The Chinese government has recently issued a directive that calls for an end to gated communities. The aim is to halt the construction of new gated communities, and gradually open existing gated communities to the public. This paper examines the challenges of implementing the new directive in Shanghai, where more than 80% of residential communities are gated. The study reveals five types of challenges: (1) site redesign; (2) urban governance; (3) social frictions; (4) legal status; and (5) financial burden. While redesign is a more straightforward, albeit onerous, task, smoothing governance, social, legal, and financial tensions is a greater challenge.
Gated communities are generally defined as residential areas surrounded by walls, fences, or green hedges to discourage or prevent outsiders from entering. Typically, they appeal to the middle- and upper-income strata because they provide a safer, cleaner, and more controlled living environment which is closed to outsiders. Local public services are organized efficiently within the borders, and residents are tied to a common code of conduct through legal agreements similar to condominium contracts. Gated communities also cater to a desire to display status. The concept originated in the United States in the 1970s, and now has turned into a truly global socio-spatial phenomenon (Aron 2002; Frantz 2000; Atkinson and Flint 2004; Blakely and Snyder 1997; Coy 2006; Goix and Webster 2008; Renaud and Elena 2015; Low and Smith 2006; Webster 2001).