How residential density relates to social interactions? Similarities and differences of moderated mediation models in gated and non-gated communities

Density and community enclosure are the most widely applied policy tools for residential environments. The effectiveness of these policies is often assessed by the social impacts imposed on local communities. A serious gap in the relationship between density and social outcomes is that present literature deals with internal and external density separately and ignores the role of community enclosure in social procedures. Recent studies have declared that to achieve the desired environmental quality, individuals’ perceptions of density should be considered. They have also highlighted that high perceived density predicts low social interactions and territoriality is a well-established mediator of this association. The present paper investigates the similarities and differences of the causal effect between perceived density and social interactions in gated and non-gated communities. A survey was distributed to a sample of 522 habitants residing in six neighborhoods. Presented moderated mediation models suggest that in both types of communities, territoriality mediates the effect of perceived density on social interactions. In non-gated communities residents who perceive a high level of interior crowding may experience the strengthened negative effects of high perceived density on social outcomes. Instead, in gated communities, when perceived interior crowding is high, a higher level of correlation exists between territoriality and social interactions. This finding supports the idea that the residents’ incapability to achieve the desired level of privacy encourages boundary-control behavior in shared spaces.