The Problem with "Playground Cities"

Witold Rybczynski crams a lot of insight into a very brief blog post on the issues of "playground cities" such as New Orleans that attract tourists and are flooded with vacation homes.

1 minute read

November 7, 2011, 10:00 AM PST

By Tim Halbur


Rybczynski is looking at Charleston, South Carolina in particular, which he says is in danger of becoming a "playground city":

"The tiny historic peninsula (...) whose resident population below the Crosstown Expressway is about 20,000, is inundated with tourists (an average of about 12,000 per day), and day-visitors from mammoth cruise ships. Many of the homeowners are absentee landlords for whom the charming place is merely an occasional pied-à-terre."

Sometimes, he says, "beauty can be a curse."

Wednesday, November 2, 2011 in Witold Rybczynski's blog

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