HAPPINESS MEANS DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE..!  

For many years I made a modestly good living as a globe-trotting blackjack player – certainly not the “proper job” my mother wanted for me, but a “career” which gave me the opportunity to travel widely whilst making (and occasionally losing) some money along the way.   For various reasons, I wasn’t as successful in this “career” as most of my associates, partly because the money was never that important to me.  In the back of my mind, I was always searching for that “perfect place” – an island ideally.  The Maldives – where I once “broke the bank” (admittedly a very modest one) – is what many people think of as “a paradise”, but it did not qualify for me.  And that is the PARADOX OF PARADISE because, as the song goes, “Happiness is – different things to different people”..! 

  

 Instead of searching the world for that elusive island paradise, perhaps it would be easier to create our own custom-built utopias..? 

The idea of Utopia is routinely sneered at, being regarded as a foolish and unattainable dream of day-dreamers..

 

Current Utopian ideals might seem as strange to people 500 years in the future as Thomas More’s ideals are to us.  But, in at least one respect, I think Thomas More was right because… 

He imagined Utopia as an island, a MAN-MADE island..!   

An “island” doesn’t have to be surrounded by water, as OA-Cities would create metaphorical islands surrounded by land.  And, just as sea islands have limited access points (harbours), so would OA-Cities – thus being much safer and securer than borderless OB-Cities which permit free-entry-for-all-comers.

“Nothing can ever be perfect because perfection cannot be improved upon”.  

There will and must ALWAYS be room for improvement.  

Thus, Utopia must always be “a work in progress”.   

One could say that if Utopia existed, it could not be Utopia..! 

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But, call it Utopia or not, there is nothing wrong with striving for a better world.    

Surely there are many ideals most people would find worth striving for?

Most of us are aware of the many annoyances, inconveniences and even dangers, of living in cities – but we tolerate it because…..

1) we think its better than what went before, and

2) we don’t know what to change it for…

So lets look and see what we might change if we were able to.

I’ve drawn up my own city hate list and wish list.

CITY HATE LIST –

I hate cities of…..

• thundering freeways, roaring bypasses, spaghetti junctions, brutally bare concrete overpasses, and gloomily dank pedestrian underpasses stinking in equal measure of urine and fear.
• untidy chaotic streetscapes littered with poles, power cables, transformers, advertising hoardings, bollards, traffic lights, flashing lights, warning signs, direction signs, road-signs, street lights, parking meters, speed-humps, traffic circles, white lines, yellow lines, red lines, broken lines, double lines, zig-zag lines, chequered box junctions, central reservations.
• endless Car Yards, Strip-malls, Big-Box discount stores, and Franchise Food McShacks surrounded by parking lots with overflowing waste bins.
• peace constantly disturbed by screeching tyres, honking horns, maxi-decibel boom boxes, slamming car doors, wailing emergency vehicles, raucous motorbikes, burglar alarms, or drill and hammer home-renovators.
• navigating miles of slow-moving congested traffic in order to visit friends and relatives
• arrogant government functionaries, po-faced “service” providers, foul-mouthed yobbos, and scruffily-dressed slobbos.
• constantly harassment by beggars, big-issue sellers, assorted touts and drunken louts.
• “vibrant” cities which simply means I am more likely to be pick-pocketed, or mugged, or randomly attacked by a madman, or worse.
• a place where, from across a narrow concrete chasm, a nosey stranger can peer straight in my window.
• fear of driving imposed by breathalyzer-phobia.
• charity collectors, or dodgy-bodgy tradesmen knocking at my door
• high walls, razor wire, electric fences, boom gates, or security alarms.
• non-communities of absentee-owner holiday homes
• faceless bureaucrats imposing endless nanny-state regulations

So what do I want?

MY 20 point CITY WISH LIST

I WANT….

1. the vibrancy, creativity and the many facilities of a city
2. the conviviality and community-spirit of a small town or village
3. the beauty and tranquillity of the countryside right on my doorstep
4. fellow citizens who are courteous and congenial and who share similar ideals
5. a zero-waste self-sustainable community powered by renewable energy.
6. beautiful gardens, streams, lakes and bucolic woodland paths within easy walking distance
7. workplaces, schools, libraries, hospital, sporting facilities, etc., all within walking distance.
8. shops so close that I am able to wheel my shopping trolley to my door
9. an outdoor patio with panoramic views.
10. to be able to walk a dog but not necessarily to own it.
11. a place where children can walk to school alone and in total safety, as they once were able to do
12. where children are courteous and learn respect for conventions and elders
13. a place everyone learns about producing food and helps out on the farm
14. freedom from the insanity of 2-4 hours daily commuting
15. freedom from the disastrous consequences of Mad Cars Disease
16. a place of committed full-time residents, not absentee holiday-home owners
17. long-term security of tenure, negating the need to go into the long-term debt of buying a home
18. my city to be run like a decent club, with membership rules and obligations.
19. a voice and a direct say in how my community is run.
20. FINALLY – I WANT MY CITY TO BE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITY EVER BUILT

And, of course, I don’t want to pay a fortune for all this.

Finally, a point that is rarely if ever made – I want to see the end of the insane “get on the property ladder” social pressure that compels young couples to take on crushing mortgage debt, forcing both partners into full-time work, thus often delaying children until their mid-30’s, resulting in too many single child and childless families.

I suppose deep down what I really want is my own virtual island, tailored-to-order.

And isn’t this what almost everyone dreams about?  Their own island?

OA-Cities could turn such dreams into reality