National Geographic's take on Orlando and sprawl
Thanks to Chris P. who pointed out to me, by email, a National Geographic article that takes on Orlando's sprawl and how the city really has turned into Disney (and the author doesn't mean that in a good way).
"All over Orlando you see forces at work that are changing America from Fairbanks to Little Rock. This, truly, is a 21st-century paradigm: It is growth built on consumption, not production; a society founded not on natural resources, but upon the dissipation of capital accumulated elsewhere; a place of infinite possibilities, somehow held together, to the extent it is held together at all, by a shared recognition of highway signs, brand names, TV shows, and personalities, rather than any shared history. Nowhere else is the juxtaposition of what America actually is and the conventional idea of what America should be more vivid and revealing. Welcome to the theme-park nation. "
The full article here: http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0703/feature4/
"All over Orlando you see forces at work that are changing America from Fairbanks to Little Rock. This, truly, is a 21st-century paradigm: It is growth built on consumption, not production; a society founded not on natural resources, but upon the dissipation of capital accumulated elsewhere; a place of infinite possibilities, somehow held together, to the extent it is held together at all, by a shared recognition of highway signs, brand names, TV shows, and personalities, rather than any shared history. Nowhere else is the juxtaposition of what America actually is and the conventional idea of what America should be more vivid and revealing. Welcome to the theme-park nation. "
The full article here: http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0703/feature4/
3 Comments:
I think the description of Orlando as a "characterless conurbation of congested freeways and parking lots" was a little extreme. Partly true, certainly, but a cheap shot nevertheless.
That sums up my take, too. There were truths in here, but some cheap shots for a larger point. But I of all people shouldn't point fingers on this score.
This is not just happening in Orlando. I remember a quiet little mountain town in New Hampshire called North Conway. I was about 5 or 6 when the McDonalds Restaurant popped up. That was the beginning of the consumption economy (they call it recreation based economy).
No this once idiliyc setting is nothing but a strip mall. The mountainsides are filled with homes that have views of mountainsides filled with homes.
The service industry for the ski areas employ people from mostly eastern european countries.
Basically you could take this story and apply it to any popular recreational area man made or natural and see how people gravitate to it. It's been happening since the beginning of modern society.
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