OSIEDLA GRODZONE W ŁODZI. PRZYCZYNY I KONSEKWENCJE ZJAWISKA

Abstract

Gated communities appeared in Poland at the beginning of the 1990s and since then they have played an important role in the social landscape of Polish cities, including Łódź. Although they are a global phenomenon, local socio-cultural conditions determine their final shape; in Poland these conditions are: the nobleman’s-peasant’s tradition as well as the recent political and economic transition. This research shows that the property developers’ offers presenting their recent investments emerge towards two basic needs of the real estate market clients: safety and peace. They also underline the prestige of living in gated communities which according to the literature on the subject is, apart from safety, the most important reason for “gating”. The offer is directed at the representatives of the metropolitan class which is now rising in Poland, i.e. young, well-educated, well-earning people whose needs cannot be satisfied by existing housing estates of the socialist era. Such an image of the residents of gated communities has been revealed from the opinions of people living in open housing estates located in their neighbourhoods. Both inhabitants of gated communities and their neighbours from “outside the gate” see the increase in the safety of housing estates and aesthetic values as the positive consequence of gated communities. The main negative consequence within public opinion is the influence of this phenomenon on social relations. This article outlines, on the example of Łódź, a clear boundary between the public and private space which appeared within modern Polish cities together with the gated communities phenomenon. Apart from the disintegration of space, there have been some negative processes within the social relations such as social divisions, conflicts and weakening social ties. One should bear in mind an alternative for gated communities flourishing in Polish cities; the alternative which could ensure the basic need of the safety of housing estates residents, as it is the main reason for “gating”. Urbanists, architects, all those who are responsible for the shape of urban space should prepare well for the debate on gated communities in Poland and be ready to convince the public opinion that they are not the only way to improve security and fulfill the expectations of their residents.

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