Eden Updated

Now a day’s everything is based off of technology and the materialistic things that people feel they need so badly. In the Essay “Eden Updated”, James Kunstler describes how these “fake” things that are being constructed disrupts the uniqueness of nature. Peoples desire for these things cause a upset in what is considered normal. A space that was once a forest and now a outside shopping outlet, was constructed in my town of Wareham. Not because they thought it would help Wareham but because the people needed the stores to be around them. This could be considered the Arcadia of my town because it is seen as a great place.

Wareham crossing was designed for a new place for the residents to go shopping. You can only enter the Plaza by going to the right. Just as Gladwell said that this usually happens, it occurs at the crossing too. By only being able to enter at the right, it forces you to view all of the stores on both sides. Seeing on of your favorite stores will want you to go there and shop. The road is also curved and tress are planted every so often along the way, as you can see in the pictures. Kunstler says “The lazily curved streets were lined with these trees.” This quote gives a clear picture of what the crossing is like. The curve road is a never ending black whole making the crossing seem so much bigger. 

Also shown in the pictures you can see how the parking lot is a lot bigger than it needs to be. Even during the busiest time of the year, which is Christmas there are still a tone of left over parking spaces. There is also a lot of empty building that have no desire to be filled. When it comes down to it, it makes no sense because it’s what the people wanted. As Kunstler mentioned in his video that the Wareham crossing would be considered abandoned because there are so many empty building, he also goes on in “Eden Updated,” to say, “land developers came along and gobbled up the surrounding countryside, they destroyed the rural setting that had provided all the charm.” This quote can easily describe Wareham crossing because it once was a forest and is now left to an empty parking lot. The useless parking lot is a desert in a way, as no one finds a use for it.

“Policing the evolving pattern of development to make sure that is remained wild, irregular, playful and spontaneous,” as Kunstler says, perfectly describes the set up the stores at Wareham crossing. At one end of the crossing you would find all of the restaurants and at the other end, there are the clothing stores. This leaves all of the other stores to be in between. This forces you to see what other stores are at the crossing.  This set up will pull people in to the stores to see what the latest items are. The chain of stores is a link making each separate one connected to each other. 

With all of Kunstler’s ideas being known through is article “Eden Updated,” this demonstrates how badly people want materialistic things. These things are created for one reason only, and that is for industrial purpose for a better economy while destroying the beauty of Mother Nature. We have come from a society that continues to grow and destroy nature as we technology become more advanced. As of right now we are in a place where materialistic things are the only thing that matter, and this leaves us to only wanted better things in life as the retail spaces become older and older.