Calgary developers have received the green light to build a gated community of 22 mansions on a man-made island in a fake lake.
Hopewell Residential's plan to add a gate to the pending development on its Mahogany Manor Island has been controversial. In 2001, Calgary's city council banned new gated developments, according to the Calgary Sun, picturing a more inclusive future for the city.
On Thursday, Calgary's planning commission rejected that ban and gave Hopewell the go-ahead to add a gate to the first of two planned island neighbourhoods, according to the National Post. City planners had recommended the commission refuse the request for the gate.
The 22 homes will be built on the island in a man-made lake in the southeastern suburbs of Calgary.
Hopewell advertises that the island will include private docks and lake access, as well as a "Distinctive Island Collection entry feature." Calbridge Homes, the builder for the project, advertises that homes in the neighbourhood will start at $1.2 million. Five have already been sold.
Model homes come with names like The Bentley and The Maserati II and most are in the mid-3,000-square-foot range.
Gated communities were criticized earlier this year by United Nations housing chief Joan Clos as an "expression of increased inequality, increased uneasiness in accepting diversity."
"The ideal city is not one with gated communities, security cameras, a futuristic scene from Blade Runner, dark and dramatic, with profound unhappiness … We need to at least build a city where happiness is possible and where public space is really for everybody," Clos said.
Gated communities are popular in the United States but also in many other countries, particularly in Latin America, Asia, and the Gulf states.
Dubai in the United Arab Emirates has captured global attention with its luxury man-made island projects, Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and The World.
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