Henar Baldan

Henar Baldán Lozano is a sociologist specialized in urban studies, housing, and sociospatial analysis. She has authored peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on residential segregation, gated communities, and social inequalities in Southern Europe, and has presented her work at international conferences.
Her publications include journal articles and book chapters on gated communities, class identities, and urban inequalities, as well as contributions to interdisciplinary projects on vulnerable neighbourhoods, digital family dynamics, and landscape perception.

EDUCATION

PhD in Sociology (International Mention), University of Granada, 2025. Dissertation: Urban Fragmentation: Residential Compounds in the Metropolitan Area of Granada (Cum Laude).
Master’s in Social Problems: Management and Social Programs, University of Granada, 2019 (Grade: 9.4/10).
BA in Sociology, University of Granada, 2018 (Final Degree Award).

RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS

Sociology and Political Science

Scopus Publications

‘People Like Us’: Discourse on Class Identity in Residential Compounds
Henar Baldán, Nayla Fuster, Joaquín Susino
Critical Sociology, 2026
Residential compounds have become a widespread and popular way of life. Today, we find a great structural and social diversity of compounds. While evidence suggests that living in the most closed settings, such as gated communities, is often linked to the desire of the upper-middle class’s desire to associate with people of similar status, research on what kind of elective belonging can be found among working classes remains limited. This qualitative study analyses how class identity is constructed through interviews with residents and non-residents of upper-middle and working-class compounds in the metropolitan area of Granada. The results indicate that residents of compounds value the development of a sense of belonging more highly, and reproduce it more noticeably in their discourses, than non-residents. Residential compounds appear to function as status drivers, both materially and symbolically, but operate differently depending on the social composition of the compounds themselves.
Perceiving Vegetation From Social Positions: Discourses on Plants in a Mediterranean Landscape
Javier Jurado‐Pardeiro, Francisco Guerrero, Henar Baldán, Nayla Fuster
Sociology Lens, 2026
Understanding how vegetation is perceived, named and valued requires attention to the social positions from which these perceptions are produced. This article analyses vegetation perception from different social positions based on qualitative research conducted in the province of Jaén (Andalusia, Spain), a Mediterranean landscape characterized by high plant diversity and the predominance of olive cultivation. Drawing on discussion groups with the general population and in‐depth interviews with experts, the study applies sociological discourse analysis to identify patterns of vegetation perception and recognition. The results show that experts and the general population share references to a limited set of socially prominent species, but differ markedly in how vegetation is classified, prioritized and interpreted. Expert discourses rely on technical and ecological classifications, whereas those of the general population are shaped by everyday experience, social uses, memory and sensory recognition. These differences vary systematically according to social position, life trajectories and forms of practical engagement with the plant environment. The study highlights the existence of multiple forms of plant recognition and underscores the contribution of sociological approaches to understanding biodiversity perception and informing more socially attuned environmental management strategies.
Fragmenting urban space: Do residential compounds increase segregation?
Henar Baldán, Nayla Fuster, Isabel Palomares-Linares, Joaquín Susino
European Urban and Regional Studies, 2026
The relationship between social inequality and residential segregation is neither linear nor straightforward, and the same applies to the link between segregation and the expansion of residential compounds – housing developments with shared amenities and varying degrees of physical or symbolic enclosure. While much of the literature assumes that these developments contribute to increasing segregation – particularly in the case of gated communities, which represent the most enclosed form of residential compounds – this relationship has rarely been examined empirically in Europe. A major limitation lies in the lack of systematic data to capture the scale, diversity and spatial embedding of residential compounds. This gap has constrained empirical assessments of their role in contemporary processes of urban differentiation and has tended to overemphasise their most enclosed forms. This article examines the evolution and spatial distribution of residential compounds in the Granada metropolitan area (Southern Spain) over the last four decades. It draws on an original and exhaustive inventory of 642 developments, combined with census-based socio-economic data (1991–2021) and income records from the Spanish Tax Agency (2021), to analyse their relationship with changes in social structure and residential segregation. The findings show that the expansion of residential compounds has not led to higher levels of residential segregation at the metropolitan scale. Instead, it has contributed to a more diffuse pattern of socio-spatial fragmentation, characterised by micro-scale forms of differentiation that are not fully captured by conventional segregation indicators. These results qualify prevailing assumptions about the segregation effects of residential compounds and provide new insights into the dynamics of urban inequality in Mediterranean metropolitan contexts.
