CHAPTER 1: CAPE CORAL THE NON-PLACE
CAPE CORAL GENERAL RESEARCH
GROUP RESEARCH ON FOUR SCALES- EXTRACTS FROM MY CONTRIBUTION
As a group, we collected information on Cape Coral to provide a wide range of research that can be used in our projects. We were each assigned three topics to research and add to the group website. We looked at these topics at four scales: National, regional, State and City. My topics were climate, topography and Bab-cock Ranch. From this, I gained an interest in the hurricanes and the damage they cause. See below a summary of my research contributions or click the web links for full research.
Link to the website home page: https://nonplace2022.wixsite.com/non-place-2022
Link to climate topic: https://nonplace2022.wixsite.com/non-place-2022/copy-of-geography
Link to topography topic: https://nonplace2022.wixsite.com/non-place-2022/copy-of-climate
Link to Babcok ranch topic: https://nonplace2022.wixsite.com/non-place-2022/copy-of-internet
CAPE CORAL LOCATION
The project site is located in Cape Coral, Florida. Cape Coral is a relatively new city built in the 1950s on the swamps of Florida. The city has a vast network of canals and is very flat. The city poses many challenges for design, varying from repetitive architecture to confusing canal systems.
CAPE CORAL ORIGINS- DESTINED FOR PLACELESNESS?
PROFIT OVER PLACE:
Cape Coral began when two business minded brothers, Leonard and Jack Rosen, began constructing a town with the hope of attracting people worldwide to come and live there. The town was built on a hurricane exposed swamp and, as the town began construction, repetitive canals, houses, and streets began occurring creating large ‘placeless’ areas. The city lacks any real industry, culture and sense of place. Profit was the main driver of the city’s development, so the main focus was on creating as many residential areas as possible all offering ‘water front’ properties. This was used as the selling point for the city, but has left the city in a placeless state.
REPETETIVE PLACELESSNESS
PLACE / NON PLACE COMPARISON MODEL
This exercise involved creating a three-dimensional model that compares a non-place in Cape Coral to a place. My model utilises a zigzag shape that allows for different scenes from varying angles.
I developed my own definitions of place and non-place based on the idea of placelessness. The main aspect of non-place, to me, is placelessness, which states that places look and feel the same with no defining characteristics. This is common across Cape Coral.
From this, I found three car parks in Cape Coral that all look and feel the same making them placeless. I compared these to the Corn exchange in Leeds, which I consider a place. The analysis model compares the characteristics of these two spaces. From one angle you can see the non-place of the car parks in Cape Coral and from the other angle, the place of The Corn Ex-change Leeds
NON PLACE
PLACE
