Content area
Full text
Fortress America: Gated Communities in the United States. Edward J. Blakely and Mary Gail Snyder. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 1997.
Fortress America explains the ever-increasing popularity of gated communities in the United States. The authors also describe the different forms which gated communities take and their origins. Despite their differences, gated communities share common roots in fear of the "other."
The authors, both specialists in urban and regional planning, begin by describing the history of gated communities. Next, they develop a taxonomy of gated communities: the recreation-oriented "Lifestyle Community," the upper-income "Prestige Community," and the barricaded "Security Zone Community." Throughout, the authors analyze the nature of "community" in each area, although they do not define...