Urban Messiah

Hello from the City!

Doom and gloom, and nothing nice to say about the suburbs and thier oil-dependant 'culture'. Today I give you the antithesis, the nemesis of sprawl. I believe that one day I will be the progenitor of this antithesis. I promote a renewed interest in the urban centre, in living in closer proximity to our fellows. Allow me to spawn an image for you. Close your eyes, and imagine the future, 2025......

You wake up in the morning to the soft buzzing of your alarm. It's 8:00 am. Your flat is calm and quiet. You get out of your bed and open the curtains to look out your large window. 4 floors down, you see people already out on the street enjoying the morning with coffee and breakfast on the patio of a nice cafe. The street, or rather promenade, is made of a nice granite-coloured cobble work. There are no vehicles, and the promenade is penetrated by many tall leafy trees. You shower, then eat some breakfast. You don't have to drive the kids to school, since it's only a block away. You leave your building at 8:45 and head for work.

Down the elevator and into the quiet lobby, out the door and across the promenade to the subway station. Subways and trains are the only means of transportaion these days, since the oil ran out ten years ago. You admire the way your life has simplified, quieted down, and gotten that much more enjoyable since then. Anything you want is no more than a 20 minute walk or a subway away. All the roads have been cobbled over, and the number of parks has increased in the past 10 years, replacing parking lots. You pass one of these parks on your way to the subway station. This one has a large bronze monument, an oil drum chained to an emaciated man. You enjoy the ironies of the past, and truly appreciate life now. The air is cleaner, the sun is brighter, and there are no steel monstrosities waiting to run you over at the next turn. You descend into the bright, colourfully painted station and board a north-bound subway. It's free, its uncrowded, and there are plenty of places to sit, even in the morning rush hour.

The man beside you, middle aged and in a suit, is reading a newspaper. The headline reads "Liberal Sponsorship Scandal Finally Concluded". He strikes up a conversation with you. He says "They've been working on this one since '04. It's such a shame that it took so long to clear up." You reply "Yes, it's just too bad that the malefactors who instigated the scandal are all deceased." You continue the discussion, and by the end of your short 5 minute commute you've made a new friend. After all, face to face communication is encouraged by the Social Committee. You wonder how those people 20 years ago ever survived without casual talks with other Human beings, and how they spent three hours a day in that ancient, outdated mode of transportation; the automobile.

You arrive at your stop and depart, wishing your new friend a good day. You ascend the steps and back onto another promenade. High above you are the towering heights of mixed-use buildings. Their architecture is imposing at first, but in a short time a stranger to them will become accustomed to their quirks and charms. You think to yourself; "every one of them a masterpeice of Human creation, a testament to what we can do when we work together. " All the buildings in this area are based on much older, Victorian designs with many frills and variations to keep them interesting. Many are brightly painted along their first few floors so as to be more friendly to those walking on street level. Each is engineered to be in a position to allow maximum sunlight to fall on the promenades, while blocking the wind-tunnel effect of older cities. One of the main designs is a north-south orientation to minimize the amount of sun they block. This design has various peaks, so that its shadow is not quite as tall as a building of its height might be. The base is masoned specifically to look like the old imposing structures of the 19th century, but around the 3rd floor this gives way to steel and glass. The rooves of these buildings are made from solar panels, as well as much of the siding, in order to capture light to provide 50% of the building's necessary power. These buildings are never dull; each was built as if in competition for beauty with other nearby buildings. The promenade around your building is full of people casually walking to work. Its about 8:53, and some people are finishing up their conversations before heading into the office.

Your building is one of those described above. You feel proud to work in a building of such magnificence. You've seen pictures of mid to late 20th century architecture. One failure after another, usually. You recall your impressions of what is now a wasteland, but once was called suburbia. "A poverty of soul; no community, no grandness, no practicality," you think to yourself. You arrive at your desk, greeted by your fellow workers as you sit down. You and your team sit at a table, whose shape you might call a half-swirl. There are no dividers in your office, nor in many others these days. The cubicle, as it happens, has been nearly extinct for some years now. The communitive ideas of the Social Comittees leeched into the workplace, which resulted in more team-based work, more job security, and more regular hours. This abolished the need for tiny individual work spaces.

