Gated or Master Communities: Why the Obsession?

[cityimrov]

I was thinking about the problems Amendment 4 wanted to stop which got me to this thought.  Why is the typical Floridian obsessed with living in a gated community in the middle of "suburbia" in the middle of nowhere?  

I talked to an average typical person about living in places like Riverside or Avondale or Springfield and the benefits of urban life and more often than not, the discussion always somehow ends up on crime, drugs, and occasionally black people for some reason.  

The suburbia's of the 1960s, 70s, 80s and so forth weren't exactly ideal but they were still ok places to live compared to where people call home today.  I have a hard time finding an average people who doesn't want to live in HOA enforced, Gated, Community Organized place like Eagle Harbor, Nocatee, Queens Harbor, etc.  In fact, not only want but dream all day of living there!  Why are these places THE PLACE people dream about living in? 

[cityimrov]

I was thinking about the problems Amendment 4 wanted to stop which got me to this thought.  Why is the typical Floridian obsessed with living in a gated community in the middle of "suburbia" in the middle of nowhere?  

I talked to an average typical person about living in places like Riverside or Avondale or Springfield and the benefits of urban life and more often than not, the discussion always somehow ends up on crime, drugs, and occasionally black people for some reason.  

The suburbia's of the 1960s, 70s, 80s and so forth weren't exactly ideal but they were still ok places to live compared to where people call home today.  I have a hard time finding an average people who doesn't want to live in HOA enforced, Gated, Community Organized place like Eagle Harbor, Nocatee, Queens Harbor, etc.  In fact, not only want but dream all day of living there!  Why are these places THE PLACE people dream about living in?  

I think people consistently make assumptions about what the 'average' or 'typical' person thinks or wants here in jacksonville personally.  I don't think most people without children would ever want to live in a place like Queens Harbor if there were a comparable urban alternative.

I would suspect thats why the land is so expensive along the river in San Marco, Riverside, Avondale and Ortega.  

I should clarify, when I say average or typical, I mean: Mom, Dad, and 2.5 kids.  The typical average American family which is a huge portion of the population here. 

[cayohueso]

I would say that most people who want to live in a gated community are not exactly from Jacksonville or even Florida to begin with. Gated communities were a Northern import to the area to make those transplanted here feel safe among us natives. I grew up in Cedar Hills and from my perspective, when a person became wealthy enough, they could move into Ortega primarily, Avondale, San Marco or Riverside and live the good life. Ortega was always a defacto naturally gated community with just two entry points so it was exclusive. I don't know why anyone would willingly llive in a modern gated community with a charter. Riverside and Springfield have their charter nazis too but at least those are cool places to be. Gated communitites are cold and corporate and promote negativity to the surrounding "indian territory" of the rest of a city. Them vs. Us at it's core. And anyway you really are no safer in a gated community than anywhere else. If someone wants you or your crap bad enough..they'll get it. They just have to cut across your grass which better be 2.5" high by the way or you'll get a fine from your HOA. Actually, maybe a houseboat is the answer...

[thelakelander]

I have two kids and I despise suburban gated communities.  The typical American family would like to live in a clean safe neighborhood with good schools and nearby amenities for an affordable price.  Most could care less about the suburban vs urban part when all personal priorities are laid out on the line.  The challenge for Jacksonville is to create more neighborhoods with these general amenities and conditions in the urban core.  Btw, its possible to have a gated community integrated within an urban setting.  The Parks at Cathedral and St. Johns Villas in Five Points are two examples that come to mind.

[spuwho]

If Sommer Thompson's family lived in a gated community, do you think it would have made a difference?

Gated communities, like them or love them is about the impression of safety. If one is motivated they can still gain some level of access (after all how do teens get in after hours to teepee).

It suppresses but not eliminates, random unwanted activities from non-residents.

There is also some marketing at work. While typically HOA fees handle the gates costs, homes in gated areas can get better pricing by the builders as there is a sense of exclusivity associated with it.

Not sure where that this is a "northern" thing as in all my time up north, gated communities are rare.

My impression is that they are popular in Florida because the snowbirds like the idea that their home is safe during their extended times away. But it has moved into the mainstream here to increase a certain property's attractiveness.

[tufsu1]

Btw, its possible to have a gated community integrated within an urban setting.  The Parks at Cathedral and St. Johns Villas in Five Points are two examples that come to mind.

hey now...I hate to think that I live in a gated community 

[cityimrov]

My impression is that they are popular in Florida because the snowbirds like the idea that their home is safe during their extended times away. But it has moved into the mainstream here to increase a certain property's attractiveness.

If that's how it was, gated communities make pretty good sense.  If I'm here only 3 months of the year, a HoA controlled with some type of upkeep service would be a pretty decent idea.  Now how did that idea turn into what it is today?

[uptowngirl]

Some people like being told what to do and when to do it, what color their house and their neighbors house should be, what time the garage door should be open or closed, when to cut the grass and what flowers to plant in their yard. Mostly not because they think they have bad taste, but because they can't trust those "other people" to have good taste. I had a co-worker tell me his neighbor is sooo tacky, he painted checkerboxes on his garage and the whole neighborhood is up in arms now LOL!

[blizz01]

St. Augustine started as a gated community.......

[Dog Walker]

St. Augustine started as a gated community.......

That's because it had walls to keep the English out!  LOL!  Good one!

[JaxNative68]

^ i thought it was the french from their Jacksonville gated community.  i guess the spanish taught the french a lesson about how safe a gated community really is.

[north miami]

It's the desire for above all,safety.And a predictive capability as to future growth impacts within a defined area..

As to the comment about a general concern about "black people",again-safety.Real or perceived.
My once idyllic native North Miami,once the epicenter of diversity embrace,has now swung to not diverse and frankly unsafe for the Class of 74 thanks to the black influx.
I can not believe so many can not or will not acknowledge the issues.
Just an hour ago I had customers from Fort Lauderdale in the office-they were complaining bitterly about Lauderdale.And if they were to move here (and boy,are we ever ready to sell against Evil South Florida!!),where exactly would they move to?
I in fact am often asked for ideas on where to move.
And I am counter intuitive,having left Clay county in favor of Riverside Avondale.

People take a stand according to where they sit.

[Dog Walker]

^ i thought it was the french from their Jacksonville gated community.  i guess the spanish taught the french a lesson about how safe a gated community really is.

Francis Drake and other English pirat....er... privateers had been raiding cities all over Spanish America.  Forts to protect the harbor entrances and walls to protect the cities were built all over.  Havana has an almost identical fort to the one in St. Augustine. Ask Ock about the one in Columbia.

Everybody wanted to live in a "gated community" in those days!

[spuwho]

St. Augustine started as a gated community.......

Good one. I like it!

To keep out those British pirates!