While Disney is thinking more about inclusion and diversity in its productions and attractionswhich earned him a lot of criticism from fans, it seems that the firm with big ears is not interested in the ecology and the calm of the inhabitants of this region of California where it has decided to build a city with exorbitantly priced housing…
Living in the magic of Disney: you might as well have a big bank account
Have you always wanted to live in the magical world of Disney? Imagine that this will soon be possible because in April 2022, the Walt Disney firm launched the construction of a residential district called Cotino made up of 1,900 homes in an artificial lagoon located in California. The choice of location is not trivial because this area located in the Coachella Valley corresponds to where Walt Disney had a vacation home.
This Disney-branded real estate project aims to offer future owners residences with a listed price between $1 and $2 millionto live to the rhythm of the films and the world of the studios. As a bonus, future residents will also be able to enjoy a theme park The Incredibles. In total, the land complex covers 250 hectares in Rancho Mirage and an additional 10 hectares for the construction of the artificial lagoon.
A magical project on paper, but not ecological
If on paper, everything seems idyllic, on site, it’s not the same way of seeing things. For the residents, this Disney project marks the end of a “quiet, peaceful and welcoming town“. For one of them, “Cotino brings pollution, unrest and chaos to a region that didn’t want it“. The latter also regrets that in this region where water is a rare commodity he has seen real estate projects multiply :
At the time, we had severe restrictions on water use. Everyone was tearing up their lawn and replacing it with artificial grass. And during this time, I started seeing signs indicating the construction of a huge lagoon.
To this argument, the company in charge of the construction of Cotino responds that the lagoon consumes 33 times less water than an 18-hole golf course.
The mayor of Rancho Mirage tries to calm his constituents by reminding them that the Coachella region has 54,000 individual swimming pools. But it’s not enough, especially when we know that the municipality wanted to accommodate more affordable housing while this project, approved by the municipal council, does not provide for any.
Disney plans to build another city in North Carolina. And looking back, a project of this kind had already seen the light of day in Florida in the 90s but the dream had turned into a nightmare with two violent deaths and a family massacre…
Source: hitek.fr