Much of your work requires your computer, which is seamlessly integrated with non-digital media through a variety of imput devices. Paperwork was considered environmentally destructive, and so the Business Comittees recommended closer ties with digital documentation and media. Your work consists of providing management solutions to companies in the US, China, Brazil, India, and United Korea. You and your team daily speak to your equivalents in these companies.

The Committees were formed in 2009 when it was realized there was an energy crisis at hand. For the first time in 90 years, governments reacted quickly to impending disaster and the United Nations created these committees to oversee the world-wide powerdown. After careful management of the remaining fossil fuel stocks, society was able to collectively achieve a successful reduction in its energy use while simultaneously investing in renewable sources of energy. Meanwhile, the committees made recommendations to simplify life and increase sociability, so that the epidemics of anti-social behaviour, violence, stress, obesity, and heart disease would be eased. Although some tight restrictions on population, energy use, and goods consumption were passed, many had recently been removed as the supply and demand for resources reached equalibrium again. A few of the committees had been dissolved in the past six months, their purposes being fulfilled.

Your day is full of work, but each day is rewarding since your company offers a profit-sharing scheme as many others do. You know that the harder you and your team work, the higher your reward will be. Your workplace is great, and a lunch outdoors is always welcome and comfortable. You can sit in one of the many public tables in the plaza below, under an umbrella, enjoying your meal. Your team joins you and you have a hardy conversation about upcoming entertainments at the Arts Hall, which is about 16 minutes walk from your flat. A young member of your team wondered what such halls would have provided in the old suburbs, thinking to make a joke at the slovenly mannerisms reputed to be the lot of suburbanites. You reply that suburbia did not have arts venues, and that the people there were ignorant of finer things. Your collegue is shoked, unbelieving that such a staple of social life in all communities was at one time unheard of outside of the cities.

Your day complete, you return to your flat. It takes about 10 minutes. Your children arrive shortly after from the nearby elementary school. One of them asks if she might learn more about what cities were like when you were a child. You sit on your couch and begin to explain that cities in your youth were a place of only work, sometimes alternative entertainment, but rarely a place to live. "Why daddy?"

"Well, most of the people who worked in the cities preferred to live in suburbia and commute every day. They would all get into their cars at dawn and drive down the freeway, sometimes at a snail's pace, and park in giant cement catacombs known as parking garages."

"I don't understand. Why did these people want to live so far from where they worked? Didn't they like the cities?" asks your child, as she attempts to conjure in her small mind the rediculous image of hundreds of thousands of people simultaneously getting into those polluting machines and conveying themselves slowly to work so early in the morning.

"Partly because of the speculators. These awful men and women drove the price of land in cities to absurd levels, so that no one could afford to live there. So they all ran away to where houses were cheaper."

"What happened to the speculators, daddy?"

"Well when we had the energy crisis, we learned that we had to start living closer together. Once we did that, we realized how the speculators were increasing the price of property so that the poor couldn't live near the rest of the people. The poor people got stuck in bad places, and took out the vengeance of their lot upon all through voting, and sometimes violence. Once we lowered the price of living in the city, everyone came together, and there was no more violence. Since property had become so cheap, there was no need for speculators, because their cut would have been so small."

"Why did the energy crisis happen?"

"Because all through the 20th century we used oil for heat, fuel, power, and chemicals. Then in 2011 the oil finally ran out, but some of our leaders recognized the problem and acted quickly, so that the committees were formed to help smooth the transition. Those were troubling times, since society had become so dependant on cheap fuel. We often wondered daily if there was going to be heat, transport, light, and food the next day."

"Our teacher says that because of all the oil we burned, the air was bad and people had trouble breathing, and that the sunlight burned people very badly and made them sick."

"That's right. All the oil and coal we burned let carbon dioxide and monoxide into the air, which are very bad gasses. These gasses stayed in the air for many years and trapped the sunlight inside the earth's atmosphere, making it hotter while burning the ozone layer. Many died from the bad air, and others became permanantly sick. All around the world, many species of animals died too, because it was too hot and too polluted for them. The heat also caused the arctic and antarctic iceburgs to melt, making water levels rise, causing severe weather and storms all over the world."

"Did the animals get better, and did the ice stop melting?"

