Security or tranquillity? what people value in residential compounds

Abstract

The phenomenon of residential compounds is increasingly prevalent in today’s society. Fear of crime is one of the main explanations for the proliferation of gated communities, the most closed type of residential compound. They reflect a privatisation of public space and the desire of the most privileged groups to control access to their residential enclaves. Considering that in Southern Europe this phenomenon exhibits more morphological and social diversity and that crime levels are lower, this paper analyses what residents of these compounds value and explores security as a key residential value in this context. For this purpose, an empirical analysis of 20 interviews was conducted in 2020 in the Granada metropolitan area (Spain), where previous studies have highlighted a wide variety of residential compounds in the urban landscape. Contrary to the general assumptions reported in other studies, our results show that there are no significant concerns about security amongst the residents of residential compounds. Instead, their priorities emphasize a widespread interest in residential comfort, which encompasses various dimensions such as spaciousness, tranquillity and location. This interest is shared by both residents and non-residents of these residential compounds. Therefore, tranquillity emerges as central aspect of residential satisfaction, challenging the stereotypical view that gated communities are primarily associated with security anxieties.