Still Suburban (was rural idiocy)

hoov hoov at freenet.tlh.fl.us
Fri May 15 13:47:33 PDT 1998



> >a decentered/multi-centered 'formless mass' that
> >consumes open space nonetheless...
> Unplanned proliferation of 'planned communities'?
> Yoshie

Welcome to Dislando! A formless post-urban mass in Central Florida that stretches from Cape Kennedy to Disney World - a lifespace of theme parks and shopping malls. Dislando has no clear cut boundaries; a collage of contending rural, urban, and suburban elements, it includes Disney World and other theme parks; Ron Jon's Surf Shop, a space coast landmark; the exclusive Heathrow development; Flea World, a large open-air market; and Kissimmee Olde Towne, a weekend gathering spot for '50s car parades and shopping.

Further defying boundaries is the information highway, so far defined by Time Warner's interactive cable test market and AAA's computerized 'smart' cars, which provide immediate traffic and navigation information to drivers.

Dislando is an abstract mosaic of corporate-sponsored commercial projects. Consequently, it lacks any recognizable center to give meaning to the whole. Major civic institutions are scattered at random over an undifferentiated space. As Robert Fishman notes, "Even planned developments can be no more than fragments in a fragmented environment." (_Bourgeois Utopias_, p203)



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