Neighborhood Violence and Gated Communities

One thing that should be discussed in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting and the subsequent trial of George Zimmerman, and that should also enter the discourse given America's abnormally high gun crime rate, is the role of neighborhood design in public safety.



Trayvon Martin (an African American) was killed in a gated community by a man, George Zimmerman (Caucasian and Peruvian), who claimed only that he “looked suspicious”.



Discussion on the nature of this event has focused primarily on Martin's appearance, Zimmerman's actions and previous history with law enforcement, racial politics, and weapons usage. However, almost no attention was paid to the location of the crime.

The purpose of a gated community is to keep criminals out, an objective that is met with mixed results. A side effect of this is that anyone who is not immediately recognizable is viewed suspiciously and assumed to be undesirable. This is especially problematic with minorities, who are generally viewed as lower-income and predisposed to criminal behavior. This was the case with Trayvon. Zimmerman is believed to have asked him what his purpose for being in the neighborhood was after Trayvon asked Zimmerman why he was following him.

In addition to this, it is worth examining the typical resident of a gated community. Often, personal safety is their number one priority (hence the gates), and not necessarily solid community building. This same group is also a vigorous supporter of gun ownership. This is another important aspect of the Trayvon Martin shooting, local police urged George Zimmerman to procure a firearm several months prior to the shooting taking place.

Another aspect that comes into play is the weapons effect, which notes that the presence of weapons (usually firearms) can aid in rapidly accelerating violent scenarios, even if the weapons are not actually used in commission of those acts.



These circumstances can combine to create communities with unusually high senses of fear and paranoia, despite the illusion of safety offered by limited access to the community. This is evidenced by the fact that crime rates in gated communities are on par with crime rates in non-gated communities.

All of these factors combined can create a vicious cycle of violence. Criminal activity can incite senses of fear, which can lead residents of the community to procure weapons. The presence of these weapons can later lead to commission of more violent acts, which can then lead residents to buy more weapons. It seems that this is what happened in the case of Trayvon Martin.