Celebration, FL: Creepytown, USA

So this week’s Roseland reading talked about new urbanism as one component of land use and urban form.  New urbanism is a great concept, based on the idea of re-organizing urban areas to make them more inclusive, complete, and neighborly for residents.  Along with the many examples they give of new urban designs in the textbook, they mention some failed attempts at the concept that have drawn public criticism.  One example they give is that of the unincorporated town of Celebration, in Kissimmee, FL.  Some pics:









I immediately knew that I had to delve a bit deeper into this town for my blog this week, as Celebration has always held a creepy sort of fascination for me.  I have visited the town several times during family trips to Disney World, and have heard stories about the rigidity of their homeowner rules, town appearance, and general way of living.  Here is more information on the town, for those who are interested.  The town was originally conceptualized as an extenuation of Walt Disney’s idea of the Experimental Prototype Communities of Tomorrow (EPCOT).  I didn’t realize that it was also attempting to fall into the “new urban” category, as well.  As the book points out, a main reason why it fails to qualify as a new urban town is that it doesn’t incorporate one of the major functions that a new urban town is designed to address: transportation.  The town is connected directly to the Disney parks and resorts by World Drive, but residents would still need to drive about ten minutes to get there.  It also does not connect in any sustainable way to the outlying roads and highways of Kissimmee.  The town is a relatively exclusive, separate entity from the rest of the city, which violates the concept of community planning and urban organization that new urbanism strives to achieve.  Compared to this example of San Jose's future city development plans, taken from the Smart Growth America website, Celebration is fairly wide of the mark.  Although it is easy for the residents to move throughout the town itself on foot, bike, etc., it is necessary for them to drive virtually any time they want to venture out for work and other activities.  The town has been recognized by some in the community to be designed to meet some of the new urban specifications by incorporating different housing types throughout the town, and staying open to people with varying levels of income, but it is still not known for maintaining a consistent base of affordable housing that would contribute to the ‘lasting’ community feel.  Upon first opening, it was named the “new community of the year” in 2001 by the Urban Land Institute; however, the overall effect of the town has more to do with Disney’s visualization to make history with the continuation of the Disney brand, and less to do with a conscientious effort to establish an urban town within the larger city that facilitates effective land use, social capital, and transportation diversity.  Not to mention, it’s just creepy!  As visually appealing as I have found the town when I’ve visited, it’s equally eerie; the Stepford Wives analogy is great in relaying its perfect creepiness.  You walk down the main street (which is called Market Street instead of Main Street, because apparently there’s already a Main Street in Kissimmee, and there can’t be duplicate street names in the same city…), and you’re almost bowled over by the quaint, Disney-esqueness of it all.  It’s almost identical to walking down Main Street at the Magic Kingdom.  While that is desirable and expected when you’re visiting a theme park, its translation to an actual town is a bit disconcerting.  Also, I learned from the Wikipedia link that throughout autumn and during holiday events, the lampposts along Market Street are rigged to spurt leaf-shaped confetti and synthetic snow to emulate the seasons.  Whaaaaaaat?  That is just damn creepy!!!  So, now you all know my feelings on the town… and yet, during all my shuddering and gawking as I’ve walked through the town, I still have a *slight* desire to live there someday.  It’s just so perfect, and quaint… I would be a perfect candidate for brainwashing, I think.  Regardless of what you think of the town, it stands as an example of what can be achieved by visionaries in the architectural, business, and development fields… but in terms of qualifying for the new urbanism stamp, it has some re-developing to do.