Enclosurotopias: A Heterotopian Simulation of Reality

Abstract

Michel Foucault identifies heterotopias as forms of space that exists somewhere between reality and utopia. It’s real but does not serve or correspond to reality. What appears to be real within heterotopias is the notion of signs, a parallel hyperreal world that encompasses the definition of reality to an extent that it has become the actual meaning of being. Gated communities have long been categorized as the places where fragments of utopia and simulation coexist, and where the illusion of safety flourishes in its most vivid forms. This paper attempts to highlight such heterotopian features within gated communities, with an analytical focus on the Fuyunxindu community in the Tiexi district of Shenyang – a highly controlled residential zone that gave rise to the insider/outsider dichotomy. Through this outlook, the reader gets to answer a simple question: What kind of spatial vision do gated communities provide within the urban realm? Keywords: Gated Communities; Heterotopias; Chinese Urbanism; Neoliberalism; Contemporary Urbanization.