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Call for papers AAG Annual Meeting, New Orleans, April 10-14 2018 Gating communities: An open perspective on gated living in cities Organizers: Simone Pekelsma (Radboud University Nijmegen) & Arnoud Lagendijk (Radboud University Nijmegen) Gated communities form a contested and much debated urban phenomenon. In academia, but also in both international and local policy circles and media, they have been extensively criticized and praised at the same time. Today, gated communities have not only taken on the shape of luxurious villa parks, but also come in the form of mixed-use mega-projects, mid-rise apartment blocks for middle class families or even social housing projects. The growing global diversification and spread of what could (potentially) be labelled as ‘gated communities’ gives rise to important questions not only related to these communities themselves, but also to the larger practice of gating and its impact on cities. The (academic) debate on gated communities however, still tends to favor a rather one-dimensional focus. Gated communities are often considered to be either good or bad, promoting either segregation or integration, isolation or contact. In addition, much research on gated communities is rooted in a ‘critical’ approach that tends to utilize gated communities as symbols for the unforgiving, capitalized and financialized forces of neoliberalism. As such, gated communities are frequently portrayed as dystopian representations of the urban, leading to unhappy and segregated cities. In the past few years, we have seen some important efforts to go beyond this binary debate on gated communities, with for example Bagaeen & Uduku (2015) criticizing “the flattening of gating into a single dominant meaning”, and widening the scope of research to also include wider, “more contemporary modes and methods of exclusion” (p. xix). This session aims to further develop this critique and approach. We invite contributions providing and stimulating a more open, analytical perspective on gated communities and urban gating, leaving room for context, multiplicity and perhaps even some more hopeful narratives. We welcome papers that provide: * interesting viewpoints and insights on/in gated communities in the broadest sense; * explorations of new theoretical and methodological approaches towards gated communities and gating practices in cities; * new, provoking thoughts on the future of gated communities and gated living in cities; * case studies on gated communities presenting new perspectives and outcomes; * comparative approaches revealing distinct ways housing strategies and practices infuse the development of gated communities in different territories. Potential session participants should send an abstract of maximum 250 words to Simone Pekelsma [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> by 15 October 2018. We will get back to you as soon as possible. Please note that participants are also expected to register and submit their abstracts through the AAG website themselves. References: Bagaeen, S. & Uduku, O. (2015). Beyond Gated Communities. Routledge, London/New York.