The Development of Gated Communities and Fear of Crime: The Case of Budapest

In the world in general, millions of people live in guarded communities, with access barred to the public. However, the development of these kinds of communities cannot solely be attributed to accidental or deviant factors. Inspired by theoretical discussion on the ‘new segregation’, this article tries to understand the forces which are propelling this development in Budapest, a town in which, between 2002 and 2007, some 70 residential segregated areas have been built, totalling around 14,000 dwellings. The article shows that, despite large differences between richer and poorer people and the considerable insertion of such defensible and defended spaces, the increase in guarded communities is primarily due to flight from areas by the upper middle class and their wish to show off their prestige, rather than being due to fear of crime. The rise in guarded neighbourhoods has hence become a manifestation of the upper middle class against local government, which it sees as incapable of providing it with the public goods it desires, such as a green, safe and prestigious area in which to live.