Urban and Spatial View of Gated Communities as Transformation Products: An Experimental Study

Abstract

In every era of history architecture has been formed under the influence of social, political and economical changes, and the change of social life has also affected its spatial formations. In line with the multiple transformations in economical, political, socio-cultural contexts and the strategies of the capitalist system on urban space, cities have entered a restructuring process by becoming the focal points of global capital. After 1980, in many cities around the world, starting to move to housing estates which are formed as residence groups in and outside the city limits, gated communities emerged as a controlled way of living areas. In this study, the settlements referred to as gated communities in the literature have been interpreted as a spatial expression of socioeconomic inequality. In this direction, the emergence of gated communities, which are considered as the appearance of urban and spatial segregation, and the tension it creates in the society are examined over the city of Ankara, for the example of Ankara Park Vadi, a survey study was conducted with the participants living around the gated housing complex, questioning the social sustainability qualities of the space and the house. According to the survey data obtained, it was claimed that there was a 'tension' created by the gated settlements. As a result of this tension, the sense of belonging to the place where people live decreases, social habits and relations in the settlements are broken, and the social sustainability quality of the spaces disappears.