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Article updated: 1/13/2013 7:20 AM

Guatemala builds private city to escape crime

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The nearly independent city, Paseo Cayala, sits on the edge of Guatemala City. Eventually, the Cayala Management Group hopes to expand the project into "Cayala City," spreading across an area a little larger than New York's Central Park.

Associated Press/November 2012

People walk in Paseo Cayala, a nearly independent city on the edges of Guatemala City. Some urbanists and architects are skeptical the project can thrive over the long term in a country with one of the world's highest homicide rates and with roughly half of its 14 million people in poverty.

Associated Press/November 2012

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Guatemalan developers are building a nearly independent city for the wealthy on the outskirts of a capital marred by crime and snarled by traffic. At its heart is the 34-acre Paseo Cayala, with apartments, parks, high-end boutiques, church, nightclubs, and restaurants, all within a ring of white stucco walls. “Cayala creates a world for those who can afford it. Cayala sells an illusion that everything is OK, but it is not open to all people,” architect Carlos Mendizabal said.