Why Gated Communities Are Safer and Cheaper

By Cecil MENSAH

The general notion is that a property in a gated community is a more expensive housing option, and connotes affluence.

If you asked a property developer in Ghana, they were likely to give you a contrasting view. That view will fall into the school of that argues that rather being affluent, a gated community property is more dignifying. The part that raises eyebrows is that a property in a gated community is less expensive than one in a regular, sometimes haphazardly-planned community.

These are arguments some Ghanaian estate developers who were reacting to a recent report by African Leadership Centre in conjunction with the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) on how safe were gated communities in sub-Saharan Africa (including Ghana) in the face of rapid urbanization and poverty

The July 4 edition of Business Day carried an article culled from Africa Briefing, which highlighted that "Taking Ghana as an example, a global research project on Safe and Inclusive Cities (SAIC) has shown that wealthy gated-communities in the country are less safe from crime than low-income areas in urban areas."

The study had been carried out over a three-year period - from 2013 to 2016 - by research team from the University of Ghana's ISSER to discover the link between crime and poverty in urban Ghana, focusing on neighbourhoods in Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi, and Tamale.

The study was part of the SAIC global research programme supporting 15 multidisciplinary teams working in 40 cities across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America to find the connections between urban violence, poverty and inequality.

"Household surveys show that crime rates in low and middle-income areas were much higher than high-income areas, with personal thefts against individuals most reported. However, more affluent areas reported a higher sense of fear and perceived crime as a significant issue.

"In such wealthy areas, 'fortressing' (building high walls with barbed wire on top of properties) intended to prevent crime may actually increase it. Links to the community tend to reduce crime over the long term, but 'fortressing' seems to weaken residents' links to the community," the Africa Briefing article referenced the report.

Safer and cheaper

Now, Mr. Isaac Ntimoah, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Lakeside Estates Company Limited, disagrees to a large extent. He told Business Day that demand for gated communities is growing as people want to live in secured places across the urban areas of the country.

Added to the safety is affordability of gated community properties. According to him, the amount of money people invest in owning houses in non-gated areas is higher than living in a gated community property.

Even though he did not back his argument with statistics, he further said that gated communities also add value to the development of the nation as well as the communities in which they are located.

He maintained that gated communities bring serenity because people do not hawk around and are not allowed to mount kiosks in front of their houses haphazardly.

Moreover, gated communities give an assurance that belongings of tenants are safe since the gated communities make it difficult for intruders to come in even in the absence of tenants.

In view of this, he maintained that it is advisable to encourage people to opt for gated community properties.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Koans Estates Company Limited, Kofi Anokye, supports the argument that it is less expensive living in a gated community property.

Building a house is a huge burden on Ghanaians, many of whom have not taken a look at it over the years, he observed.

"Many people, particularly the working class, are wasting fat moneys on building their own houses in the country," he posited.

Meanwhile, living in a gated community is like living in a family with one head being the estate developer or the manager, who caters for the needs of the members of the family.

"In a gated community property the needs of the tenants are catered for by the estate developer. You can't live in a gated community and be worried about your plumbing problems.

"In such a situation, the tenant has to report the issue to the estate developer who takes action at his expense," he stated.

He cited that if you take a hundred-acre land, only ten acres can be used for a gated community because it is expensive maintaining a gated community property in the country even though it has proven to be the best form of housing.

"Maintaining a gated community is expensive so the rest of the lands are sold to people who decide to build in their own free-style.

"Therefore there is no control on the kind of buildings because they are in the majority who take the bulk of the lands."

He said even though it is expensive maintaining gated communities, it is the best way of providing affordable housing units for the working class.

Turning attention to the security profile of gated communities, he noted that the gated communities are doing well compared to the areas which are not gated particularly when considering the rate of robberies.

According to him, security and safety in the gated communities are much catered for by the mangers of the gated communities unlike non-gated communities.

Based on these factors, he would like to see gated communities being integrated into larger communities as a mechanism for arresting poverty and violence.

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