Self-contained communities with >10,000 residents?
July 31, 2018 11:41 AM Subscribe
What categories of self-contained, private communities or residential developments are there (e.g., gated communities, college campuses, military bases...)? For each category, which are the ones with >10,000 residents, or how can I find out?
For a work project, I'm interested in such communities anywhere in the world. I'm particularly interested in ones outside the US, but US-based info is helpful, too. I'm looking for ones that have some level of management of shared activities and facilities, but that can be interpreted loosely. (Yes, I've heard of The Villages... that's the one that keeps coming up!)
For a work project, I'm interested in such communities anywhere in the world. I'm particularly interested in ones outside the US, but US-based info is helpful, too. I'm looking for ones that have some level of management of shared activities and facilities, but that can be interpreted loosely. (Yes, I've heard of The Villages... that's the one that keeps coming up!)
Closed cities (USSR/Russia)
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 11:54 AM on July 31, 2018
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 11:54 AM on July 31, 2018
There are several Sun City retirement communities, so you might get some numbers from their main website . This site might also be helpful.
posted by mareli at 11:55 AM on July 31, 2018
posted by mareli at 11:55 AM on July 31, 2018
Response by poster: Like *permanently, completely* self-contained?
Probably not! 'Self-contained' may be the wrong term -- I just mean that people live there instead of just in an ordinary, public neighborhood, town, or city that's run and funded primarily by a government.
posted by daisyace at 12:00 PM on July 31, 2018
Probably not! 'Self-contained' may be the wrong term -- I just mean that people live there instead of just in an ordinary, public neighborhood, town, or city that's run and funded primarily by a government.
posted by daisyace at 12:00 PM on July 31, 2018
Just some thoughts, these include some historic ones as well as present-day:
- religious - monasteries, convents, etc. The Vatican?
- prisons
- medical quarantines like leper colonies
- resource extraction in isolated places - oil rigs, mines and their associated towns, etc. The oil sands in Canada might be an example, they're company towns basically?
- science research posts, eg Antarctica is a good example, but also jungle, desert, etc
- geographically isolated towns e.g. islands, mountaintops or closed valleys, port towns unreachable by road
- large ships might fit what you're looking for, where there's governance and shared jobs and so on
- nomadic groups, including stuff like traditional circuses
- artists colonies
If you're ok with temporary, could include stuff like -
- summer camps
- revival meetings, religious pilgrimages (the Hajj), etc
- music or culture festivals
- stuff like big motorcycle rallies
- trading fairs/markets
- athletic tournaments like the olympics or world cup, or - more temporary - car-racing events, other things that gather lots of spectators
- temporary or traveling military encampments (as opposed to permanent bases)
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:09 PM on July 31, 2018 [2 favorites]
- religious - monasteries, convents, etc. The Vatican?
- prisons
- medical quarantines like leper colonies
- resource extraction in isolated places - oil rigs, mines and their associated towns, etc. The oil sands in Canada might be an example, they're company towns basically?
- science research posts, eg Antarctica is a good example, but also jungle, desert, etc
- geographically isolated towns e.g. islands, mountaintops or closed valleys, port towns unreachable by road
- large ships might fit what you're looking for, where there's governance and shared jobs and so on
- nomadic groups, including stuff like traditional circuses
- artists colonies
If you're ok with temporary, could include stuff like -
- summer camps
- revival meetings, religious pilgrimages (the Hajj), etc
- music or culture festivals
- stuff like big motorcycle rallies
- trading fairs/markets
- athletic tournaments like the olympics or world cup, or - more temporary - car-racing events, other things that gather lots of spectators
- temporary or traveling military encampments (as opposed to permanent bases)
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:09 PM on July 31, 2018 [2 favorites]
I would guess Norilsk (~200k people)is the largest place that fits this definition. Its basically fly-in-fly out and the entire populace is in someway associated with the mines, directly or indirectly. There is nothing else there. The company that runs the mine will tell you flat out its insane and never should have been built as a city rather than a fly in/fly out mine.
posted by JPD at 12:17 PM on July 31, 2018
posted by JPD at 12:17 PM on July 31, 2018
In the United States, you should look at common-interest developments (CID), which are regulated by homeowner associations. See Privatopia and other writings by Evan McKenzie.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:31 PM on July 31, 2018
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:31 PM on July 31, 2018
Formerly, Kowloon Walled City? Somewhere around 50,000 people at peak, effectively self-governed.