"Many of the animals didn't make it. That's why you can't go into the Deeper Greenbelt without a six-month training course. The Environment Committee says we have to let nature heal, and in the meantime stay in our cities. As for the ice, our scientists say that next year will be the last that the ice melts, because those bad gasses stay in the atmosphere for so long."

"Daddy, teacher says we should see the new Museum of Folley, and that I can get bonus points for writing a review of it."

"Well then, we shall go after dinner. It's not far, just a 10 minute subway ride."

You eat dinner with your children, and then take them to the new museum. It's architecture is innovative, and along the sides of the steps are friezes of some of the errors of the past, such as "The SUV", "The Gas Bar", and "Oil War". As one of the many state-sponsored museums in your city, it is free to enter. In fact, the purpose is to educate. The first exhibit contains a number of historic artefacts, including the "Hummer" and samples of asphalt roads, which of course are made from petrochemicals and produce runoff into the local environment. The next exhibit contains statistical data, such as the absurd price of owning a car. "That's more than what I pay for our home," you exclaim. The third exhibit is about Oil Warfare, and how the United States declined into a third-world country. You read the entry plaque to your children, who listen intently;

"The critical moment came in 2002, when Canada's leaders decided not to help Mr. Bush in invading Iraq, because they knew the war was about oil. Because of the monumental expense of percecuting those wars, and the economic and social upheaval at home, Mr. Bush's America was rapidly becoming poorer and poorer. It was not until 2013 that a UN force led by China, Canada, and Russia was able to remove Mr. Bush from his repressive and tyrannical theocracy. Once Mr. Bush was removed from his throne, democracy was resored to America and her colonies awarded sovereignty. Unfortunately, the American economy had become so dependant on oil, and Mr. Bush was unwilling to work with the UN committees by the time of the energy crisis. The economy collapsed and all the wealthy capitalists left the country. Some compare today's America with mid 20th century India or Pakistan."

You enter the exhibit and you see a man standing there, viewing the artefacts from the Iran War. He says to you;

"Interesting exhibit, no?"

"I haven't yet seen everything in this room," you reply.

"Have a look. You'll find that this place has more to offer to adults than children."

"Indeed? Wait, I've seen you in the papers and on the news. You're the planner."

"Yes, amongst other things. Permit me to introduce myself. Mr. Moore, MPL. I designed this city."

"I've always wanted to say that it is a joy to live in your city. I believe your designs have greatly helped the committees' progress. "

"Thank you. I only wish they had listened earlier."

"Nevertheless, you have created something that people can live and enjoy. Your ideas revolutionized city living."

"Part of the key was to accomodate for Human randomness. The order of the grid was simply unfreindly and created harsh environmental concequences such as wind tunnel and eternal shadows beneath buildings. I also believe colour is much more inviting than grey or black. That's why many things are painted brightly. The greatest trick was trying to convince the conservatives to return to dense cities."

"However did you achieve that, luring them out of their suburban fortresses?"

"In the end, it was simply a matter of resources. There was no way they could stay there and commute, when everything else was happening in the city."

"Mr. Planner, why did people want to stay so long in suburbia? Teacher told us that it created anti-social behaviour and saddness," your daughter asks.

"Well, child, some people get stuck in their ways, and think that thier ideas are the only correct ones. Then once it starts to look like they are wrong, they are afraid to admit it, so they hold on even harder. Do continue veiwing the exhibits here. The past has a nasty habit of repeating itself, so the best way to prevent this from happening is to know past mistakes."

"Thank you, and good day."

"Good day."

And so you continue through the exhibits with your children, ensuring that they know how to recognize past mistakes, and not repeat them.

Now open your eyes and consider the life I have put before you. Is it really all that far-fetched? The only predictable thing about the future is that it is imminant. It cannot be avoided. So start thinking of it now. What I have presented here shows that urban density is the alternative to and solution to suburan ills. In the scenario, cities become the centres of wealth, while the suburbs are left to waste, since they can no longer exist without oil. The greenbelt I described is a full-out nature preserve, in 2 layers. First is the layer where Humans are allowed to experience and interact with nature. This layer is close to the city rim and easily accessable. The second layer is off limits to all buy a few Humans, so that their impact is limited and that nature might, in course, regenerate itself.

