As a resident of Northern Ireland, I can confirm that sadly no-go areas are not the work of fiction. In Northern Ireland at the beginning of The Troubles, many Republican/Nationalist areas were no-go areas to the security forces (the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary). The entrances to these areas were usually barricaded so that they could not be accessed via the main roads and were enforced by a mixture of those actively involved in the conflict via Republic paramilitaries or those sympathetic to that cause. The grass roots support and endorsement of such organisations meant that it was often hard to distinguish between dissident and mere resident. This ultimately lead to these areas becoming totally un-policed and regulated to the extent that such paramilitaries could operate and thrive without any fear or threat of reprisal or prosecution. The British Army therefore launched Operation Motorman (the largest operation undertaken by the army then since the Suez Crisis) simultaneously in Derry/Londonderry and Belfast with the sole aim of dis-establishing the no-go areas. The perception that lead to the establishment of such areas in the first place was that the army and police were very much the instruments of an establishment and government which sought only to hurt and victimise the Republican (mainly Catholic) inhabitants. Unfortunately, Operation Motorman did produce civilian casualties and, whilst proving effective in regaining control of the no-go areas, served only to reinforce the negative perception and attitudes held towards the security forces. In terms of what administration may have been like in such areas,I think it would be wrong (at least in the case of Northern Ireland) to view these areas as possessing this characteristic or feature. The sole purpose was to ensure the area was off limits to the army and police. During the day, residents could leave and go to work or children go to school. They operated as any other section of society would.