Urban social group segregation: a gated community in Menzona, Argentina

Gated communities are becoming an increasingly distinctive feature in contemporary cities worldwide. Their growth and multiplication has provoked serious concerns about their argued role in encouraging urban social segregation. This thesis sustains that this is an area of contention characterised by contradictory empirical descriptions. It also sustains that the absence of a conceptual framework constitutes a major obstacle for the understanding of the social consequences of gated communities. The purpose of the thesis is therefore to provide a conceptual framework and to answer two main questions: Is there a relationship between living in gated communities and urban social segregation? And if there is, how can this be explained? The thesis develops a conceptual framework drawing upon concepts from structuration theory to address these questions. This framework defines and establishes relationships between four key concepts: gated communities, urban social group segregation, social practices and viewpoints. The latter two are proposed as instruments for the analysis of urban social group segregation carried out by gated communities' residents. The thesis identifies and examines social practices and viewpoints of particular urban social groups living inside and in the surrounding areas of a gated community, in terms of their influences on urban social group segregation. The fieldwork of the research was carried out in a gated community called "Conjunto Urbano Palmares" in Mendoza, an intermediate city in Argentina. The research used a qualitative methodology with in-depth interviews as the main research tool. The findings of the research indicate that living in gated communities favours urban social group segregation. There is a relationship between living in gated communities and urban social group segregation that can be explained through the social practices and viewpoints of their residents. The particular attributes of the gated communities also contribute to the segregation of their residents from the outside local communities