Rich Use Condo Bylaws to Ensure Class Segregation

While there is a significant amount of growing resentment over the pettiness, corruption, and mismanagement that seem to be growing in condominiums and HOAs – the rich are looking at them to entrench the divide between them and the common riffraff.

For top end bare land condominiums and HOAs, if you don’t want “the help” cluttering your sidewalks – just pass a bylaw indicating they’re not allowed enter the area on foot. And if it’s not apparent who are residents and who are “the help” – just pass a bylaw requirement that domestics (nannies, gardeners, maintenance and builders) must dress in an easily identifiable style indicating they are “the help”.

Seriously. The El Algarrobal II in the ritzy Chicureo area of Santiago banned domestic help from entering the grounds on foot. Golf club Las Bresis de Chicureo mandates domestic help must always be in uniform.

Understandable, it can be downright problematic as a moneyed person that you might mistake a common person as somebody worth having a conversation with. Reminds me of a New Adventures of Old Christine episode I was forced to watch once, where Christine strikes up a friendship with a Portuguese mother at her son’s school only to find out she’s the neighbour’s housekeeper. Awkward!

Anyways, this seems complicated and hard to enforce. What if the uniform wasn’t obvious enough? Maybe it’s too stylish. Wouldn’t it be just easier to issue evey visitor a large id tag with travel and ownership (who they are working for) information that had to be worn prominently on their clothes. Or how about something even simpler like a giant yellow badge.