Comments on: 4 Utopian Communities That Didn’t Pan Out

By: Mary

Mary — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:21:02 +0000

@Paul
To a certain extent the town of Celebration has fulfilled some of Walt’s plans for EPCOT. Okay, it is not in a bubble and doesn’t have a monorail or people mover.

By: yogahz

yogahz — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:08:49 +0000

Greeley, Colorado was founded as a utopian colony by Horace Meeker. It was a “…co-operative farm colony…” whose members were to be “…temperate, industrious, moral, and tolerant in their religious outlook.”

By: Nora

Nora — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:21:20 +0000

Guiteau was indeed a member of the Oneida community, who practiced a very specific form of free love that involved older members partnering with younger members to keep the activity well-balanced. Apparently Guiteau was unable to find willing partners anyway.

By: Paul (from Idea Sandbox)

Paul (from Idea Sandbox) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:58:30 +0000

I would also include Walt Disney’s original plans for EPCOT – his Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow.

EPCOT in Florida wasn’t supposed to be a theme park, but a master planned city. A place where “the pedestrian was king” because car traffic was kept underground away from people, and truck traffic below that.

Arranged in a wheel shape – there was to be a city hub with a hotel,, office space, and shopping – this part was to be covered and protected from the weather – like a huge shopping mall. Surrounding that were apartments, a green belt of parks, and finally residential homes.

All of this was to be connected with electric monorail and “PeopleMovers” to transport people around. The theme park (The Magic Kingdom) was to serve as a place where people could work. Additionally there was to be an industrial park where innovation would take place to serve as a model for the world. (He had plans that tourists could visit the factories and see innovation in progress).

It literally was his dying dream to build it.

After Walt died, leadership struggled to make it a reality, used bits and pieces of his concepts, and turned it into what Epcot is today.

Below are links to what is known as “Walt’s Last Film.” (He died shortly after making it). A movie Disney made about EPCOT to show the concept to government and industry (two groups he would have to heavily count on for cooperation, funding, and participation).

http://tinyurl.com/epcot-1
http://tinyurl.com/epcot-2
http://tinyurl.com/epcot-3

By: Frog

Frog — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:12:56 +0000

Thank you anomdebus

By: anomdebus

anomdebus — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:54:56 +0000

Frog,
I think they were referring to harvest time.

By: franklin

franklin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:51:26 +0000

one of the more successful and famous ones was the oneida community, which started the silverware company

By: Frog

Frog — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:39:18 +0000

Okay i’ll ask the stupid question how does one disturb a worm by planting a seed . Do the worms send a cease and desist order please someone tell me before i disturb the worms in my backyard.

By: Juan Grande

Juan Grande — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:22:07 +0000

There were still some Shakers in Maine, near Kennebec, in the early 1980s. There were 5 or 6 very elderly ladies left in one house.

By: Brit

Brit — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:20:08 +0000

Charles Guiteau (President Garfield’s Assasin) was a member of the Oneida Community which, if I remember correctly, had something weird and preverted about it.