Fear and segregation: anxiety beyond the gated communities. The Costa Rican case
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Barrantes Chaves, Karla
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Abstract
Fear of crime is a constant concern in Latin America. In Costa Rica, those feeling seems to
be changing the urbanisation patterns; giving way to gated communities. However, those
developments might be increasing feelings of exclusion and anxiety instead of being a measure for
reducing crime. In the last 25 years, the gated communities have been rising; as a result, the traditional
neighbourhoods have to coexist with these new developments. This paper aims to explore the effects
of gated communities over their peripheries, mainly tensions between outside – inside, and how those
tensions fuel fears. The research is taking place within the Greater Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica.
Eight open neighbourhoods were selected, using the poverty indicator basic unfulfilled needs (NBI).
In each case was carried out a walking interview with some community members; those walks were
tracked with a GPS and recorded. Additionally, there were focus groups, observations and interviews.
Some preliminary results suggest significant residential segregation between the neighbourhoods and
the gated communities. It seems the fortification is more than a physical barrier; there is no room for
sharing, which causes misconceptions and fears towards other people.
Description
Esta publicación es parte de una beca otorgada por la Universidad de Costa Rica.
Keywords
Fear of crime, Gated Communities, ANXIETY
Citation
https://www.aesop2019.eu/