Security or tranquillity? what people value in residential compounds
Henar Baldán, Nayla Fuster, Joaquín Susino
Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 2025
The phenomenon of residential compounds is increasingly prevalent in today’s society. Fear of crime is one of the main explanations for the proliferation of gated communities, the most closed type of residential compound. They reflect a privatisation of public space and the desire of the most privileged groups to control access to their residential enclaves. Considering that in Southern Europe this phenomenon exhibits more morphological and social diversity and that crime levels are lower, this paper analyses what residents of these compounds value and explores security as a key residential value in this context. For this purpose, an empirical analysis of 20 interviews was conducted in 2020 in the Granada metropolitan area (Spain), where previous studies have highlighted a wide variety of residential compounds in the urban landscape. Contrary to the general assumptions reported in other studies, our results show that there are no significant concerns about security amongst the residents of residential compounds. Instead, their priorities emphasize a widespread interest in residential comfort, which encompasses various dimensions such as spaciousness, tranquillity and location. This interest is shared by both residents and non-residents of these residential compounds. Therefore, tranquillity emerges as central aspect of residential satisfaction, challenging the stereotypical view that gated communities are primarily associated with security anxieties.
‘I Don’t Intend to Make Friends Among My Neighbours’: The Ideal of Neighbourliness Among Residents of Residential Compounds
Henar Baldán, Nayla Fuster, Joaquín Susino
Sociological Research Online, 2025
Residential compounds are an emerging model of urbanisation at a global level that could promote intra-neighbourhood rapprochement and interaction. However, the intra-neighbourhood relationships that occur in these urbanisations have been studied mainly in the more enclosed and more upper-class compounds. In this paper we analyse the discourses of residents and non-residents in different residential compounds and socio-economic statuses in the Granada (Spain) metropolitan area. The results indicate that there is no desire to establish relationships with neighbours even in this type of residential compound. There is a generalised ideal of neighbourliness based on cordiality (impersonal and respectful relationships). In addition, socio-economic homogeneity seems fundamental for understanding neighbourhood relations and the conflicts that arise.
Beyond Gated Communities: A Typology of Residential Compounds in Granada
Henar Baldán, José Manuel Torrado, Joaquín Susino
Land, 2024
Gated communities have spread globally, though unevenly. However, their early popularity and expansion from North America to other different localities have led to their physical and social diversification (i.e., morphological design and locking mechanisms and their resident profiles, which are not limited to the richest classes). This diversity has resulted in varied and sometimes conflicting concepts and classification criteria. Given this situation, this study aims to propose a typology of these developments that encompasses all current forms, based on an exhaustive census we compiled. We used a broader concept adapted to the research context, that of the ‘Residential Compound’, based on the idea that total closure is not an essential condition for consideration. Although the empirical work is based on the metropolitan area of Granada (Spain), we believe it is representative of most Spanish and possibly European metropolitan areas. Using satellite images and the Spanish electronic cadastre, we compiled a census of 642 residential compounds, classified based on over 50 variables. These compounds were categorized into five types depending on the enclosure level: (1) protected compounds; (2) controlled compounds; (3) structurally self-isolated compounds; (4) individualistic compounds; and (5) symbolic compounds.
Making place for ‘urban segregation matters’ in four southern European countries: a literature review
Isabel Palomares-Linares, Henar Baldán, José Manuel Torrado, Joaquín Susino
Social Problems in Southern Europe A Comparative Assessment, 2020
In recent decades and due to an increasing polarization of social structures, and the intensification of economic migration flows towards western countries, social segregation has become one of the main challenges for urban studies. However, both the scope of segregation and its effects in the short and long term are aspects that are still debated strongly within the European academic and political sphere. The goal of this chapter is to study the recent literature about urban segregation in southern European countries (2000–2018), in order to discover Mediterranean patterns and features and in order to light up the state of the art regarding the definition, operationalization and interpretation of the segregation process. Our results suggest that residential segregation could involve either negative synergies or positive ones regarding social cohesion. Thus, public agendas should take into the equation the complex links between residential and social outcomes.

