Private Governments and Private Services: Homeowners Associations in the City and Behind the Gate

In this article, we examine homeowners associations (HOAs) as private providers of what are traditionally considered local government services: streets, security, recreation, maintenance, and public works (e.g., water, drainage, sewerage, and trash collection). Although much has been theorized about the nature of such organizations, little empirical data has been collected to examine these prescriptions. We present the results of a 2005 survey of large-scale HOAs to shed light on the characteristics of such associations, and especially the nature of their relationships with local governments that may be providing similar services. We find that the survey raises interesting questions about how these associations interact with local governments, and that the nature of private as opposed to public governance demands further study.