I saw this picture recently, and I thought it was a very strong and polarized representation of gated communities, but with a slightly different twist than we've been talking about. Much of our discussion has centered around "tiered" communities where populations are very separated, but are all recognized as "being from" that geographic area.

These photos were taken in the Dominican Republic, one in a fancy resort neighborhood and the other in a small, poor village not far away. We all know about the division and inequality represented by expensive resorts and upscale tourism in developing countries, but in the context of our discussions today, it is interesting that the resort community is populated and supported typically by foreigners. Although they don't live permanently here, and different ones cycle through by the week, foreigners are the reason these communities exist, and are the basis for the social and economic exclusion that defines and regulates these areas. Even though they are only there for a week or so, the foreigners have a right to a very desirable part of this land, to which the local people, who live there and have lived there their whole lives, are not afforded access.

-Rebecca Willett