RESIDENTIAL SATISFACTION IN A CONDOMINIOS EXCLUSIVOS (GATE-GUARDED NEIGHBORHOODS) IN BRAZIL

Many neighborhoods in contemporary Brazilian cities, known as condomin ios exclusivos (CE) (exclusive condominiums), are surrounding themselv es with walls or fences and using security gates to control access. By reinforcing spatial differentiation, turning inwards, and avoiding ti le rest of the city, CEs are dramatically affecting urban form. This a rticle describes our study of an important aspect of the Brazilian CE phenomenon: specifically, satisfaction among CE residents. We used a s tructured questionnaire to study residential satisfaction in one CE. N ot surprisingly, residents are highly satisfied with living in a CE. H owever, the reasons why they moved into the CE do not coincide with wh y they like living there now. Three main factors that predict resident ial satisfaction in CEs are their: a) location, b) safety, and c) uniq ue characteristics.