Gated communities are fast becoming global commodities and cultural icons eagerly consumed by the urban elite world-wide. This article examines the rise of gated communities in Istanbul and presents a case study of one of the leading gated communities in the city. It shows how this global urban form has been transplanted and translated into the city's landscape with the help of urban and cultural politics and has transformed the dynamics through which elite localities and identities are produced. The case study documents discourses and practices of this new urbanism at work and discusses their socio-political ramifications.