When the American tourist industry began to worry that travellers were avoiding the States, its response was to commission a saccharine film of smiling residents to be shown at airports and ports –- made with the help of Disney.
  Now that the authorities in New York are planning to redevelop Governors Island -– which was a coastguard base until 1998 –- as a city park, they have hired a Dutch company, West 8, to do the job. According to today’s New York Times, Jerry van Eyck, one of the West 8 partners, said in an interview that the architects hoped to set a standard of quality design on the island so “we don’t end up with Disney or casinos”.