Commuting is essential to the economy, isn’t it…?
Paolo Soleri denounced commuting as an outrageous WASTE (of time) and therefore a form of pollution – “TIME POLLUTION “
Legions of people waste 2,3 even 4 hours every day commuting from the suburbs or a dormitory town to their workplace in a big city. A 3 hour commute, which turns an 8 hour working day into an 11 hour day, is considered a normal, even natural, inconvenience if ones wants to work in a big city like London where wages are much higher. Imagine if you got paid for those extra hours or had those extra hours to yourself every day, how much more you could do with your life? Why anyone would expend such a large part of their day in such a wasteful, stressful, and unproductive “activity” as commuting is a mystery to me. And yet in earlier life I myself spent 4 hours a day commuting from the Sussex Coast to London..!
Legions of people waste 2,3 even 4 hours every day commuting from the suburbs or a dormitory town to their workplace in a big city. A 3 hour commute, which turns an 8 hour working day into an 11 hour day, is considered a normal, even natural, inconvenience if ones wants to work in a big city like London where wages are much higher. Imagine if you got paid for those extra hours or had those extra hours to yourself every day, how much more you could do with your life? Why anyone would expend such a large part of their day in such a wasteful, stressful, and unproductive “activity” as commuting is a mystery to me. And yet in earlier life I myself spent 4 hours a day commuting from the Sussex Coast to London..!
An essential feature of OA-Cities is that work places be within a VERY SHORT WALK of home, just as they once were and should always be..
Critics will no doubt argue that “modern economies cannot operate without commuting”
OA-Cities will finesse all those old rules by creating a post-modern economy
Commuting not only wastes TIME, but MONEY too…!
Walking to work
OA-City modules will probably be built in clusters, perhaps grouped around a central larger module where many of the employment opportunities will be located. A 10-cluster might house 100,000 people, enough to support a wide range of employment prospects. Residents of these satellite modules might commute to work in the central one, but their “commute” would be minimal – either a brisk 20 minute walk or a quick ride in a PRT “pod”.
Walking to work
OA-City modules will probably be built in clusters, perhaps grouped around a central larger module where many of the employment opportunities will be located. A 10-cluster might house 100,000 people, enough to support a wide range of employment prospects. Residents of these satellite modules might commute to work in the central one, but their “commute” would be minimal – either a brisk 20 minute walk or a quick ride in a PRT “pod”.
Leave a Reply