The Divided city: gentrification and ghettoization  
Within the cityscape there are different ways of maintaining distance from the ‘other’. In different social contexts there are processes of exclusion that are distinctive of those places. In the article by Ali Madanipour, the author discusses how city design helped keep the perceived ‘other’ at a distance. “Physically, it has been translated into creating spatial enclaves with the help of spatial barriers between social groups, using distance and walls to keep them apart”. It is argued that the property market and with zoning policy has further consolidated the social geography of the fragmented cities. Both suburbanization and redevelopment/renewal of the city-centre favours the growing middle classes. The notion of defensible spaces arose which referred to spaces where communities are expected to have control over the areas outside their homes. This control was represented by walls, gates, presence of security and surveillance cameras. Gentrification of the cities and ghettoization are the two-sides of the same coin in the new urban landscape. They are spatial manifestation of exclusivity and exclusion. While in the former case resources are exclusively managed and enjoyed by those who can afford it, the latter suffers from lack of access to resources. These processes also get entwined with the question of race and ethnicity. The kind of ghettoization that has been witnessed along class/race lines in America and along the line of ethnicity/class groups in India are cases that illustrate this point.