Gated Communities across Canada

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by Me&You

Yeah, sounds like butt-hurt.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand why would someone be annoyed that someone else chooses to live in a particular place, whether that place is behind a gate or not?

It may be easy to just ignore the social aspect of an issue and focus entirely on the dollars and cents - especially if you feel it helps your argument, but social issues are definitely important. In fact, entire cities and societies have variously succeeded and failed based entirely on social issues. Now I'm not suggesting that in this case, a few people displaying anti-social behaviour in this manner is going to lead to the downside of society as we know it (I have to be clear as some people tend to gravitate toward hyperbole) but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be discussed and acknowledged.

[Me&You]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

It may be easy to just ignore the social aspect of an issue and focus entirely on the dollars and cents - especially if you feel it helps your argument, but social issues are definitely important. In fact, entire cities and societies have variously succeeded and failed based entirely on social issues. Now I'm not suggesting that in this case, a few people displaying anti-social behaviour in this manner is going to lead to the downside of society as we know it (I have to be clear as some people tend to gravitate toward hyperbole) but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be discussed and acknowledged.

I'll acknowledge there are some social issues with gated communities in the US, where it's not uncommon for a ritzy gated area to abut a low income area and the gate is clearly there to keep them segregated.

However, none of the examples we've seen in Canada demonstrate this clear separation. The vast majority of gated communities here are small pockets adjacent to similar housing (at least, that's the case for all of the examples I'm familiar with). Therefore, the gates are nothing but fluff that might make those living behind them feeling slightly smug, but surely no safer.

I'll concede that it would be a concern and slippery slope if existing communities were to start "gating" themselves, but as it is, in Canada, the gates on the vast majority of these communities are just decorative. And therefore, anyone offended by them, in my mind, is butt-hurt that they're being shut out of some place they have no need to go anyways.

[feepa]

Gating, isolating and social segregation lead to many problems. One only needs to look at todays news in the states to realize this, even if not directly related.

[Nouvellecosse]

What exactly does the term"butt-hurt" mean anyway? It's not a term I've ever been familiarized with. Does it just mean someone is offended by something or is there another element to it?

[kw5150]

Gated communities just say "we are better than you....and we are scared of you." Nothing worse than these places.

[SpongeG]

most gated communities include yard maintenance and snow clearing which is part of the attraction

[Mister F]

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

We locals like to use the term gated community when talking about TMR, but it really isn't close to it. As for the excuse that the fence is there to protect kids, it has some measure of truth, I'm sure, as l'Acadie is truly a racetrack for most motorists and the fence helps set a limit between super-dense parc-x and TMR.

The irony is the more you isolate a road from what's around it in the name of safety, the more of a racetrack the road becomes.

[jd3189]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Public transit doesn't even go INTO the community??

Maybe I read this wrong, but.. wow. It's like a whole different universe. No wonder public transit is such a miserable failure in the US if this is common.

I live in the most extremely far-flung suburb in Calgary, and if I had to walk all the way out of it just to catch transit - well, suffice it to say that neither I nor anyone else in my neighbourhood would ever take public transit.

I don't see why not. The roads in the communities are too small anyway. The firm that owns the community could always install some small buses and golf carts, like they do in golf clubs here. In fact some do. Yes that is a reason why public transit isn't as widespread in America as in Canada, but there is also another reason. Americans, in general, want to be responsible for themselves and they want their own private necessities, whether it be a house, healthcare, transportation, etc. They don't want to be taken care of by a government. To you, it may be an strange or even stupid way of thought, but that doesn't mean it's entire stupid and that Canada's way is the better of them all. You guys depend a lot on your government for many of your needs. Here in the US, we depend mostly on ourselves since we believe that equates to more "freedom".

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by jd3189

Americans, in general, want to be responsible for themselves and they want their own private necessities, whether it be a house, healthcare, transportation, etc. They don't want to be taken care of by a government.

Which explains the TSA, the largest military in the world, the war on drugs, the war on gay marriage, military-style checkpoints at tourist attractions, federally-mandated (effectively) drinking age of 21, the most extensive government-funded highway system in the world...

we depend mostly on ourselves since we believe that equates to more "freedom".

The US has a very strange definition of "freedom" these days. Although I guess the freedom to cower in a gated community is a form of "freedom".

[koval95]

bump

[GreaterMontréal]

http://condosaquablu.com/en/

[1overcosc]

Gated communities, from a purely factual standpoint, aren't really that bad. It's more what they stand for that offends people (myself, included).

They're a symbol of racial segregation, suburban sprawl, and rampant individualism-turned-selfish.

