I chose to study gated communities for my
final project due in part to recent news stories. This includes the Reeva Steenkamp murder case and the Trayvon Martin murder case. Both of these events took place in gated
communities and challenged my initial beliefs. I always assume that these
communities were immune to this type of violence. Once I began reading up on
the topic I realized that gated communities were heavily linked to the course
material. This includes links to ontological
insecurity, vocabulary of motives and conspicuous consumption. It was also becoming clear that the promises
these communities were making were largely superficial and that their true
purpose was more about the semblance of being secure rather than actually being
secure.
I believe that gated communities are an important case study for criminologists. Finding ways to make our society a safer place to live should always be a concern of a criminologist. These communities are marketed as safer alternatives to living in the general population and therefore determining the validity of that claim is a job well suited for a criminologist. After reading material about gated communities and simply paying attention to the news it has become clear to me that this claim is not valid. That doesn’t mean criminology should not pay attention to these communities in fact I believe the opposite. More attention needs to be focused on these communities and their true impacts on society and individuals. From my short study I was able to determine that these communities perpetuate the issues people face in late modernity with the main issue being ontological insecurity.
The marketing of gated communities and the actual gated community itself will be used as evidence throughout the blog. The marketing of security products such as security systems will also be called upon. Finally real cases will be reference in certain sections as evidence of failure in upholding the main promise of any gated community that of ensured security.
I believe that gated communities are an important case study for criminologists. Finding ways to make our society a safer place to live should always be a concern of a criminologist. These communities are marketed as safer alternatives to living in the general population and therefore determining the validity of that claim is a job well suited for a criminologist. After reading material about gated communities and simply paying attention to the news it has become clear to me that this claim is not valid. That doesn’t mean criminology should not pay attention to these communities in fact I believe the opposite. More attention needs to be focused on these communities and their true impacts on society and individuals. From my short study I was able to determine that these communities perpetuate the issues people face in late modernity with the main issue being ontological insecurity.
The marketing of gated communities and the actual gated community itself will be used as evidence throughout the blog. The marketing of security products such as security systems will also be called upon. Finally real cases will be reference in certain sections as evidence of failure in upholding the main promise of any gated community that of ensured security.