Re: Celebration: Coho in the mainstream?
From: Fred H Olson WB0YQM (fholsonmaroon.tc.umn.edu)
Date: Sat, 2 Dec 1995 22:58:59 -0600
Steve Farley  sfarley [at] igc.apc.org
is the author of the message below but due
to a listserv problem it was posted by the COHOUSING-L sysop (Fred).
****************  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS *********************

Here'a a quote from the lead story in the American Survey section of _The
Economist_, a British mag widely read here in the States:

"...In putting together successful ideas from elsewhere it aims to
create--or recreate--a sense of place that is lacking in the soulless
"edge cities" that have sprung up around America, and a variety that tends
to be missing from other purpose-built (and, often, gated) communities.
.The car is accommodated, but is not meant to put a distance between
neighbours. [The project] is intended for people of all ages and diverse
means. It will be a place for mingling and mixing."

Sound like an article about Cohousing? These words certainly touch on some
of our basic tenets, but the story is not about cohousing.

It is about the new town of Celebration, Florida, a community which aims
to grow to a population of 20,000 in the next 20 years, developed by the
Walt Disney Development Corporation!

Yes, this excites me not because I would want to live there--in many ways
it sounds like, although Disney has identified many of the problems with
today's communities, they aren't really solving them at the roots the way
Coho is, but rather are throwing money at them, and doing a lot of surface
treatment.

It excites me because it seems to mean that many of our ideas are clearly
mainstream now. If Walt Disney Inc.--the epitome of American
traditionalism and conservatism--is buying into the concept to the tune of
a $2.5 billion investment, then convincing our local banks, builders, and
developers that we're on to something should be a lot easier.

Plus, it may be helpful to be able to use the Celebration example as a
helpful comparison for prospective members: eg: "we're not totally "out
there", look at what Disney is doing. We're just doing it right--building
real community, rather than constructing the appearance of community."

Along these lines, I'd be interested if anyone would be able to get access
to any of the Celebration marketing materials or their market research
reports. Apparently they spent many years and many millions of dollars
running focus groups and surveys about community throughout the
country--that type of information would be invaluable for creating more
effective marketing plans for Cohousing!

PS: 26,000 people have visited the site since August, and 4,550 households
entered a lottery to buy the first 350 homes. The demand is there, and
it's real. We can all tap into it!

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