With a recent murder, a shootout-turned-suicide, and a high rate of foreclosure, the reality of Celebration, Florida, is less ideal than appearances would suggest.
Next American City's Will Staley ruminates on the city and its ironies.
"Despite its imagineered charm, Celebration has had its first taste of things that are not supposed to happen in TV-land, things that, for various reasons, we believe are only supposed to happen in the city: murder, foreclosure, vandalism. If we consider the entire suburban project-and the federal government's subsidy thereof-to be created in opposition to the disorder, chaos, poverty, and crime that characterized city life in the latter half of the 20th century, then Celebration is the ultimate, most grotesque manifestation of the reality-denying aspects of this project, even if it embraces Smart Growth and TND.
I believe it was James Howard Kunstler who pointed out how truly ironic it is that Disneyland has the only Main Street you can visit in Orange County. People will pay large sums of money and wait in obscenely long lines just to experience this sort of charming "public" space, but in their day-to-day lives they have voted against having such a space for commerce, except for in certain shopping malls that simulate the same. Disney, like it or not, creates pleasant urban spaces for those who are not overcome with despair at the idea of a Disney-designed town. "
FULL STORY: Little to Celebrate
Memphis: Crime-fighting Camera Sheds Light on Police Abuse
The irony is unmistakable. Public surveillance cameras, long controversial in the criminal justice community, provided pivotal video footage of the beating of motorist Tyre Nichols by five Memphis police officers at a traffic stop on January 7.
Disney Plans New Residential Developments
Despite the less-than-magical results of its experiment in Celebration, Florida, Disney has announced plans to build a chain of master-planned communities around the country.
Which Cities Are Becoming More Violent?
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Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
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Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service