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Guatemala builds private city to escape crime

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 (14-hectare) Paseo Cayala, with apartments, parks, high-end boutiques, church, nightclubs, and restaurants, all within a ring of white stucco walls.

According to the developer, the first phase of the Paseo project has 110 apartments, with sales prices ranging from$260,000 to $800,000, way beyond the reach of most Guatemalans, whose average monthly salary is less than $300. The first of the two buildings has nonetheless sold 80 percent of its units, the developer says.

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.