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Gated communities raise new issues for American cities. In these walled residential neighbourhoods with security and controlled access, public space has been privatised. The result is the division of the city into homogeneous, self-sufficient communities, pushing for political or tax independence. These closed, segregated territories are studied through the discontinuity of urban forms, their degree of differentiation with the neighbouring areas, and the political and legal issues they raise. This paper assesses the integration into the city of these communities and their new urban lifestyle.