Could there be absolutely commodified places with no other aspects to their being? Disneyland is frequently cited as an example. Yet for its employees it is a not a commodity but a workplace that develops its own sub-communities and rituals that go beyond what is sold to the public. Similarly, at least for repeat customers it can become integrated into rhythms and activities that are not those of simple consumption. (See Raz 1999 and Watson 1997)
We can reverse the question: Could there be an absolutely non-commodified place? Imagine remote villages unvisited by tourists, where people go about their lives in peace and harmony, etc. But the tourists might arrive any day. So the question is whether there could be places that would be in principle immune to commodification. Since all places involve some kind of spatial extension, they will always be approachable from the outside, able to be seen and used in ungrammatical ways and vulnerable to touristic observation# -- not just tourists; there are other outsiders who view places: spies, missionaries, salespeople, and the like.
(c) David Kolb, 1 August 2001