A spatial analysis of gating in Bloemfontein, South Africa

Growing trends of fear and insecurity in cities have sparked the re-visitation of gating, posing significant problems for citizens and policy makers alike. Gated developments are a global phenomenon occurring in diverse countries in both the developed North and developing South. Metropolitan areas i...

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Main Authors: Ferreira Verno, Visser Gustav
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń 2015-06-01
Series:Bulletin of Geography. Socio-Economic Series
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/bog-2015-0014
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author Ferreira Verno
Visser Gustav
author_facet Ferreira Verno
Visser Gustav
author_sort Ferreira Verno
collection DOAJ
description Growing trends of fear and insecurity in cities have sparked the re-visitation of gating, posing significant problems for citizens and policy makers alike. Gated developments are a global phenomenon occurring in diverse countries in both the developed North and developing South. Metropolitan areas in South Africa have also witnessed a rapid increase in the number and spread of gated developments since the late 1980s. Development of enclosed neighbourhoods has become increasingly popular, gaining widespread support for their utopic lifestyle and safety features. On the whole, high levels of crime and fear of crime have led to the construction of defensible space, in the form of gated developments, resulting in elevated levels of segregation. This paper provides a spatial analysis on gated developments in the non-metropolitan setting of Bloemfontein. The pattern and timeframe of gating in this city is shown to be similar to those found elsewhere in South Africa and, indeed, globally. Overall, it is the contention that gating is a trend not only seen in large metropolitan areas, but across the entire urban hierarchy of South Africa, and, as a consequence, requires investigation far beyond its metropolitan regions to more fully understand gated developments.
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spelling doaj-art-d208210250f44ddeb074e90beef9acda2025-08-20T03:19:52ZengNicolaus Copernicus University in ToruńBulletin of Geography. Socio-Economic Series2083-82982015-06-012828375110.1515/bog-2015-0014A spatial analysis of gating in Bloemfontein, South AfricaFerreira Verno0Visser Gustav1University of the Free State, Department of Geography, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9300 South AfricaUniversity of Stellenbosch, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South AfricaGrowing trends of fear and insecurity in cities have sparked the re-visitation of gating, posing significant problems for citizens and policy makers alike. Gated developments are a global phenomenon occurring in diverse countries in both the developed North and developing South. Metropolitan areas in South Africa have also witnessed a rapid increase in the number and spread of gated developments since the late 1980s. Development of enclosed neighbourhoods has become increasingly popular, gaining widespread support for their utopic lifestyle and safety features. On the whole, high levels of crime and fear of crime have led to the construction of defensible space, in the form of gated developments, resulting in elevated levels of segregation. This paper provides a spatial analysis on gated developments in the non-metropolitan setting of Bloemfontein. The pattern and timeframe of gating in this city is shown to be similar to those found elsewhere in South Africa and, indeed, globally. Overall, it is the contention that gating is a trend not only seen in large metropolitan areas, but across the entire urban hierarchy of South Africa, and, as a consequence, requires investigation far beyond its metropolitan regions to more fully understand gated developments.https://doi.org/10.1515/bog-2015-0014gated developmentsgatingneighbourhoodsouth africabloemfontein
spellingShingle Ferreira Verno
Visser Gustav
A spatial analysis of gating in Bloemfontein, South Africa
Bulletin of Geography. Socio-Economic Series
gated developments
gating
neighbourhood
south africa
bloemfontein
title A spatial analysis of gating in Bloemfontein, South Africa
title_full A spatial analysis of gating in Bloemfontein, South Africa
title_fullStr A spatial analysis of gating in Bloemfontein, South Africa
title_full_unstemmed A spatial analysis of gating in Bloemfontein, South Africa
title_short A spatial analysis of gating in Bloemfontein, South Africa
title_sort spatial analysis of gating in bloemfontein south africa
topic gated developments
gating
neighbourhood
south africa
bloemfontein
url https://doi.org/10.1515/bog-2015-0014
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AT vissergustav spatialanalysisofgatinginbloemfonteinsouthafrica