
urbs," Boston Globe. :\lay 16. 1993. p, 1.
Driven by a dr:1rTUtic drop in home burglaries and or
thetis. reponed crime in Boston 5 suburbs has fallen mark.
Sullivan, Kevin, "Md. suburbs see rise In bank hold-
ups," Tbe Washington Post. Jan. 1, 1993, p. B8.
Bank robbers have SftUck four times in Montgomery and
Prince George's counties. closing out suburban ~aryl:md's
worst year for bank holdups since 1981.
-... - .
.stttution. June 14, 1993, p. Dl.
. .
~
.
Wlnsberg, Monon, "The )fe:m Streets Get )fe:mer:
City and Suburb," Populalion Today, April 1. 1991,
pp. ...5.
The vIOlent cnme rate is incteJ.sing in both cities :1nd
suburbs. Severa] th~ries for rhe sharp lncre::J.se in uman VI-
olent crime over the past decade are given. and S(3t15[!CS
are provided on crime incidents in various dties in b()(h
1979 and 1989.
September 3. 199; / .071