posted by true at 12:31 PM on July 31, 2018
posted by true at 12:31 PM on July 31, 2018
Canada’s First Nations? They have a different land ownership/governance system than the rest of Canada, and generally a very tight-knit community.
posted by saucysault at 12:45 PM on July 31, 2018
posted by saucysault at 12:45 PM on July 31, 2018
About 10,000 Westerners live in the ARAMCO camp in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It's a company town for the Saudi oilpatch and is full of the skilled workers and their families. It's exactly like a 1960s suburb of Los Angeles, except on the other side of the planet, all the way down to "Walnut Street" and "Miller Avenue".
It's walled in, to protect against terrorism. There are schools to grade 9, shops, services, recreation facilities including a golf course. All the services you need, provided through the company. Some of the stricter rules of the country aren't enforced on the compound -- if prisoners can make alcohol in their cells, what kind of booze do you think a thousand chemical engineers can come up with?
It's a really interesting place; within the country (it's in the greater Dammam metro area, which is 4 million people) but isolated from it as well.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 12:54 PM on July 31, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's walled in, to protect against terrorism. There are schools to grade 9, shops, services, recreation facilities including a golf course. All the services you need, provided through the company. Some of the stricter rules of the country aren't enforced on the compound -- if prisoners can make alcohol in their cells, what kind of booze do you think a thousand chemical engineers can come up with?
It's a really interesting place; within the country (it's in the greater Dammam metro area, which is 4 million people) but isolated from it as well.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 12:54 PM on July 31, 2018 [2 favorites]
Avery Island, Louisiana is wholly owned by family members and no one but family and employees of Tabasco and other related on-island businesses can live there.
posted by CheeseLouise at 12:55 PM on July 31, 2018
posted by CheeseLouise at 12:55 PM on July 31, 2018
I'd also add long-term refugee camps to the list. Here'a story about growing up in Kenya's Dadaab camp.
posted by elephantsvanish at 2:00 PM on July 31, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by elephantsvanish at 2:00 PM on July 31, 2018 [2 favorites]
They are very temporary, and very small, but in the USA, Occupy ICE Encampments are popping up (and getting raided by the police) all over. That might fit the bill.
posted by spinifex23 at 3:29 PM on July 31, 2018
posted by spinifex23 at 3:29 PM on July 31, 2018
Most of the above examples have maybe a few hundred residents, not 10,000 or more. The Vatican, refugee camps, some urban ghettos, maybe some of the bigger military bases in the US (Attu reprortedly had close to that at the height of the Cold War), some of the bigger ashrams or intentional living communities in India maybe have that many associated. Perhaps some resort islands or the hugest linked ski resorts where staff live on site but I imagine its closer to a few hundred, maybe a thousand people on staff even at the biggest. Most colleges have far fewer people than that living on campus. I guess if you include company towns the number of communities would go up but most of those have normal governments.
10,000 people is a lot of people. I can't think of any ship, oil installation, monastery, commune, gated community etc that would be close to that. Certainly not Antartica.
posted by fshgrl at 5:04 PM on July 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
10,000 people is a lot of people. I can't think of any ship, oil installation, monastery, commune, gated community etc that would be close to that. Certainly not Antartica.
posted by fshgrl at 5:04 PM on July 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
I think that Coto de Caza in California might be what you're looking for. Gated community with 15,000 residents or so. Has its own schools and retail centers and everything. I've been there once and found it very strange.
posted by aquamvidam at 5:42 PM on July 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by aquamvidam at 5:42 PM on July 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
There's the Quaker retreat & study center called Pendle Hill outside Philadelphia, where some people live (as my friend's mom did for a year while on sabbatical to write a book).
posted by wenestvedt at 7:50 AM on August 1, 2018
posted by wenestvedt at 7:50 AM on August 1, 2018
Response by poster: Thanks for this bunch of helpful suggestions!
posted by daisyace at 6:19 AM on August 2, 2018
posted by daisyace at 6:19 AM on August 2, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
If you will allow periodic resupply, then scientists overwintering in Antarctica or workers on oil-drilling platforms.
Or do you just want general classes of such communities? In which case I would substitute "islands" and "isolated mines."
posted by wenestvedt at 11:53 AM on July 31, 2018 [1 favorite]