THE HIDDEN HISTORIES AND GEOGRAPHIES OF NEOTRADITIONAL TOWN-PLANNING - THE CASE OF SEASIDE, FLORIDA

The neotraditional resort development of Seaside, Florida merits speci al attention from geographers and urban planners because of the normat ive claims made by its designers and because it has garnered widesprea d attention from practising architects, planners, and social critics. Under the banners of 'neotraditionalism' and 'community planning' the principles implemented in Seaside have also been employed in numerous other developments in North America. Central to Seaside's appeal and n ormative content is the deliberate attempt to resurrect an idealised p ast of uniquely American communitarianism through the skillful manipul ation of urban form. We develop our critique of neotraditionalism thro ugh a deconstructive analysis of the physical and ideological spaces o f Seaside. Specifically, we discuss the origin and development of Seas ide, the centrality of its urban and architectural codes, the paradoxi cal deployment of public and private spaces, and the emergence of a di stinctively neotraditional subject. Our basic claim is that neotraditi onalism is actually a carefully veiled form of what Foster has called ''postmodernism of reaction''.