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Lifestyle Centers by John J. Fanning
Commentary by John Fanning
I hate to admit this, but I can remember a time when
a “craze” in this country referred simply to the fact that lots
of Americans were buying things like Hula Hoops or Beetle albums. Today however, Americans have become wealthier - or at least they have more credit
power and crazes that erupt in the marketplace can include anything from people
buying second homes to folks plucking down $20,000 to scale Mt. Everest-or
die trying.
One of the latest crazes attracting attention is the construction of fake
urban centers throughout the country. From coast to coast, dozens of these
developments have sprung up and dozens more are on the drawing board for suburban and rural areas throughout the country. These areas are being called “lifestyle
centers”.
If you're not familiar with this craze yet, the scenario goes something like
this: A developer builds a phony “Main Street” complete with retail
stores at grade level and expensive condos above the stores. The buildings'
facades, usually only two or three stories tall, are designed to look like
various older style structures that one would see in a typical urban area like
New York, Chicago, or Boston. The developer then plots out various streets around the “urban” center and lines them with expensive town homes to mimic an entire gentrified urban area. The retail space is reserved for upscale stores and restaurants which, theoretically, attract upscale purchasers for those town
homes and condominiums.
I went to visit one of these developments in Glenview, Illinois. It was constructed on what once was the Glenview Naval Air Station. Restaurants and taverns occupied most of the retail space but there were also small retail shops like a bookstore, a drycleaners and, of course, the obligatory Starbucks. I have to admit that at first blush, the development did indeed have the feel of a hip, gentrified
urban area like one would find in a Chicago urban area like Lincoln Park or
a New York area like Soho. But as I strolled through the development, I started
to notice the absence of things you can only find in a real urban area. For
instance, nobody approached me asking if I had any spare change. I didn’t
see any crack addicts in the alleyways I passed. No bag lady was seen pushing a grocery cart down the street and not a single schizophrenic was seen nor heard shouting at empty space. Frankly, it started to feel a little odd being there - sort
of like the feeling one gets at Disney World or in one of these newer interactive
type museums - except the squirrels didn’t talk and there was no buttons
for me to push to start a video or monologue.
I was curious to know what kind of person would be attracted to this type
of development. At first I thought it might be people who had previously lived
in urban areas and, for one reason or another, had to relocate out to the suburbs.
But then I learned that these type developments were springing up in remote
areas like Plano, Texas and Rancho Cucamonga, California – areas that
have never remotely resembled “urban”. I came upon a couple of
theories being offered up as reasons for this new faux urban development craze.
On theory linked it to the popularity of the once popular Jerry Seinfeld, TV
sitcom, that portrayed young urban dwellers living in a New York neighborhood.
Another, less flattering theory, simply postulates that the developments areattractive to a generation that grew up being mall rats.
The idea of creating movie set type developments that people actually want
to live in extends beyond the “urban” theme. For example, the Jim Carrey movie “Truman” takes place in the make-believe town of Seahaven, Florida. That town of Seahaven is, in reality, Seaside, Florida; a development created in the 1970’s and designed to resemble a quaint little seaside village of the 1920’s. It seems kind of scary to me that a development created to resemble a small town from yesteryear was used to portray a film set designed to resemble a small town from yesteryear. And when you think about it, doesn’t it stand to reason that every child born in Seaside is a “Truman” until they find out they have been born and they are living in a make-believe place?
I wonder how far this craze will go. I wonder if there will be developments
that resemble alpine or tropical villages? I wonder if Americans in the near
future will be capable of choosing to live in a variety of fantasylands? There is something tempting about living in an idealized environment of our own choosing. An urban center where nobody ever gets mugged, shot or stabbed; a turn-of-the-century seaside town where kids don’t get crippled by polio and infections are never fatal. It will be interesting to see if, in the long run, these artificial places can withstand time and change. It will be interesting to see just how far people will go in attempts to wrench reality from televised perceptions and live sitcom lives.
Should we tell them it’s only make-believe?
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