INSIDE
THE GATED
COMMUNITY
By Stephen Metzger Managing Director
Small Vehicle Resource , LLC smetzger @ smallvehicleresource . com www . smallvehicleresource . com
Vision of the Future : The Gated Community , A Model for Urban Mobility Systems ?
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Gated communities are sometimes view-by both non-residents and residents alike — as a collective of families and individuals separated from the rest of civilization by clear boundaries and a gate ( or several gates ). Gated communities are also associated with the senior population , despite the fact that young families populate many of them as well . Indeed , to a large extent , this characterization may be accurate .
In addition to the physical and demographic descriptors , gated communities have an air of efficiency about them , as they are noted for the combination of consumer amenities , including restaurants , recreation facilities , theatres , and libraries — and sometimes schools . Moreover , rules and regulations are in place so that residents can easily get from point A to point B — quickly and without traffic delays .
The vehicles used in the transportation network are also key to this environment . They are small and are quick and agile enough to be both fun and efficient . These vehicles are also fuel efficient and essentially non-polluting by conventional automobile and truck standards .
WWW . GOLFCAROPTIONS . COM
New vehicle developments : New wine in old wineskins ?
As previous columns have discussed , there are a plethora of new developments with regard to small vehicles and drive systems . Most , but not all these new vehicle concepts emanate from Europe where there has been intense focus on electrification of the transportation system and the reduction of air-borne pollutants caused by conventional ICE vehicles ( consumer and commercial ). Europeans are also concerned with urban congestion which result in inordinate delays and is a serious source of pollution as well .
These concerns are also prevalent in the United States and becoming more so , but , compared to Europe , the top-down planning which is required to deal with the situation is far less prevalent . Both in urban environments and in gated communities the introduction of faster , more efficient small vehicles is slow to take hold .
Figure 1 The five-passenger Uniti
Take for example two vehicles featured in previous columns .
To the left is the five-passenger Uniti , developed