Quartzsite and the Grid

From Audcwiki, the free encyclopedia.

The first continental grid was created by Thomas Jefferson's Land Survey Ordnance of 1785. It established a continuity between all the territory administered by the United States and made possible the production of value from land. By creating a clear order and bonding the individual to a discreet, demarcated spatial condition, it also helped to transform the open frontier into private parcels of land ownership. By atomizing the populace into familial units, the grid leads to rural society. This was Jefferson's wish: he hoped to avoid the formation of the mass at all costs as the mass would be more easily swayed by appeals to emotion.

In Quartzsite, the grid breaks down, atomized by the individual clusters of campers, each a community with its own internal structure. The result is that Quartzsite has become a form of Exurbia.

Quartzsite undoes traditional ideas of property ownership tied to the Jeffersonian grid. Unlike Great Britain's system of real estate, which is generally based on Feudalism and involves long term leasing of properties, American real estate is based on the idea that an individual should own a house on their own plot of land. In Quartzsite, individuals can choose to either rent the land between their dwelling for a sum commensurate to the location and amenities offered or, if they wish, they can settle on government land outside the city where rent is free although stays are strictly limited.

next: Quartzsite as Community Without Ties