The emotional life of privileged spaces: security and exclusion in Chinese gated communities

Gated residential living in cities around the world has been closely linked to social fear and the search for exclusivity. However, despite objectively low rates of violent crime in contemporary Chinese cities, the demand for fortified gated living continues to surge. Residents of elite gated communities in contemporary Chinese cities parallel, with some important differences, many social practices of withdrawal and disengagement found in the West. Through extensive qualitative investigation, we see how a nascent urban upper-middle class folds together issues of social status, predictability, and security. Enclosed urban spaces appear to assist in consolidating the class position and power of the privileged, but simultaneously generate an illusion of security that exacerbates internal psychological vulnerabilities. These spaces mark social standing and differentiation from those outside their controllable residential space. Despite their social, emotional, and physical ambitions, resident accounts are filled with fear and uncertainty about potentially risky social groups within these security bubbles due to the lack of informal social control. Our evidence shows how physical space is utilized to shore up class positions while managing social fears. Uncovering the emotional landscapes around spaces of elite urbanity helps reconsider future questions of creating more open and just cities.