As if Americans weren’t already overwhelmed with rampant commercialism, marketers have now decided to bring Storyliving towns to our front doorsteps.
“Ding-dong! Congratulations Mr. & Ms. America. Now, you can live in an alternate universe among your cartoon friends and dream your life away in a Fantasyland…provided you can afford the price.”
Storyliving towns sound like the ultimate denial of reality in a nation that has addicted itself with “fake” everything from plastic trees to faux news to serial-lying politicians. Beyond that, why would adults 55+ in age even want to reside in Disney character-themed housing in the first place?
This blog author loved the Jetsons as a kid, but that doesn’t mean I would want to reside in a Jetsons theme park…though admittedly, a flying car would be awesome. And Astro was a very cool dog. Hmmm? Moving on…
To date, two storyliving towns are in various stages of creation here in the United States. They are Cotino, California and Asteria, North Carolina. Each raises both intriguing planning issues to consider.
- Cotino, California– 2,000 planned homes in a gated community in the Mojave Desert city of Rancho Mirage, California. Here are brief summaries of initial planning concerns related to Cotino
- Why create another fake oasis of green and blue in the desert during an era of global warming, climate change, and water shortages?
- Why not redevelop a brownfield site (or part of one) instead of promoting more sprawl?
- Why build a new community in an ecologically-sensitive place like the desert?
- Why not design the community as a living model for the benefits of xeriscaping?
- Why emphasize just single-family centered housing? Condominiums aren’t planned until sometime in the future.
- Where is the housing affordability with homes starting a $1 million?
- Will there be a continuing, long-term interest in such a specialized housing developments? And if not, will these homes hold their resale value over time?
- Where is the inclusiveness if the community only includes those ages 55 and up?
“Cotino offers superfans a place to live out their wildest dreams; a chance to live in a Disney movie “where the story is all about you”. It will feature a clubhouse inspired by the futuristic mansion from Incredibles 2, where neighbours can bond over Disney-themed art lessons, enjoy dinners inspired by Disney stories and join family days with Disney-related activities.”
Source: theguardian.com
- Asteria, North Carolina – located 33 miles west of Raleigh in Pittsboro will include 4,000 new homes. This town will include both single and multiple-family housing, trails, and other amenities for residents 55 and older.
Even if the Asteria were to be built in a compact style, dropping 4,000 new residences onto a town of approximately 4,500 (2020 Census) is going to create some havoc. Planning concerns and questions beyond those applicable from the Cotino list, include:
- Why a car-centric town in a place the have limited transit services?
- Is the infrastructure there to support Asteria? Water? Sewer? Police? Fire? Emergency Services? Local roads? Hospitals? Etc, etc, etc?
- Why add 4,000 new homes in a town of 4,500 when larger markets are nearby?
- No mention of businesses or services been provided in Asteria. A town of 4,500 people definitely does NOT have the quantity of businesses, retailers, and services to accommodate such a massive influx or new people. As a result, traffic will be going all over the place, especially to/from Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill, and Durham.
- Can you say “sprawlsville?” As new businesses flock to Pittsboro to support the influx of residents, it’s highly unlikely they will be developed in a coherent and organized manner, especially during the initial rush.
- Can the existing main routes between Raleigh and Pittsboro or Chapel Hill and Pittsboro even begin to handle such an enormous increase in traffic?
Non-planning Concerns
One has to wonder if there really are that many Disney character superfans above the age of 55 to populate these two communities? If there is, that’s something of a concern in itself. First, the fact that some people are so addicted to animated cartoon characters that at the age of 55+, they are willing to plunk down more than a million bucks to live in place swarming with them seems _____ (fill in the blank).
Second, don’t these potential residents have more important things to do than being fully immersed in cartoon characters and corporate branding promotions in the guise of art lessons? Maybe these folks should take some of that excess time and money to improve their local community? Help the homeless? Get outside and exercise? Donate to help feed starving Gazans? Volunteer for the Peace Corps? Something other than being fully consumed by marketing and branding.
It’s one thing to spend a week or two in a theme park, at a hotel, or on a cruise, but living, eating and breathing it all day, everyday?
Conclusion
Only time will tell if the storyliving towns of Cotino and Asteria are successful. One has to assume that the bean counters and consumer psychologists have done their due diligence and found there is an untapped market for such places. If so, that says something about the American psyche. Something, in the grand scheme of things, we should not be proud of as a society.
Peace!
problogic
Panethos 