socioeconomic status and income levels can vary significantly across communities. Criminologists Nicholas Branic and Charis Kubrin have argued that the "affluent, high socioeconomic status gated communities" of popular imagination in fact represent just one type of gated community. Ed Blakely distinguishes between "prestige communities" of the rich and socially distinguished and "security zones", in which safety is the main goal. Nevertheless, much of the literature points to gated communities as contributing to greater social seclusion and segregation. Common motivations for moving into them are fear of crime and a desire to escape demographic change — gated communities are generally ethnically homogenous. Alternatively, a 2015 Urban Studies article argued that while gated communities in the southwestern United States entrenched social segregation, no effect was present for racial segregation, as the streets they bordered tended to already be segregated on a racial level. Uruguay Gated communities in Uruguay are known locally as 'barrios privados' or private neighbourhoods. There is no official data on how widespread gated communities in Uruguay are, but by 2013 at least 20 were known to exist in the Maldonado Department, seven in the Canelones Department, seven in Rocha, one in Soriano, and two in Rio Negro. Gated communities had experienced "huge growth" by 2020, and were a popular choice for foreigners with families, although rental returns are reportedly low and the properties will not necessarily appreciate in value. While socially exclusive areas exist in the capital Montevideo, such as the Carrasco barrio, the closing of streets is not permitted and attempts to build gated communities within the city limits have been refused. Contrary to what might be assumed, research has found that gated communities in this country do not increase residential segregation as they select for affluent people who already experience a high degree of segregation. These residents tend to be a very homogenous group in age, family stage, and social class. La Tahona and Carmel are two of the most prominent gated communities located just outside Montevideo in the Canelones Department and nearby to the Zonamerica business park and Carrasco International Airport. La Tahona and Carmel both adjoin Camino de los Horneros, a road immediately north of Ciudad de la Costa that connects to multiple gated communities with 2000 homes in total, though these numbers are expected to eventually treble. Numerous gated communities have also been constructed in Punta Del Este. Demand for gated communities in Uruguay