The rise of gated communities in Israel: Reflections on changing urban governance in a neo-liberal era

This study examines the contemporary development of gated communities in Israel, linking the phenomenon to global trends in privatisation, associated with the rise of neo-liberal landscapes. It is argued that assertions on weakening state intervention and strengthening influence of the market, oversimplify the complex interplay of private developers, public planning institutions and third-sector organisations. Neo-liberal urban governance does not imply the demise of regulation, but rather its changing nature. Although public awareness of gated communities was late to develop in Israel, in part because earlier forms of gating blurred its development, evidence reveals that social and environmental third-sector organisations are important new stakeholders involved in the production of gated spaces through their impact on public policy, balancing the 'disciplining' impact of market organisations.