Wineke: Some securities gates can't buy
11:18 PM 6/01/04
Bill Wineke Wisconsin State Journal

Gated communities seem to be Madison's latest rich-folks trend. <

As this newspaper reported Tuesday, Oregon's Bergamont subdivision - where houses will sell for between $700,000 and $800,000 - is the latest example. Bergamont will join Bishop's Bay near Middleton and Whaler's Cove in Westport as communities with locked entrances. <

Tiffany Thom, communications director for the Madison Area Builders Association, says the trend is "customer driven. People are looking for a more intimate, community feeling." <

Well, that about says it all. <

If you make enough money to buy an $800,000 house, the next thing you want is a neighborhood. But you don't want just any old neighborhood, you want one that will keep the rest of us out. <

It's all very sad, not for those of us who are locked out but for those who are locked in. <

That's because, in my opinion, at least, gated communities - and communities that cater only to the wealthy in general - fail to meet the three tests of a good neighborhood: <

In a good community there is a sense of diversity: You meet young and old, rich and poor, tradesmen and professionals. <

In a good community, there is an opportunity for showing off. Those community members who do well build the biggest houses and gain at least a modicum of satisfaction in demonstrating their success. <

In a good community, children dream about making it big and buying the house on the hill. <

But, if all your neighbors have homes that sell for $800,000, you don't get any of those qualities. <

You surely won't have diversity. Although your new neighbors may have begun their climb as mechanics or plumbers or butchers, they don't do that anymore. They may own the companies but their reputations no longer rest on how well they wield a hammer or wrench. <

It will be pretty hard for you to put on the dog. If your neighbor's house costs $800,000, what are you going to do? Build a house for $900,000? At some point, doesn't it become meaningless? <

But, the saddest part of moving to a neighborhood segregated by wealth is that your children won't have the sense of security you enjoyed growing up in a less affluent community. They won't be required to interact with young and old, rich and poor, with town drunks and with little old ladies in tennis shoes. So, they'll never feel comfortable with those who are different. <

In fact, the children will at some point realize that they most likely will never be able to afford to live in the kind of home in which they were raised. Their future, for the most part, will be outside the gates. <

I think that's sad. I think most of us have some affection for our "homes," the places we grew up. I think most of us - even though we will probably never move back - like to think there is a place for us there. <

Nevertheless, it's a free country. People can move wherever they wish. But, if you're seeking an "intimate community feeling," locking the rest of the community out may not do the trick. <

Reach Bill Wineke at bwineke@madison.com or at 252-6146.