Jiggy Eco

What is a real city? If the criteria for a city to be real has to do with function and population than an argument could be made that Disneyworld and other "fictional" privatly owned amusement parks are cities. The last century has seen a wide expansion in the amusement market, mostly transformed by Walt Disney and his views on the total experiance. His belief was to leave reality at the door and have his guests enjoy a seemless journey to his fantasy lands. Many consider Las Vagas a real city, even as much of its intention and function is as an amusement park. The comparison of Disneyworld to Las Vagas is interesting and could in fact be shown that they are closer in nature than believed. Both are used for the same primary purposes, world class entertainment and experiance. Where do we draw the line to what a "real" city is then? Does it have to have poverty, dirt, smog, traffic and politics to be considered real? If you asked the hundreds of millions that visit Disney parks if they would rather be at Disney World or downtown Detroit what would they say? A picture a city as a gathering of people in one central area, living and working. Disney employs hundreds of thousnads and arguably built the Orlando area from the ground up with tourism and the flooding of new residents. Disney has become Orlando, just as real and with as much politcal power and pull. The city of robots, as said by Eco, is becoming a real force. Las Vegas is not just a playground anymore, it is an international city for business. I believe that the last hundred years has changed the way we contruct and live in cities. Disney has transformed more that just its guests, it changed our social contructions of entertainment.