The virtuous discourses of private communities

This article reviews research on the contemporary marketing of private communities. Ultimately, the success of this marketing relies upon some existing or insipient consumer preferences. The urban studies literature offers at least five related sets of explanations for the emergence of desires for privatised residential communities, which we outline in this article. Yet, the research to date on the selling of private residential communities has tended to investigate specific features of private communities (e.g. demand, supply, representation and discourse) and has eschewed a more holistic encapsulation of the phenomenon. We use this article to propose a holistic approach that contemplates the 'virtuous cycles' that favour private community growth.