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

Fragmenting urban space: Do residential compounds increase segregation?
H Baldán, N Fuster, I Palomares-Linares, J Susino
European Urban and Regional Studies, 09697764261435172 , 2026
2026
‘People like us’: Discourse on class identity in residential compounds
H Baldan, N Fuster, J Susino
Critical Sociology 52 (2), 365-383 , 2026
2026
Citations: 3
Perceiving Vegetation From Social Positions: Discourses on Plants in a Mediterranean Landscape
J Jurado‐Pardeiro, F Guerrero, H Baldán, N Fuster
Sociology Lens , 2026
2026
Security or tranquillity? what people value in residential compounds: H. Baldán et al.
H Baldán, N Fuster, J Susino
Journal of Housing and the Built Environment 40 (4), 1305-1325 , 2025
2025
Citations: 1
‘I Don’t Intend to Make Friends Among My Neighbours’: The Ideal of Neighbourliness Among Residents of Residential Compounds
H Baldán, N Fuster, J Susino
Sociological Research Online, 13607804251342966 , 2025
2025
Citations: 2
Beyond gated communities: A typology of residential compounds in Granada
H Baldán, JM Torrado, J Susino
Land 13 (8), 1116 , 2024
2024
Citations: 12
In the face of uncertainty, peer-training: Lessons from a group strategy undertaken by sociology faculty during the pandemic
F Castillo-Eslava, S Moldes-Anaya, N Fuster, M Sánchez, JMG de Diego, ...
Revista de Sociología de la Educación-RASE 15 (3), 360-382 , 2022
2022
Citations: 1
Students' knowledge of healthy food and their actual eating habits: a case study on the University of Granada (Spain)
F Entrena-Durán, H Baldan-Lozano, JM Valdera-Gil
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 5, 687574 , 2021
2021
Citations: 19
Coordinación docente y precariedad. Modelos de coordinación en la enseñanza de la Sociología en Andalucía
JM Torrado, HB Lozano, RD Calvache
Revista de Sociología de la Educación-RASE 14 (3), 370-390 , 2021
2021
Citations: 2
Making place for urban segregation matters in four southern European countries: a literature review
I Palomares-Linares, H Baldán, JM Torrado, J Susino
Social Problems in Southern Europe, 157-171 , 2020
2020
Citations: 5

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

Students' knowledge of healthy food and their actual eating habits: a case study on the University of Granada (Spain)
F Entrena-Durán, H Baldan-Lozano, JM Valdera-Gil
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 5, 687574 , 2021
2021
Citations: 19
Beyond gated communities: A typology of residential compounds in Granada
H Baldán, JM Torrado, J Susino
Land 13 (8), 1116 , 2024
2024
Citations: 12
Making place for urban segregation matters in four southern European countries: a literature review
I Palomares-Linares, H Baldán, JM Torrado, J Susino
Social Problems in Southern Europe, 157-171 , 2020
2020
Citations: 5
‘People like us’: Discourse on class identity in residential compounds
H Baldan, N Fuster, J Susino
Critical Sociology 52 (2), 365-383 , 2026
2026
Citations: 3
‘I Don’t Intend to Make Friends Among My Neighbours’: The Ideal of Neighbourliness Among Residents of Residential Compounds
H Baldán, N Fuster, J Susino
Sociological Research Online, 13607804251342966 , 2025
2025
Citations: 2
Coordinación docente y precariedad. Modelos de coordinación en la enseñanza de la Sociología en Andalucía
JM Torrado, HB Lozano, RD Calvache
Revista de Sociología de la Educación-RASE 14 (3), 370-390 , 2021
2021
Citations: 2
Security or tranquillity? what people value in residential compounds: H. Baldán et al.
H Baldán, N Fuster, J Susino
Journal of Housing and the Built Environment 40 (4), 1305-1325 , 2025
2025
Citations: 1
In the face of uncertainty, peer-training: Lessons from a group strategy undertaken by sociology faculty during the pandemic
F Castillo-Eslava, S Moldes-Anaya, N Fuster, M Sánchez, JMG de Diego, ...
Revista de Sociología de la Educación-RASE 15 (3), 360-382 , 2022
2022
Citations: 1
Fragmenting urban space: Do residential compounds increase segregation?
H Baldán, N Fuster, I Palomares-Linares, J Susino
European Urban and Regional Studies, 09697764261435172 , 2026
2026
Perceiving Vegetation From Social Positions: Discourses on Plants in a Mediterranean Landscape
J Jurado‐Pardeiro, F Guerrero, H Baldán, N Fuster
Sociology Lens , 2026
2026

