Celebration, U.S.A: Living in Disney's Brave New Town
by Frantz, Douglas and Collins, Catherine

Publisher:  Holt, Henry & Company
ISBN:  0805055606

New York Times reporter Douglas Frantz his wife, author Catherine Collins, and their two children, Nick and Becky moved to Disney's Celebration, Florida. Celebration is a master-planned city near Disney World. Disney's goal with Celebration was to create a brand-new city with the livable features of the new urbanism and the traditional American town - a sort of expanded "Main Street U.S.A."

In their book, Celebration, U.S.A., Frantz and Collins describe the history of Celebration, Florida, its growth and growing pains as it evolves into a true community.

Although the Celebration school was designed to be a revolutionary new educational institution, including grades K-12 under one roof, problems with the school (such as a lack of grades on report cards) caused great consternation in Celebration and many of the earliest residents fled.

With Disney as the project backer, many who moved into the upper-middle class community expected Disney-like perfection from their homes and from the community. The book is a interesting look at the nitty-gritty behind the growth of a new town. It's a fascinating geographical and sociological study.

People who had never known their neighbors in any prior neighborhood were suddenly thrust into neighborliness and block parties in the brand-new Celebration. Strong rules, active involvement, and conformist principles kept some from fitting in but overall, the community seemed to get the bugs out. Frantz and Collins' personal observations are part diary and part anthropological study.

Although Frantz and Collins and their children had planned on living in Celebration for but a year, at the end of their year they decide to remain in the Disney community that became their home.

The book ultimately shows that while Celebration is closer to "Utopia" than most suburban areas today, all of our communities can be improved by increased community involvement and action on the part of its citizens. I highly recommend this book for everyone interested in cities, planning, and the fate of our urban societies.

Matt Rosenberg, your Guide for Geography