Main entry:

Stroud, Hubert B.

Title & Author:

The promise of paradise : recreational and retirement communities in the United States since 1950 / Hubert B. Stroud.

Publication:

Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995.

Description:

xi, 220 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Series:

Creating the North American landscape

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 195-211) and index.
Introduction. Location and size -- The system of operation -- Elements of change. 1. The impact of recreational land development. Environmental problems -- Economic concerns -- Consumer issues. 2. The development of "new communities." Fairfield Glade: the evolution of a successful operation in Tennessee -- Cape Coral: South Florida's largest Gulf Coast city -- Rio Rancho: New Mexico's fastest growing community -- Lake Havasu City: a rapidly emerging community in the Arizona desert -- Fairfield Bay: an Arkansas Ozark Mountain resort community -- Port LaBelle: a "well-planned" Florida community. 3. Land-use regulation of recreational and retirement communities since 1970. Examples of progress and status quo -- Trends in land-use planning and regulation -- Fulfilling the promise.

Summary:

Since mid-century the mass-merchandising of recreational and retirement communities has mushroomed into a multi-billion dollar industry. But not all such communities have proven successful. Air travelers above the Sunbelt states often see vast tracts of land on which isolated, jigsawlike patterns of roads lead nowhere. And the tongue-in-cheek offer of "land in Florida" has become proverbial for a foolish investment. In the first geographic and environmental analysis of the recreational and retirement community industry in America, Bill Stroud shows how and why certain communities had positive impacts on the surrounding region while others did not. Focusing on well-known developments in Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, Arkansas, and Tennessee, he finds that most developments are poorly planned and designed, resulting in environmental damage, social and economic problems, and overtaxing of public services. Yet Stroud acknowledges that future development is inevitable, as recreational and retirement communities continue to lure urban America with the promise of paradise.

Resources:
Contributor biographical information
Publisher description

ISBN:

0801849268 (acid-free)
9780801849268 (acid-free)
0801867584
9780801867583

Subject:

Retirement communities Economic aspects United States.
Retirement communities United States Planning.
Retirement communities United States Marketing.
Retirement communities Environmental aspects United States.
Villages-retraite Aspect économique États-Unis.
Villages-retraite États-Unis Planification.
Villages-retraite États-Unis Marketing.
Villages-retraite Aspect de l'environnement États-Unis.
Retirement communities Economic aspects.
Retirement communities Environmental aspects.
Retirement communities Marketing.
Retirement communities Planning.
Erholungsort
United States.
USA
Urban regions Environment planning

Added entries:

Creating the North American landscape.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 84106
Call No.: ID HV1454.2.U6 S7; ID:95-B3423
Status: Available