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GATED URBAN COMMUNITIES: A SEARCH FOR A SATISFYING IDENTITY. CASE STUDY: GREATER CAIRO REGION, EGYPT

REEM MOHAMED REDA 1, YASSER MOHAMED MANSOUR 2, and SHAIMAA MOHAMED KAMEL 3.

Vol 18, No 01 ( 2023 )   |  DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/4PGM5   |   Author Affiliation: Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt 1,2,3.   |   Licensing: CC 4.0   |   Pg no: 1716-1733   |   Published on: 27-01-2023

Abstract

Gated communities first became popular in Egypt in the 1980s as a result of sociocultural and economic changes brought on by globalisation and economic restructuring. When there was available land of a certain size and price, gated communities mainly developed in the suburbs (Singermann and Amar 2006). As a result, gated communities offer residents a means of preserving a certain level of exclusivity while also protecting and promoting their identities. Gated communities are closely related to many important theories and concepts, including social identity, social capital, and sense of community. In actuality, they exacerbate many of the problems that modern society is currently experiencing. To demonstrate this phenomenon, this paper will concentrate on gated communities. Gated Communities are advertised in a way that claims to create and protect an individual's identity, which results in negative effects. Gated communities are frequently perceived as a solution to social and safety issues as a result, but they can actually exacerbate problems like segregation, the privatisation of public resources, the exclusion of certain groups from resources, and security-focused surveillance. This paper initially gives a brief overview of the methodology before reviewing the findings for 408 respondents using cluster sampling, who reside in different types of gated communities along East-West axis in greater Cairo region. The study's goal is to comprehend how gated urban community residents (insiders, social actors) uphold their sense of social identity. Investigating motives and social capital domains, as well as the sense of community that results from the social identity theory, it engages in the identification process. The issue of residents' cognitive reaction to living in a gated community will be best addressed by this action. The process of identifying a motive that will uphold the social identity of gated urban communities can start once the context and conditions have been established. (mills1940), the principal findings Social segregation affects intergroup attitudes, and this connection is believed to be a contributing factor. Intergroup bias seems to have an effect on outcomes such as conceptions, mindsets, and behavioral patterns due to the influence of in-group identity on interpersonal interactions and communication. Residents' sense of identity is bolstered by their strong sense of belonging to a group, which shows how homogeneous and highly valued their group is to them. Intergroup attitudes are also shaped by individual preferences, as residents tend to favor those who are similar to them and detest those they perceive to be different. (Annat and Washinton, 2009), (Massey and Denton, 1993)


Keywords

Social Identity Gated Communities, Segregation, Social Capital, Sense of Community, In-Group Bias.