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1. Introduction
Housing is a fundamental human need due to the provision of shelter. Despite housing being a fundamental human need by providing shelter and security, many people strive to own homes for other reasons. For example, people own homes because it serves as an investment asset and contributes to the financial and wealth of households. As demand for houses increases, many companies and individuals have ventured into the sector to provide housing as a product. It comes in various forms as a product, including detached dwellings, semi-detached dwellings, townhouses and apartments. Those developing housing as a product organise them into estates, master-planned communities, and for security and other reasons, some developers develop gated communities (GCs).
Gated community (GC) developments are found in several countries around the world, including Ghana. Homes in GCs are popular among the urban high- and middle-class residents in Ghana. Consequently, GCs have rapidly increased in Ghana over the last few years, driven by growth within the middle class. Anecdotal evidence indicates an increasing demand for GCs, triggering developers' interest in serving this market niche. GCs are noticeable in the inner cities and suburban areas, visible as an attractive inclusion in many housing adverts carried in all forms of marketing media in Ghana. The following is an extract from an online advert reads;
Now selling …. Now Selling …. Now selling
Own one of these stunning 3 Bedroom semi-detached houses within a gated community at the following locations at Haatso, East Legon Hills, Oyarifa. Property features include land title documented property, backward garden, security check point, all rooms ensuite. Mortgage buying and payment terms are available (An excerpt from an online LinkedIn advert by an agent).
The advert demonstrates the use of GCs as a selling point to attract buyers.
There has been a sustained interest from academics, industry players, property practitioners and policymakers in the GC phenomenon from the late 1990s until now. This interest has led to various views and debates on the GC phenomenon. Despite the interest in understanding GCs internationally, research on the phenomenon in West Africa, and specifically Ghana, is limited (see Brunn and Frantz, 2006). A few studies that have investigated GCs in Ghana have highlighted some aspects: the connection between GCs and a globalising...