Territorial Permeability and Perception of Security Among Residents of Gated and Non-Gated Communities

Abstract

The present paper investigates the territorial permeability and perception of security among residents of gated and non-gated communities. The rapid growth of gated communities on urban landscape have made it important to explore the physical layout of these communities and its impact on resident’s sense of security. Two gated and two non-gated sites were selected from Lahore, Pakistan as case studies. The physical layout of selected gated and non-gated communities was analyzed. The data for resident’s sense of security was obtained from face-to-face interviews from two gated and two non-gated research sites. The permeability analysis of layout plans of four research sites revealed two themes: 1) physical permeability and 2) perceived permeability. The analysis also revealed that participants of gated communities felt more secure while living in gated environment as compared to participants of non-gated communities. It is concluded that physical layout of residential communities impacts the resident’s sense of security and satisfaction.