The transportation, monuments, and institutions of culture and education are free and many in this society. Free transportation encourages people to use it, and use it often. This allowed the society to replace the automobile, since transit was far cheaper than the alternative. Long range travel is replaced with electric maglev trains, high tech solar, and even sail. Monuments serve as a constant reminder of the perils of the past and insurance against future excesses. Education, the arts, and museums are free for all too, so that they might foster knowledge, community, and self-cultivation.

The key to the existance of this society is low property rates. Speculators and realtors all overvalue property because they get a certain cut of that value when it is sold. This increases the price of all property, driving people away from denser areas where speculative demand is higher. Speculators are also underminded by public housing, which has a value far below profit margins for such a profession. With cheap living for all, this society saves a great deal of its income which, on top of not owning a car, allows them to accumulate a great deal of capital, thus making society much richer and investment much more ready. The housing market is heavily regulated, so that most areas are about equal in property value, so as to not create enclaves of the rich separate from enclaves of the poor. Everybody lives close together, whether high or low income, thus increasing social harmoney.

The purpose of the committees might seem a little like something out of a totalitarian regime. The difference here is that they are guiding bodies controlled by the United Nations, whose sole purpose is to make recommendations based on research and empirical data. They have expiry dates so that their power is limited. The recommendations of the committees are de facto laws that may be interpreted based on a sovereign nation's needs. Here, the UN has a great deal of control over international relations and overall world development.

The point is this: much of the future of city planning has to take into account the fact that oil will run out. Thus we need to plan working cities, not impractical suburbs. We need to come together and live closer to our entertainment, work, and friends. Part of this is learning to be social again, rather than existing in our isolated little fortresses, never speaking to anyone on the street, and never encountering people of other classes. This was the project of the Social Committee in the scenario above. People had to learn to converse and interact more.

The city-as-antithesis has to surpass or at least meet the desires of those who once lived in suburbia. Part of this will be dealt with by the convenience of living close to everything. Today, zoning requirements make it very difficult to build anything that is mixed-use or close to existing housing. The NIMBY (not in my back yard) problem is a great impediment to commercial structures and high-density housing, and a complete barrier to low-income and public housing. We have to punish such selfish people, or at least make them understand that the world doesn't revolve around them. Another underminer of the NIMBY clause is a cut in real estate prices. NIMBY usually results from fears of lost property value because of the proximity of new installments that might be considered to have an adverse impact on the neighbourhood. If property values were already low, NIMBY wouldn't be as much of an issue. By removing NIMBY and changing zoning laws, we could build dense cities again, teeming with life, culture, and a wide variety of commercial venues. This would make living conditions very acceptable, as more people could access the convenience of having everything so close.

The other deterrant to living in cities is the 'concrete jungle' image. This image is the product of cities transformed into parkways. Streets of cement and asphalt disect the city everywhere, while parking garages rise on every block. This can be solved by either the upcoming energy crisis, or focused planning. Either way, roads and parking lots can be removed once commuters and automobiles are out of the picture. Streets, with their speeding cars and careless drivers, can be replaced by cobbled promenades, rows of trees, gardens, shop-stalls, and patios. Parking lots and garages can be wiped out and replaced by parks and green spaces. This would make cities much more delightful.

A final problem that cities have today is noise and pollution. Well guess where those come from.... The automobile. Sit in a city and just listen. What is the biggest, most pervasive noise you can hear. That's right, all the cars and trucks driving by. No quiet, and the air is thick with exhaust fumes. Every day hundreds of thousands of people drive into the city to work, bringing with them their suburban monstrosities spewing carbon monoxide and dioxide into the city air. The concentration of vehicles during the hottest parts of the day cause the sun's heat to become trapped in the city, which interacts with the greenhouse gasses to produce smog. The solution? kick out the automobiles. Make the city a no-drive zone. I bet pedestrians would feel a lot more safe too. Without automobiles and with today's technology, we can eliminate noice so that cities can become very quiet. Besides, suburbia isn't all that quiet, and the air is just as bad if not worse.

So imagine my quiet, freindly, green, sustainable vision of the future. Enjoy it. It is the best alternative to today's hectic lifestyle, and tomorrow's uncertainty. It's funny how the solutions to many problems can be some of the most ancient practices in Human civilization.

Hooray for the city!