Modern Day Planning – in 1966?

Modern day urban planners face the challenges of a growing population, catering for families, singles and ageing residents, increased numbers of tourists and much more. They need to establish areas for residential housing, mixed with business zones, schools and ample recreation facilities.

Transport needs have to be met, but always with environmental impacts in mind. So, modern-day planning best practice includes:

• Transit oriented developments
• Recognised transport corridors
• Shared use zones, and, ideally
• A mix of rapid transit systems

How about a City, planned in 1966, that had all this – and more?

It also had a mix of housing styles, with high and low density developments, with both residential and high-tech industry hubs.

It was all contained in Walt Disney’s original plan for EPCOT in Florida.

What’s EPCOT? The acronym for Disney’s “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow”

Walt Disney was a true visionary – and his plans for a “City of the future” included many ideas that would be the envy of most cities, even today.

Please watch and enjoy this film, made by Walt Disney for the Florida Legislators in 1966….make sure you watch part 3 too – just click on the links at the right of the page when you watch in YouTube. The first video starts with Walt Disney talking about the whole project, Disney World, then goes into detail about EPCOT itself about 4 minutes in…

Sadly, the original plans for EPCOT were never realised and the dream died along with Walt himself, just weeks after this film was made, in late 1966….

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