by Eva Dameron
Daily Lobo
Gated communities are the American dream with a twist.
That's what Setha Low, City University of New York professor, said in a presentation Friday.
Low, a professor of environmental psychology and anthropology, researched seven gated communities in New York, Texas and Mexico City over a 10-year period.
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"It took so long, because it is so difficult to actually get in and interview residents," she said.
Boundaries are harder to get rid of than they are to put up, she said.
"Across America, lower middle-, middle- and upper middle-class gated communities are creating new forms of exclusion and residential segregation," Low said.
She said where walls, fences and heavy shrubbery are meant to protect residents, they create an illusion that reinforces fear and anxiety.
"Living behind gates reinforces the perception that the people who live outside are dangerous or bad," she said.
UNM student Erika Lovato lives in Altura Village, a gated community on Indian School Road and Washington Street.
"You definitely feel safe because the gates are always closed," she said. "And everyone in this neighborhood seems really friendly. There's actually a lot of UNM students that live here."
But she disagrees with Low's theory, she said.
"It's just a gate, not a separation from society," Lovato said. "I have no problem functioning in my normal life because I live in a gated community."
A woman Low interviewed for her research, whom she calls Felicia, lives in a gated community in San Antonio.
Felicia said her 10-year-old daughter has a fear of the poor people who live beyond the gates.
Low said some people move to gated communities because they want to be shielded from crime, but once they move in, they start suspecting guards and workers.
"They're giving up their legal rights to freedom of speech in court adjudication," she said. "All disputes are handled by contractual law. I had one resident who had no idea about this. They're not aware that they've lost freedom of speech and a number of other rights."
She said rules can change in a gated community, and residents have no vote in those changes. Low said one resident was told to take her curtains down because they were too colorful. Some areas go further than not allowing pets - they don't even allow grandchildren to visit, she said.
While the rules may seem harsh and restrictive, many people are willing to put up with them, she said.
"It's a psychological fear for which there is no physical or technological solution," Low said. "Video surveillance, gating, walls and guards don't work because they really don't address what is an emotional reaction. What they are expressing is a raised sense of insecurity with life in America."
Lovato agreed there are drawbacks to living in a gated community.
"You get fines for leaving your garbage can out for too long," Lovato said. "After 2 a.m. if you don't have a permit, you can't be parked in the visitor parking lot. You can get towed. There's no driveway space, and people can't park in front of your house."
Catherine Heyne said she came to the lecture because she was concerned about her neighborhood.
"I live in the South Valley and gated communities are moving in," she said. "A lot of people are against it. It creates a very us versus them (mentality)."
The School of Architecture and Planning sponsored the sixth annual J.B. Jackson Lecture.
