Slab City, California
SLAB CITY IS ANOTHER TYPE of community that is unique and effective, and represents some version of the future. An assemblage of mostly recreational vehicles, it formed on its own, without any central authority or any apparent organizational force, largely a result of an increasingly nomadic and aging population in this country.
Located at the site of a former military base, on the edge of an active bombing range in the Imperial Valley, near Niland, California, Slab City gets its name from the prevalence of concrete aprons--or slabs--at the site. A network of roadways and slabs have made for an accessible and spread out infrastructure, accommodating its citizens, which number up to a few thousand in the cooler, winter half of the year (in the summer, temperatures often rise above 110 degrees).
The populace is comprised of all sorts, from road warriors living in buses that haven't moved in 20 years, to snow-birders -- retired folks who migrate to warmer climes in their RV's in the winter. This varied mixture of people get along and seem to enjoy the variety of attitudes at Slab City.
There is no government at Slab City, and no fees or charges of any kind for staying there. There is also no water, sewer, or electric hook up, and no police or fire department. Slab Citizens are on their own, together.
The success of Slab City is based on the lack of regulations and oversight and a respect for the independence and autonomy of its denizens. One has a sense of freedom at Slab City that is at once revolutionary and wild, but based on that All-American notion of the collective appreciation of the sanctity of freedom.