Let’s give each other the benefit of the doubt. In this country there are many types of gated communities. You have to be able to afford the housing inside, but this does not impose any color barriers that didn’t exist without the gate. A neighborhood of houses, in most of America, are of relatively the same price level (assume equal care and condition). Cost of living is the color filter, if any. The gate is not.
I have direct experience with four different types of gated community, so here are some examples:
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Manned guardhouse. I think my uncle lives in one of these, in Orlando (less than a mile from Gatorland!). Much more user-friendly than the others. When we were down there recently, after a couple of visits the guard recognized us and was always friendly.
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Unmanned guardhouse. Then you need a code, or to call someone to get you buzzed in. Can be a very big pain, even if your sister-in-law knows you’re coming. Also if you’re a Dominos Pizza driver, like I once was. There was a very large gated neighborhood on the outskirts of our delivery area. Customers in there would have to meet us at the gates. If they were late we would have to wait, and lose time/money.
3, 4. Small apartment or condo complex, manned or unmanned. Different reasons for it here, such as very limited parking. Otherwise really the same plusses/minuses as the others.
My experience with #2 above does not fit the crime protection model as well. The one I’m thinking of was on the outskirts of Detroit’s suburbia when it was built, in Farmington Hills or West Bloomfield in the early 80s. Crime could not have been a big deal there at the time.
For most gated communities I think one of the main concerns is crime. It’s a lot harder for your house to get emptied by burglars while you’re on vacation, for example, if there’s a gate keeping unauthorized visitors out. I’m sure it could be defeated by clever criminals, but fortunately most criminals are not. Same goes for car theft. Smaller-scale vandalism could happen from within the neighborhood, but much of it from outside may also be prevented.
For the urban or semi-urban locations, having a gate can also protect your parking spaces. Some people will park wherever they can, and don’t care if your name or number is on a spot. The gate helps with this.
The answer? Some. You are only one member of your community, so you should have a percentage of input on this. But so does everyone else. If all of you decided to have a gate, hopefully you thought it through. You can’t control who your neighbors let in, but random entries are limited.
Like Gilby said, don’t sell yourself short. Having discussions like this, if you keep an open mind, will add to your experience. Also the more people you know, in the more different types of living arrangement, the more experience you will have about the goods and bads of those.
If you’re asking if we can do what people have been doing for years, I think you have your answer. But how? Again, things might work differently for the UK. Here, I know you can’t just get together with your neighbors and decide to put a gate across some public roads. Also I may be wrong about this, but I’m going to start by assuming the gated community is private property. All of it, including the streets. Then I’m pretty sure they can do all sorts of things, long as they don’t conflict with other laws.
House, exactly. the idea is an extra layer of protection for your house, property and family. Can you put a fence around your property? Why not, it’s your property. I think the average gated community is just an extension of that.
I don’t know what that means. Unless AOL has recently changed drastically, I’m going to assume it still sucks (I used to be “unicycle@aol.com” before I knew any better).
CONCLUSION:
Anyway, forgot to wrap it all up. I’m not a big fan of gated communities, or neighborhood associations that won’t let you paint your house an interesting color, or lots of other things. But on the other hand I don’t mind if other people choose to isolate themselves in that way, if it works for them. They don’t want “strangers” in their neighborhood? Fine, accept the lack of variety that comes with it. I choose not to live in a gated community.
Then again, my brother-in-law lived in a little one. The gate was clearly there to protect the properties inside, based on the local area outside. Nice houses inside, much older neighboorhood just outside, lots of apartments beyond that. And his gate seemed to not be a hassle like others I’ve had to deal with. Also I know there were at least two Mexicans living in there, and that was just in his house! 
