Is there really anything wrong with rich people carving out pieces of Block Island and turning them in to their own not-so-little self-sufficient enclaves? They certainly give the builders a one-time boost (assuming they use an island builder) while they are creating their enclave. So, in the short term, enclaves may not impose a cost.

In the long term, however, enclaves are a disaster at an economic, social, and stewardship level. There are only two kinds of tourist destinations: those that are spoiled and those that are unspoiled. Block Island has been blissfully in the unspoiled category for most of the 20th century, while places like Watch Hill, across the sound on the mainland, have been pure enclaves that have zero tourist appeal. Big aggressive enclave houses are moving the island from the unspoiled category to the spoiled category. The island can survive the building of $100 million of new, respectful houses (where respectful does not mean cheap. some of the most expensive houses on the island are also models of respectfulness) and still be the island we know and love.

Tomorrow: “They hate us because our house is bigger than their’s.”