THE PRODUCTION OF LEISURE FOR METROPOLES AND COUNTRY HOUSE CONDOMINIUMS

Abstract

Studies on metropolitan environments have traditionally focused on institutional arrangements, on mobility/centrality dynamics, and on the commutes of the lower classes to metropolitan fringes. These analytical perspectives stem from acknowledging the growth of metropoles and their suburban sprawl, factors which made the concern over the production of space a central topic of debate. Discussing leisure, in turn, gained renown with the advent of modern times, being commonly referred to as 'mass leisure'. From this perspective, leisure began to be viewed in its relationship to work, which is why its origins can be traced back to nineteenth-century urban and industrial Europe. Two propositions stemming from this relationship make it possible to endorse the metropolis and leisure symbiosis. The first is that urbanization, combined with the evolution of transportation, increased the demand for leisure spaces. The second is that leisure activities required functional architectures that mainly served the interests of wealthy groups. By focusing on the production of space, this paper regards leisure as an activity programmed by real estate actors, who take advantage of land stocks available outside metropolitan centres to establish country house condominiums as second homes.

Key words:
Metropolis; Leisure; Country House Condominiums