Gated Housing Estates in the Arab World: Case Studies in Lebanon and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The authors analyze the cultural, economic, and political background of new gated housing estates in the Arab world with the aid of case studies in Lebanon and Riyadh. Their question is to what extent these developments represent a reappearance of the fragmented settlement patterns in many of the old towns. On the one hand, new compounds of several villas and common facilities housing extended families in Riyadh may be interpreted as a revival of certain sociospatial settings in the old town, in which extended families often shared a common courtyard. The compounds for Western foreigners in Saudi Arabia follow the principle of spatial seclusion of social groups with different cultural and religious backgrounds—a principle of the sociospatial organization of many old towns in the Arab world. The emergence of gated housing estates in Lebanon, on the other hand, has obvious and specific sociopolitical origins in the 20th century. The failure of public regimentation and provision created a gap, which was partially filled by the private sector. For their mostly wealthy clientele, gated housing estates offer private small-scale solutions to nationwide problems.