Publications

Book chapters

Baldán, H. (2022). Una herramienta muy versátil: funcionalidad, utilidad y aplicación de las hojas de cálculo. In Guía de herramientas de profesionalización para estudiantes de Sociología y Ciencias Políticas y de la Administración (pp. 25–35). GODEL.

Conference proceedings or reports (if published formally)

Baldán, H., Fuster, N., & Susino, J. (2024). Living Among Similar: Residential Compounds as New Ways of Living in Urban Space. 16th Conference of the European Sociological Association, Porto, Portugal.

Baldán, H., Fuster, N., & Susino, J. (2023). Residential Compounds in Urban Segregation in Granada (Spain). International Conference Social Inequalities and Residential Segregation in South European Urban Areas, University Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain.

Baldán, H. & Susino, J. (2021). Communal living in times of crisis: gated communities and residential relations in the metropolitan area of Granada. ENHR Workshop Housing, Migration and Family Dynamics, Online Conference.

Baldán, H. (2019). Residential segregation in Andalusia: the social distribution of well-off social classes. ENHR Conference Housing for the Next European Social Model, Athens, Greece.

GRANT DETAILS

FPU Predoctoral Fellowship, Ministry of Universities, Spain (2019–2023)

FPU Mobility Grant, Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain – Research stay at University of Harokopio (Athens, Greece), 2021

Initiation to Research Grant, UGR–Banco Santander (2019–2020)

ERASMUS Mobility Program, University of Sussex (Brighton, UK) – Final year of Sociology studies (2017–2018)

RESEARCH OUTPUTS (PATENTS, SOFTWARE, PUBLICATIONS, PRODUCTS)

GIS-based socio-spatial maps and georeferenced datasets for the Urban Agenda of Málaga (Fundación CIEDES – University of Málaga, 2022).

Residential compounds dataset: original typology and georeferenced mapping of 642 residential developments in the Metropolitan Area of Granada (2024).

Mixed-methods tools combining qualitative interviews and spatial analysis (applied in MARBEL and MOVICRA projects, 2021–2025).

Teaching material: Excel as a versatile tool in social research (chapter in professionalization guide for Sociology students, 2022).

CONSULTANCY

Consultant and researcher for the OTRI project Urban Agenda of Málaga (Fundación CIEDES – University of Málaga), developing socio-spatial diagnoses, GIS-based cartography, SWOT analyses, and strategic recommendations for urban policy and district-level planning (2022).

Industry, Institute, or Organisation Collaboration

Fundación CIEDES – University of Málaga: OTRI project Urban Agenda of Málaga (socio-spatial diagnoses, GIS mapping, and strategic reports by districts).

University Complutense of Madrid: project Housing, Roots and Vulnerability in Spanish Cities (Ministry of Science and Innovation).

University of Málaga: project Digital Family: The Impact of ICT on Family Structures in Spain.

University of Jaén & Diputación de Jaén: project The Social Perception of Arundo donax in Andalusia.

Harokopio University (Athens, Greece): research stay and collaboration on socio-economic residential segregation methodologies.

SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, or ACADEMIC BENEFITS

Contribution to social understanding of urban segregation, housing vulnerability, and neighborhood inequalities, supporting public debate and inclusive policies.

Applied socio-spatial diagnoses and strategic recommendations for the Urban Agenda of Málaga, with direct impact on local government planning and resource allocation.

Academic advances through the development of an original typology of residential compounds, international publications, and methodological training for students and faculty in social research and GIS analysis.