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- Title
Boomtown Landscapes.
- Authors
Hostetter, Ellen
- Abstract
The term boomtown conjures an image of historic mining towns hastily formed by thousands of fortune seekers. The central force creating these towns was an economic dream; the potential of vast wealth, available to all. Mines and mining communities should not, however, define boomtowns; they are the material expression of a more general process that varies given the valued resource and time period. Fresh boomtowns are created today, springing from a different resource — residential mortgage financing. These boomtowns take the form of sprawling suburbs stitched onto existing cities. Though today's boomtowns look different, the central, speculative force remains: big dreams fueled by pools of easy riches. This paper compares natural resource boomtowns of the past and contemporary, financial resource boomtowns to illustrate their common force and pattern. Their differences reveal a larger story about change in American society. These differences show how contemporary boomtown patterns alter the meaning of home, community, and permanence, and they raise questions about the future of these suburban neighborhoods.
- Subjects
LAS Vegas (Nev.); STOCKTON (Calif.); NEVADA; PENNSYLVANIA; CALIFORNIA; BOOMTOWNS; MINES &; mineral resources -- Social aspects; URBAN growth
- Publication
Material Culture, 2011, Vol 43, Issue 2, p59
- ISSN
0883-3680
- Publication type
Article