Gated Communities and the Construction of Social Class Markers in Postsocialist Societies: The Case of Poland

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze how social class markers are constructed in the discourse on gated communities in a postsocialist urban context. The case of Poland is used as an example of a post-Communist country where the number of gated communities is increasing rapidly in urban areas. The material of study consists of 50 articles published in the largest national newspaper. This article argues that the discourse on gated communities is constituted by and constitutes class divisions and social class markers prevalent in the country since the fall of Communism. The “new” capitalistic system with its inherent social divisions is described as creating demands for “new” forms of housing where gates function as separators, protectors, and class identifiers. Residential differentiation is a reality in Polish society, and private space has become a symbol of exclusivity and spread throughout the country along with the popularity of gated forms of housing.

Social Consequences of Gated Communities: The Case of Suburban Warsaw

“…This field is still underresearched, although there are a number of studies addressing the phenomenon. Most of them concentrate on gated communities in Warsaw (Gąsior-Niemiec et al 2007;Gądecki 2007Gądecki , 2009Zaborska 2007;Mostowska 2009;Owczarek 2011; G orczy nska 2012), although there are some concerning other big Polish cities, such as Gda nsk (Polanska 2010a(Polanska , 2010b(Polanska , 2011, Wroclaw (Kajdanek 2009), and º od z (Tobiasz-Lis 2012). Presently, gated communities are common in both large and medium-sized cities and within the adjacent suburban areas (Brodowski 2013).…”

“…Its members tended to mark their social status more than their counterparts in Western European countries. Polanska (2010aPolanska ( , 2010bPolanska ( , 2011 emphasized that, in addition to gating, housing forms and conditions have played an important role as social class markers in a society characterized by post-1989 economic polarization and Social Consequences of Gated Communities 3 the ineffective production of housing. This explains the appearance of small-scale, secluded, and private walled and gated housing estates.…”

Urban policy and the rise of gated housing in post-socialist Poland

“…Studies show that the privatization of the housing stock strengthened already existing inequalities in the distribution of housing, not only among different social groups but also in space, within cities and among the urban and rural areas of post-socialist countries (Struyk 1996;Pichler-Milanovich 2001). In addition, the increasing social polarization created demands for new and more exclusive types of housing among the wealthier segments of the Polish population (Polanska 2010b(Polanska , 2013 and gated communities satisfied that demand by functioning as prestige markers (Jałowiecki and Łukowski 2007). In the case of Poland, the ''winners'' of the transformation moved to gated forms of housing as they spread throughout the country.…”

“…Moreover, there is also a demand for gated forms of housing among Poles as housing has become an important status marker in the Polish society, as a result of increasing socio-economic inequalities and differences in standard of old and new housing. In this context gated communities have become the 'symbol of exclusivity' (Polanska 2010b).…”

“…The situation in Poland is particularly interesting since the capital itself is home to over 400 gated communities (Gądecki 2012), and the phenomenon's popularity has been observed in other cities all over the country such as Gdańsk, Gdynia, Płock, Bydgoszcz, Białystok, Katowice, Kraków, Radom, Poznań, and Olsztyn in the years 2003(Polanska 2010b. 1 This article is a contribution to this limited field of knowledge on gated housing in Poland, with a focus on the national legislation in its understanding of the phenomenon.…”