inner-city police station). The distance was 19 miles, about the average suburban com-
mute. Even with heavy traffic, driving such a distance takes about 40 minutes. But
using public transportation proved quite a challenge. Assuming that he got off work
at 9:00 p.m., when the malls close, he would need to take three buses and a metro
rail, with four chances of missed connections. If everything worked like clockwork,
he could reach his bus stop by 11:00 p.m., and walk the remaining two blocks, mak-
ing it home by 11:10, more than three times longer than it takes a commuter in a car.
If he was unlucky and missed a connection, he would be stranded, because he was
catching the last bus of the day.
Revitalizing Downtown
During the 1980s and 1990s, many cities fought back, trying to revitalize their down-
towns with hip shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues that would attract
suburbanites looking for an evening of fun. Some especially hip young professionals even
moved back in search of diversity and excitement, buying cheap houses and renovating
them. Sometimes they take over whole downtown neighborhoods, raising the property
values so much that poor and even middle-class people can no longer afford to live there
(a process called gentrification). More commonly, cities annexed the suburbs, and any
outlying areas that might become suburbs, so they could charge property tax. For
example, one day in 1970, Indianapolis annexed all of Marion County, city, suburb, and
farmland, in a plan with a name right out of Matrix: “Unigov.”
Suburbs and edge cities are increasingly difficult to distinguish from inner cities.
They have their own problems with traffic, crime, congestion, and pollution. Edge
cities often have greater ethnic diversity than inner cities, in spite of “White flight”
(Palen, 1995). For instance, the edge city of Hawthorne, California, between Los
Angeles and Long Beach, is 44 percent Hispanic and 33 percent Black. The problems
of poverty, unemployment, high rents, and inadequate housing are no longer confined
to the inner city. In Hawthorne, 20 percent of the residents are below poverty level,
and 74 percent rent rather than own their homes.
THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT 635Celebration, Florida
Celebration, Florida, is a “created suburb,” laid out
by the Disney Corporation in a rural area a short com-
mute from Orlando and opened in 1996. Disney
“imagineered” a small town right out of its own nos-
talgia movies. According to its website, Celebration
is a “ place where memories of a lifetime are made,
it’s more than a home; it’s a community rich with old-fashioned
appeal and an eye on the future” and “people are connecting
in ways that build vibrant, caring, and enduring traditions.”
Such vibrant, caring, and enduring traditions come with a
hefty price tag (bungalows start at $443,000 and cottages at
$524,000), and there are more regulations than in a convent or
military barracks. Every new resident must abide by a “Declara-
tion of Covenants” that dictates everything from how long cars
may be parked on the street to the number of occupants perbedroom (two). Residents are seen as “representatives” of the
Disney vision of America, performers just as much as the cos-
tumed Mickeys and Goofys who roam Disney World.
Much of Celebration seems geared more toward tourists than
to its residents. The Market Street shopping area contains six
upscale restaurants and 14 shops selling jewelry, dolls, and
gifts—but there is no grocery store, drugstore, or gas station.
The list of activities and civic organizations includes a nonde-
nominational community church, a Rotary Club, Little League, the
D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Revolution), and a chapter of
the Republican Party (but not the Democratic Party).
Some 8,000 people believe that it is worth being on constant
display to live in a clean, well-maintained, safe community. And
they are not alone. Disney may be the most famous example, but
some 40,000,000 Americans are now living in privately owned
communities that regulate how long you can park in the street
and with whom you can share your bedroom (Ross, 2001).Sociologyand ourWorld