I would like to begin by thanking the generous donors who made this incredible opportunity possible for me through the Arts Student Employment Fund. This summer, I conducted research under the supervision of Professor Sarah Moser on a project titled “From Experimental to Entrepreneurial: Three Waves of Disney Master-Planned Urban Mega-Developments, from the 1960s to the Present”. Over the past few months, we examined Disney’s role as an underexamined urban actor in the United States, categorizing the corporation's city-building efforts into three distinct eras — each shaped by unique themes, motivations, and sociocultural trends.
In Winter 2025, I took GEOG 325: New Master-Planned Cities with Professor Sarah Moser, which quickly became my favourite class of the semester. I already had an interest in urban studies, but this course deepened my passion for the subject. During one lecture, Professor Moser mentioned that Disney had developed several cities and suggested that someone should write a paper on them. Interested, I visited her office hours, and we decided to pursue an ARIA research project together that would result in a publication on Disney’s urban planning trajectory.
Entering this research project, my primary learning objective was to conduct a comprehensive literature review on Disney’s urban projects and recent city-building more broadly, engaging with an extensive body of scholarship on master-planned cities. This involved examining the limited existing research on Disney’s developments alongside work on company towns, privatized governance, and the exclusionary dynamics in new cities. I also sought to gain firsthand experience with the academic publication process, from the earliest stages of drafting, through multiple rounds of revision, to final submission. Another objective was to learn how to create visual materials— such as maps, tables, and timelines — that could simplify complex information into concise and visually engaging forms. Finally, our goal was also to contribute to scholarly discourse on master-planned cities by presenting Disney as a distinctive and compelling case study in corporate urbanism and branded placemaking.
Each major milestone I reached during this internship felt rewarding, but completing the first draft of our publication was an especially significant accomplishment for me. After spending the first month immersed in research — compiling and reviewing a vast body of sources — I finally had the opportunity to translate this work into writing. Condensing such an extensive amount of information into a comprehensive paper was also the biggest challenge of the internship. At times, the scale of the writing felt overwhelming. However, I learned to break the project into smaller, more manageable sections and focus on one part at a time. This helped reduce the stress of the tasks and made the overall writing process less daunting. Our publication is by far the most substantial piece of writing I have ever worked on, and at 11,000 words, finishing the first draft was both intimidating and incredibly gratifying.
This experience has made me far less apprehensive about completing my Honours thesis in the fall. Initially, I was worried about the amount of work required, but having already written a large academic paper, I now feel far more prepared. This project has also sharpened my research skills and sparked a deeper interest in pursuing future research opportunities. I have already registered for GEOG 489: Independent Study to do another project with Professor Moser, which we hope will also lead to a publication. Moreover, she has recently invited me to deliver a lecture on my Disney-related research in her GEOG 325 course this fall, an opportunity for which I am truly grateful.
This experience has also encouraged me to further explore urban studies to expand my skill set. Although it is only my minor, I find the field fascinating, and this academic year I am taking two GIS courses to improve my technical expertise. Overall, my ARIA experience has been immensely fruitful, both academically and professionally, and has provided me with the confidence and skills to pursue more research projects in the future. Once again, thank you to the Arts Internship Office for this incredible opportunity!
