The interpretations of gated communities from the Malaysian gating experience

Abstract

Principally, gated community is a walled and guarded housing area that is managed by some sort of internal governance. However, this interpretation is hardly generalizable since the experience with gating differs between countries. This paper attempts to place another input of international comparison in learning gated community characters in the literature, particularly in showing how the gating experiences may influence the interpretation of this housing form within a local setting. From the review made on the Malaysian experience, it was clear that the gated communities were entirely a market-driven product; the supply was dominated by private housing developers; and, hassimilar characters as mentioned above. However, with government intervention, the interpretation of this housing form has changed until it is now not simply a walled and guarded housing area with internal governance, but mainly characterised by its tenure. This situation implies that the understanding of gated communities between the policy and the practice is conflicting; thus, becomes a significant basis for further studies on the industry players’ preferences in developing gated communities.