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UBC Theses and Dissertations
The city as theme park and the theme park as city: amusement space, urban form, and cultural change Warren, Stacy
Abstract
Amusement space embodies hegemonic and Utopian dialogue concerning urban conditions. Throughout the twentieth century, two rival urban visions have reigned: the Coney Island model, a chancy, participatory theatre where patrons can confront head-on current conditions; and the Disney model, a carefully planned setting where guests are made to feel comfortable and secure. The current ascendancy of the Disney model, evident in urban and suburban landscapes increasingly shaped in the Disney image, has attracted the attention -- and alarm --of critics who interpret this trend as urban planning with a 'sinister twist.' A case study of Disney's involvement with Seattle Center, originally the site of the 1962 World's Fair and now Seattle's premier urban park, demonstrates, however, that people actively challenge, negotiate, and reform the Disney model to meet their needs by infusing the space with traces of the rival Coney model. The suggestions Disney made for renovation of Seattle Center sparked a city-wide debate that centred on the roles of local participation, cultural sensitivity, and aesthetic design in urban space; Disney was found lacking on all accounts and eventually rejected entirely. Seattle's experience with Disney demonstrates that amusement space offers a rich terrain upon which people can dream about, and implement, urban change.
Item Metadata
Title |
The city as theme park and the theme park as city: amusement space, urban form, and cultural change
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1993
|
Description |
Amusement space embodies hegemonic and Utopian dialogue
concerning urban conditions. Throughout the twentieth
century, two rival urban visions have reigned: the Coney
Island model, a chancy, participatory theatre where patrons
can confront head-on current conditions; and the Disney
model, a carefully planned setting where guests are made to
feel comfortable and secure.
The current ascendancy of the Disney model, evident in
urban and suburban landscapes increasingly shaped in the
Disney image, has attracted the attention -- and alarm --of
critics who interpret this trend as urban planning with a
'sinister twist.' A case study of Disney's involvement with
Seattle Center, originally the site of the 1962 World's Fair
and now Seattle's premier urban park, demonstrates, however,
that people actively challenge, negotiate, and reform the
Disney model to meet their needs by infusing the space with
traces of the rival Coney model. The suggestions Disney
made for renovation of Seattle Center sparked a city-wide
debate that centred on the roles of local participation,
cultural sensitivity, and aesthetic design in urban space;
Disney was found lacking on all accounts and eventually
rejected entirely. Seattle's experience with Disney
demonstrates that amusement space offers a rich terrain upon
which people can dream about, and implement, urban change.
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Extent |
60177349 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-06-05
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0088871
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1994-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.