Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow

What Would Disney Do (About Network States)?

There was a time when the US was at the forefront of thinking and creating new ideas, new forms of living and new cities.

Walt Disney’s 1966 presentation on E.P.C.O.T (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) shows a glimpse of that time.

It’s a private version of a planned city (like Brasilia).

This was the time of peak centralization in the West. A time where States were still seen as builders and innovators. A time where it was feasible to think of innovating fast, like this list of examples of people quickly accomplishing ambitious things, put together by Patrick Collison.

Now we live in a time where doing even the simplest innovation in our cities is unthinkable, especially in the West. Where a new bus lane takes 27 years to build in San Francisco.

But now we have the ability to leverage the network to fight back and build it fast, with a decentralized approach.

That brings me back to Disney. What’s so captivating about Walt is his ability to create narratives: not only stories for his movies but also narratives to create mini Worlds, like Disneyland and Disney World.

What would Walt do to capture the imagination of people in the Network to build together?