ABSTRACT
Gated communities are a worldwide urban phenomenon. However, their features vary within continents and countries. This chapter examines the development of gated communities in Latin America as the residential habitat for upper-class citizens, focusing on the analysis of Buenos Aires and Mendoza, two cities in Argentina. The following section of the chapter discusses the urban dynamic of residential settlements for affluent residents in Latin American countries. The third section concentrates on the historic evolution of gated communities in Argentina, considering the current typology of these closed and private residential compounds. Later, the situation of the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires is examined since it is the geographical area where they have developed most over the last decades. Finally, the evolution of gated communities in the Metropolitan Area of Mendoza, an intermediate city, is considered and compared to the situation in Buenos Aires.
