Title: Fortressed Development: High Fences, Inequality, and the Misallocation of Social Capital in Urban Uganda
Authors: Asiimwe Isaac Kazaara, Musiimenta Nancy
Volume: 9
Issue: 11
Pages: 361-369
Publication Date: 2025/11/28
Abstract:
Urban Uganda is experiencing fortressed development characterized by high perimeter walls and security fences that physically separate communities along socioeconomic lines, potentially disrupting traditional patterns of social capital distribution and cross-class interaction. This study investigated the relationship between fortified urban development and social capital misallocation across socioeconomic boundaries in urban Uganda. Employing a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, the research surveyed 780 households stratified across high-fortification gated communities, moderate-fortification individual compounds, and low-fortification open neighborhoods in Kampala, Entebbe, and Jinja between March and September 2024. Quantitative data collection utilized adapted World Bank Social Capital Assessment Tool scales measuring network diversity, bonding and bridging capital, generalized trust, and resource access, complemented by systematic documentation of physical barrier characteristics. Qualitative components included 45 in-depth interviews, 12 key informant interviews, and 6 focus group discussions exploring security perceptions, social interactions, and community cohesion. Statistical analyses employed hierarchical multiple regression, structural equation modeling, and social network metrics to examine relationships between fortification and social capital outcomes while controlling for demographic and socioeconomic confounders. Results revealed significant sociodemographic stratification across fortification levels, with high-fortification residents earning seven times more than low-fortification households and exhibiting substantially higher fence heights (3.8m versus 0.8m), electric fencing prevalence (67.7% versus 2.3%), and gated community residence (73.8% versus 0%). A striking paradox emerged: low-fortification neighborhoods demonstrated 66% higher bridging social capital, nearly three times more frequent cross-class interactions, and significantly elevated generalized trust and collective efficacy compared to fortified communities, despite the latter's 102% higher resource access scores. Hierarchical regression demonstrated that fortification characteristics explained an additional 21.9% of variance in bridging capital beyond demographic factors, with fence height emerging as the strongest negative predictor (?=-0.34, p<0.001). Structural equation modeling revealed that fortification's total effect on bridging capital (?=-0.72, p<0.001) operated primarily through three indirect pathways: reduced cross-class contact frequency (28% of total effect), increased network homophily (21%), and elevated perceived social distance (13%), with 61% of total impact mediated through disrupted social interaction patterns. The findings establish that fortressed development in urban Uganda systematically misallocates social capital by trapping resources, networks, and opportunities within elite enclaves while excluding marginalized populations from mobility-facilitating connections, creating a dual urban society where spatial segregation reinforces inequality cycles. The study recommends implementing progressive urban planning regulations limiting fence heights and mandating mixed-income developments, establishing community-based security alternatives to individual fortification, and developing structured bridging programs that facilitate cross-class connections and resource sharing across fortification divides.