Tuesday, January 31, 2012

RPG 303: Art and Diversity of Place _ Prompt 5







How do the lakes in Winter Park affect community expectations and individual aspirations?

8 comments:

Ali said...

The lakes in Winter Park give the city a sense of charm and delight. Living on the waterfront is aspired by many, not only because it is a luxury to wake up to beautiful calming waters but it is an opportunity to show off social standing. As our scenic boat tour guide mentioned, the homes on the lake in Winter Park are offered at millions of dollars. There is a reasoning behind the extravagant asking prices for these homes. Many people desire to live in this type of location because it secludes and distinguishes them from the everyday world. They share their backyard with the open waters, an amentity that few get the chance to experience. The lakes of Winter Park are a huge reason to why there is so much attraction to the city and why the cost of living is sky-rocket high.

Kris Karpinia said...

How do the lakes in Winter Park affect community expectations and individual aspirations?

The lakes in Winter Park not only affect community expectations, but create them. Almost every lake we went on, besides Virgina had shorelines completely developed. The houses on each lot ranged in architectural style, reflecting the owner's image he or she wants to portray. These homes are both beautifully built and located on prime real estate, like Ali said, is highly sought after. The Isle of Sicily, on Lake Maitland is a perfect example of individual aspirations to hold "the most prestigious house".

Tarun_1110 said...

I believe lakes in any community and especially in Winter Park’s case raise expectations. In well to do communities many people would love to live on a lake. Properties on the lake are generally very high end and highly sought after. Towns with lakes often times have public beaches and this can provide a public good. The town I live in during the summer offers a lake and I think it adds significant value to the town both financially and in non-monetary ways. Towns with lakes have a closer sense of community. An argument can be made that having lakes can also add financial security to a town. Lakes can increase land values and therefore increase property tax revenues. Lakes and beaches also provide an area for social interaction. People can have barbecues on the beach or families can swim together. Having said this, towns without lakes do not necessarily have lower expectations but it does definitely decrease the atmosphere of the town.

Rodge_1108 said...

The lakes found intertwining and throughout the area give off a certain feel to the residents. It’s definitely something people pay extra for such as how living on the beach goes higher or living in the Upper East Side in New York. The idea of a house right beside a lake that connects to multiple other lakes gives people this sense of relaxation because you can take a boat out on the lake on a lazy day. It also gives a nice touch of nature when you have a lake right beside your house that’s got birds, fish, turtles, and the occasional gator. Many of the people who live here obviously have a pretty lavish lifestyle with the millions of dollars these houses go for and they are willing to pay for this extra benefit of the lake front house. Even for people who are not directly on the lake I can see that the people also enjoy the lake as a scenic area for recreation and for social events like the Azalea Park where weddings are held that we passed by on the boat tour.

Helen said...

The lakes in Winter Park are in short, responsible for the creation of the city it is seen as today. Winter Park was created as a winter escape from the cold weather for upper class new englanders. The lakes have created beautiful and ideal scenery. A couple years ago, Winter Park had the homes of the most millionaires. Homes today sell for a couple million, and a simple boat house sell for at lease 100,000 dollars. The homes are a way of distinguishing themselves from the "outside" world. Overall, the lakes of Winter Park made it the city it is today.

Brittany Christian said...

After taking the boat tour yesterday I consider the lakes in Winter Park to be the heart of the community. These lakes are valued and maintained by the city and loved by the people who live here. After all, doesn’t everyone want a lake view? Because Lake Virginia, Lake Osceola, and Lake Maitland are so valued, they must be taken care of. That means the community expects the city to regulate these bodies of water. For example, we learned that the water level is constantly monitored and that when there was an alligator problem it was taken care of. On the individual level, those citizens with big bucks are going to pay a hefty price for the limited, but available lake front properties. We have seen this happen since the first people settled in Winter Park and will continue to see this kind of action with the new people that move here.

Nadia said...

Lakes in Winter Park give the people a sense of privacy and give aesthetic. The most beautiful homes in the area are by the lakes. Not only are the lakes full of history, but they are a display of social standing. Someone who resides by a lake is likely to own a boat, and the opportunity to explore it. It provides a new type of socialization, a backdrop for wealthy community life that everyone wants a taste of; maybe that's why there's even a boar tour. The houses residing by the lake are full of history, from being the writing site of "Gone with the Wind" down to even more designs by James Gamble Rogers II. It is the perfect coalition of old and new as tenants purchase their homes, only to tear them down and build others.

lisa loft said...

Lakes affect the community in the way that they add a special character and give community members as well as tourists a unique opportunity to enjoy water related activities. With multiple lakes, Winter Park has even more to offer than a typical small town. Lakes offer the community access to water based activities such as boating, water skiing, and fishing and turn lake front property into a valuable asset. People value lake front property locations, and will even go to the extreme of buying a house and tearing it down in order to replace it with their own ideal home on lake front property. A house near the water makes for a unique feel and atmosphere, giving it a special kind of value. People enjoy being near the water, since it’s a vast expanse of open, unclaimed space. People living near a lake do not risk loosing their view, since no developer can build anything on a lake. It’s a sort of guarantee that there will be no further human development. Community members expect wealthy people to invest in property that is located near a lake, building mansions on the shores of the lakes near Winter Park. The lakes surrounding Winter Park are what transform it into such a unique spot in Florida, lending some variety, and giving people a welcome change from the predominantly flat, green Florida landscape.