Perspectives of gated communities’ socio-spatial integration: the case of post-socialist Lithuania

As a new style of residential development, gated communities appear to be a reflection of territorial and social segregation in the suburbs of post-socialist cities. Even though the phenomenon of gating is not prevalent in Lithuania, it still inheres spatial segregation as a precondition. Researches in Lithuania have shown that, despite strong segregating effect, in some cases gated communities may have an ambiguous impact on the population outside such settlements. A complex evaluation of this integration process, conducted via a three-dimensional integration model, as well as an examination of the psychological, social, economic and barrier factors of gated communities' impacts, may ascertain the directions and perspectives of possible integration thereof. It is likely that the promotion of those prominent effects and the search for new ones can lead gated communities to become more positive for society as a whole and achieve stronger integration in suburban areas