Gated communities and the erosion of public space. An analysis of contemporary urban misanthropy.

The paper analyses the social, psychological, political and economic causes of gated communities in order to understand the driving forces behind their rise both in the Western world and Italy. The implications for the design, planning and management of public space at the neighbourhood and city level are discussed, highlighting erosion, clustering and pressures for the privatisation of goods and services. European and Anglo-Saxon case studies are presented, along with security tools and protocols to regulate these walled communities. Finally, exit strategies are proposed to avoid caesuras in urban clusters that affect, inter alia, neighbourhood viability and collective security in case of emergencies.