GUARDED DEVELOPMENT POLICY IS ADOPTED BY CITY OF CAPE TOWN

Dylan Burke - IPS

21 February 2008

In South Africa gated communities have become popular primarily as a response to high levels of crime and the fear of crime.

Since the early 1990s gated communities have experienced phenomenal growth in South Africa, especially in the metropolitan areas of Gauteng, this area has been on the forefront of the safety and security issues, their main approach to these issues was the inception of the gated development policy, a policy that allowed the developers to create a safe and secure housing estate, with closed in roads and houses, with a boom gate at the front with guarded huts, factors all affecting the ease of mind of the potential home owner.

A relatively new trend is that of the gated community. Gated communities are made up of enclosed neighborhoods that have controlled access through gates or booms across existing roads, and security villages and complexes, including lifestyle communities which provide their enclosed residents with a range of non-residential amenities such as schools, offices, shops and golf courses, all in all a variable Utopia for the working class in search of an area to make their home.

The positives being that of the lack of congestion in the community, the lack of unwanted elements in the community, the control of who is coming in and out, as well as the ease of mind with regard to the safety aspect.

The fact that property values usually increase after an area is enclosed, and becomes a gated community, shows that home owners allocate a positive economic worth to the perceived protection of such an enclosure. One could say that when a gated community is developed and managed correctly the area will experience a substantial growth in the areas worth along with a sustained reduction in crime as well as a notable contribution to the overall growth in the surrounds.

Keep abreast of the latest property market news. Subscribe to the IPS Newsletter: