Gated Communities, a view into why these communities are so popular in the United States and why they are so dangerous.

Essay by benwtfCollege, UndergraduateA, April 2006

download word file, 8 pages 3.7

In 1999 an episode of a popular science fiction show "The X-Files" was made as a reference to the idyllic gated community. In this episode the two main characters, who went undercover as "Rob and Laura Petrie", were investigating a series of disappearances in a rich gated community development named "The Falls of Arcadia", which appeared to be racially equal. In ancient Greece Arcadia was a rustic, secluded area, and its inhabitants became proverbial as primitive herdsmen leading simple pastoral unsophisticated yet happy lives, to the point that Arcadia may refer to some imaginary idyllic paradise, immortalized by Vergil's Eclogues, set in Arcadia(Apollodorus). As a resident came to the front gate to enter their pass code, they were greeted by soothing music, and a soft spoken voice that kindly requested them to enter their code, and when the code was entered correctly, the voice would welcome the resident specifically by name, therefore inebriating the resident with a false sense of security.

Every house in the development has to be 'up to code' in accordance with the official "CCandR's" which stand for 'Contracts, Covenants, and Rules'. As the story unfolds you find out that the disappearances are linked to the original home owners who came together and decided to conjure up an "Übermensch" to take care of the people who do not want to follow the contracts, covenants and rules of the community. As a result, this community was named as one of the top ranked planned communities in all of California.

When looking in on a high-class gated community where nature may play an important role in the appellation of the settlement, on might see the perfect homestead: big luxurious housing, rich amenities (including spas, pools, golf courses and playgrounds) and most importantly, safety. Striving to live the American Dream,