Series Editor: Professor Matthew Carmona. During the final years of his life, Walt Disney was consumed with the problems of cities. His development concept would be his team's conceptual response to the ills of the inner cities and the sprawl of the megalopolis: the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow or, as it became known, EPCOT.  This beautifully written, instantly engrossing volume focuses on the original concept of EPCOT, which was conceived by Disney as an experimental community/company town of about 20,000 people on the Walt Disney World property in central Florida.  With its radial plan, 50-acre town center possibly enclosed with a plastic dome, international shopping bazaar, greenbelt, high-density apartments, satellite communities, monorail and underground roads, the original EPCOT plan is reminiscent of the Garden City as well as today's transit-oriented development theory.  EPCOT would also draw upon the latest technology from American industry. Unfortunately, Disney did not live long enough to witness the realization of his model city. However, EPCOT evolved into projects such as Epcot and the town of Celebration, Florida. Table of Contents: Physical Planning, Transportation: The End of Autopia, Architecture and Construction, Site and Technology, Landscaping, Economic Analysis and Finance, Marketing, Regulation and Governance/Social Planning, Operations and Management, and EPCOT After Disney. "... rare combination of solid academic historical research and a 'great read' about one of the most fascinating people of our century. It makes fascinating reading both for students of city-building and Disney fans.... Steve's vivid descriptions make us wonder what Walt Disney's original plan would have been like had it been built...."--Richard Peiser, Real Estate and the Built Environment, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University. "He did a good research job."--Marty Sklar, member of Disney's original EPCOT team and author of Dream It! Do It!: My Half-Century Creating Disney's Magic Kingdoms. "This is exactly the sort of research and writing about my father and his work that he deserves."--Diane Disney Miller. "Author Steve Mannheim's meticulous research, including first-ever interviews with many of Walt's colleagues, develops a fascinating documentary on Disney's final creative initiative before his death in 1966. The book is the first to reveal Walt Disney's deep personal concern for the 'urban crisis' of the time, and his effort to focus the creative genius of his design team on the condition of cities...."--Gerald Gast, School of Architecture & Environment, University of Oregon in Portland/Program on Urban Studies, Stanford University. "...a prescient insight into what Walt was thinking about as he approached the opportunity of his new 28,000 acre site in Florida.... [Walt] was deeply involved in trying to articulate EPCOT, a concept of a new kind of community and lifestyle.... The first definitive assessment of this context."--Harrison "Buzz" Price, member of Disney's original EPCOT team and author of Walt's Revolution!: By the Numbers . "a window into the mind of one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century while he was wrestling with his grandest project.  It is a well-documented historical account of the decision-making processes regarding EPCOT as well as a description of the ideas that influenced the concept.  If someone wants to know more about what inspired Walt Disney's visions, and how these visions were turned into reality, this book is an indispensable resource."--Jeffrey Sasha Davis, Regional Studies . "This volume describes all the complex discussions which were held within the Disney organisation, with major American industrial companies (who mostly treated Disney's ideas seriously, and were willing to support EPCOT financially); with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ... and with successive Governors of Florida.... It is interesting to speculate whether Disney, had he lived longer, would have succeeded in revolutionising urban design." Architectural Science Review "This book provides the best account of a remarkable accomplishment of America's most influential modern urban planner - Walt Disney. Disney's genius went beyond amusement parks to the creation of the new suburban community form. Mannheim does a remarkable job in detailing Disney's revolutionary urban planning contributions that shape most of the modern world. Edward Blakely, Professor Emeritus of City and Regional Planning, College of Environmental Design, University of California at Berkeley. "Steve Mannheim has written a useful, detailed and intriguing book.... Urban designers will want to read this book to understand the personalities and planning processes that produced EPCOT. Mannheim also discusses many of the historical precedents and urban planning ideas that influenced Disney and his staff. He has performed a valuable service in gathering and synthesizing a