Safety and planning : How gated communities are motivated in Staffanstorp municipality

This study aims to investigate the implementation of gated communities in Staffanstorp municipality. Gated communities are residential areas that have some form of physical barriers to keep out unwanted people. The phenomenon is unusual in the Swedish context and in Staffanstorp it works as a safety-creating tool in physical planning. Their initiative is part of the municipality's local safety work. The study has been based on two central questions in order to examine the plans. The first focuses on how the initiative is motivated by safety arguments and the second examines opportunities and challenges from an urban development perspective. The work is based on a theoretical framework that includes critical perspectives on safety, the notion of the “other” and defensible space. Based on the theoretical framework, the municipality's justification of the proposal is analyzed. The results from the methods, document studies and semi-structured interviews, show that the safety argument plays a central role. The perceived insecurity and increased crime in society serve as arguments to legitimize the proposal of gated communities. In these residential areas, security is to be built in from the start and create safe living environments for the residents. The results also show that the initiative is unique since the proposal comes from the political arena rather than from private developers. However, there are divided opinions on the initiative within politics in Staffanstorp regarding what gated communities signal and what consequences the proposal results in. The study also reveals a new approach to Swedish urban planning. From safeguarding openness and accessibility in the city to increased privatization and inaccessible public spaces. Another prominent result is the difference between perceived insecurity and actual security. Staffanstorp municipality is Skåne's safest and one of the safest in Sweden, yet gated communities are considered a necessity to reduce perceived insecurity. A contradiction is created in the actual security in the municipality and the perceived insecurity. Gated communities therefore become both a response to fear and an expression of how fear organizes society.