Gated communities. Case study of Wrocław, Poland

Book of proceedings: Annual AESOP Congress, Definite Space – Fuzzy Responsibility, Prague, 13-16th July, 2015Nowadays modern cities experience emergence of new urban forms. One of those forms are gated communities. The aim of the paper is to discuss the phenomenon of gated communities through the lenses of the city of Wrocław (Poland), the fourth biggest city in Poland. The phenomenon of gated communities, guarded and inaccessible for "mere mortals" developed in Poland on an unprecedented scale. Although gated communities in Europe are rather rarely, in Warsaw there are few hundreds of such settlements. People choose to live in a gated community due to the need for security and cut-off from “lower class”. However, psychologists suggest that people who feel threatened and decide to live in secured housing estates, tend to isolate themselves even more from the rest of society, so that their fears and insecurity may even deepen (the so-called “circle of fear" ). The purpose of the paper is to discuss the issue of gated communities in the city of Wroclaw. Starting from the theoretical discussion on definitions, the paper will move towards the selected cases located in Wrocław in order to analyse profile of their residents. Results of surveys on the perception of gated-communities will be presented. Additionally, influence on the society and urban space as well as legal aspect of those settlements will be discussed. The paper should contribute both to the theoretical and practical knowledge on gated communities and their impact on social and urban life.Published Versio