A gated community was proposed here in Kingston in the north-central part of the city--a place with socioeconomic challenges--and people exploded with anger and the city refused to grant approval. It's not surprising. Kingston is a socially progressive city.

[freeweed]

Heh, I had forgotten about this thread. Since last time, I had an amusing encounter with a gated community in Las Vegas.

I spent a couple of months working down there in 2013 (hard times, eh?). While I'm a compulsive gambler, there's only so much of it you can do. Plus not every weekend was working time. So, I had a lot of downtime and did a LOT of exploring of the city and its surroundings.

One day, I drove past an absolutely gorgeous park. Had this surprisingly large lake feature, surrounded by trees, etc - exactly the kind of thing that just shouldn't exist in Las Vegas. But it was an incredible sanctuary for waterfowl (most people don't realize just how much lives around the LV area, thinking that it's entirely desert). Anyway, I thought "wow, what a nice spot to go for a walk, sit and read a book in the shade, enjoy some peaceful wildlife".

Then I spent the next 20 minutes driving at this thing from all angles, only to realize that it's entirely part of a gated community, and without being one of the privileged... well, "fuck you" wasn't posted on the walls but it might as well have been. The killer part is that the entire lake is next to a major (public) road nearby, so everyone around can get taunted by what they cannot get closer to.

Such an amazing resource in a city, and 99% of the population is denied access. If that's the kind of world people want to live in, I suppose they're welcome to it, but it's not my idea of a good place.

[Airboy]

There is a new gated community being build 2km east of St Albert in Sturgeon County north of Edmonton.

I always feel that the people that buy into these communities are either very paranoid and or don't really see reality or they are just really stuck on the own importance.

We have a couple of friends that are consider in the 2% and they would never think of being in a gated community.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by Airboy

There is a new gated community being build 2km east of St Albert in Sturgeon County north of Edmonton.

I always feel that the people that buy into these communities are either very paranoid and or don't really see reality or they are just really stuck on the own importance.

We have a couple of friends that are consider in the 2% and they would never think of being in a gated community.

I'm curious, because I generally don't know - do these people pay 100% for everything that is part of the community? The roads and other infrastructure? The parks and other amenities?

I think that's what blows my mind. When I see something on clearly private land - hey, congrats to the guy for having the millions required to build his own private zoo. More power to him. But every single community I've ever seen in Canada has things like parkspace and such, that are funded out of tax dollars. Gating them in basically privatizes publicly-funded things. Unless it's entirely financed by those who live there.

[GlassCity]

I live almost directly beside a gated community and I think the houses outside of it are nicer than the ones they have. Most of the houses in my neighbourhood are 2,500 sq ft stucco monsters, while theirs are single story, smaller and have vinyl siding, so I don't think it's always a wealth thing. The idea that gated communities were for safety has never even crossed my mind before reading this thread. I always thought it was just to keep the noise out, whether that be through traffic or teenagers.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

I live almost directly beside a gated community and I think the houses outside of it are nicer than the ones they have. Most of the houses in my neighbourhood are 2,500 sq ft stucco monsters, while theirs are single story, smaller and have vinyl siding, so I don't think it's always a wealth thing. The idea that gated communities were for safety has never even crossed my mind before reading this thread. I always thought it was just to keep the noise out, whether that be through traffic or teenagers.

Is it fully gated? We have a lot of small communities that are fenced in, for precisely the reasons you list. I'm thinking of countless apartment/townhouse/bungalow condo developments from the past several decades. But the main access road into them is wide open.

If it's completely gated in, with a key/code required to enter - then it ain't just about keeping traffic away. Trust me.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Is it fully gated? We have a lot of small communities that are fenced in, for precisely the reasons you list. I'm thinking of countless apartment/townhouse/bungalow condo developments from the past several decades. But the main access road into them is wide open.

If it's completely gated in, with a key/code required to enter - then it ain't just about keeping traffic away. Trust me.

Yeah it's completely gated, but the gates are left open somewhat often. I have a hard time believing it's for crime because there's literally none of it here, and I can't see it being a class thing either since the gated community is surrounded by an equally if not more affluent neighbourhood.

[Boris2k7]

Well, if you really want to get down to the root of it all, gates are all about control.

[vid]

The only gated community in Thunder Bay is hideous. And, apparently no longer has a gate..

https://www.google.ca/maps/@48.41910...JZMA!2e0?hl=en

Outside of town there are a couple gated trailer parks. Land is so cheap here that you can just buy 50 acres of it and gate yourself inside that for pretty cheap.