THE (insert name here) INDUSTRY WOULD NEVER ALLOW IT..!

Conspiracy theorists believe in the existence of a vast network of Mafia-style motor and oil industry enforcers ready to silence anyone with any idea that might possibly threaten the future of their industries.  Sure, the motor industry would oppose a law that threatened to ban motor vehicles from an EXISTING large city, but that is unlikely to ever happen since sprawling OBeCities cannot function without them. 

However, it would be an entirely different matter if a NEW city were to be designed on a model which did not allow for any motorised vehicles, and provided absolutely no infrastructure for them.  Even if the OA-City concept were to be rapidly adopted it would still be decades before there were enough to make a significant dent in car sales, by which time there would be other and possibly greater threats to the existence of the motor vehicle industry.   

Trade unions, like all self-interest groups, only agitate about IMMEDIATE threats to their existence, not something that might gradually happen over a period of decades or generations.  Back in 1900 did the then powerful equestrian industry, cart makers, saddle-makers, etc., try to sabotage the new-fangled horseless carriage industry?  When the Wright Brothers primitive flying machine managed a very brief flight in Dec 1903, did the great ocean liner companies see the threat and try to stop aircraft development..?  Of course not and, in fact, the ocean liner industry has now morphed into the cruise-ship industry which operates more – and much bigger – ships than ever before..!   

MILLIONS OF JOBS WILL GO..!

That may be true, but if those jobs are un-necessary or wasteful it will be a good thing..!   Employing lots of people in “crime-fighting” and all its legal offshoots is surely a waste of resources in a place which has almost no crime..?

OA-Cities will mean the demise – or certainly a big reduction in numbers employed – of jobs such as…   

CRIME related jobs- Police, Courts, Lawyers, Prisons, Social workers, Security guards, and so on.

Driving-related issues, eg., road accidents – Police, Ambulance, Breakdown trucks, Car Body Repairers, Courts and Lawyers (again..!), 

Traffic control and Parking attendants, etc. 

Accidents and Physical Assaults will be so rare that Hospital A&E depts. may become redundant. 

“Home improvement” industry, building extensions, highway building, road maintenance, garbage collectors, street cleaners, and countless more, not least professional politicians..!  

There will be much wailing and moaning from the usual quarters about the “loss of jobs”, but most of these jobs will not be missed.

 “Jobs for the sake of jobs” is just another form of waste.  

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ITS ALREADY TOO LATE TO PREVENT GW/CC..!

 

We have all noticed that when we switch a fridge off but leave the door closed it takes many hours before the ice in the freezer starts to melt.  Even then it only begins to drip slowly and this slow drip lasts some time before quickly gathering pace.  Our planetary “fridge” may have been “switched off” around 60 years ago but we’ve only recently peered inside and noticed.  With 3x as many consumers and at least 10x the carbon output of 60 years ago, maybe we’ve just reached the slow drip stage. If so, then prepare for the coming torrent.  

We probably passed the “tipping-point” decades ago but, if we wait until we have absolute proof of GW/CC – and argue whether or not it is “Man Made” before making any substantial efforts to curtail it, then it will definitely be too late by then.

In any case OA-Cities represent such an enormous improvement over OBeCities – in every way – that the transition should be made regardless of Climatic Change.   

I believe that once a few prototypes have been built and people are able to see the beauty of the building and its landscaped surrounds, they will come to appreciate its myriad e/v and social benefits – not to mention the sheer common-sense and convenience of compact OA-Cities.  The doubters, the nay-sayers, and the Nimby’s will be silenced.   When this happens – and it could be much sooner than you might think – a mass migration from OBC’s into OAC’s could happen very quickly.  This will launch a building-boom such as the world has not seen since the railway building boom of the 1800’s when, within 50 years of their first appearance, railways quickly spread across every continent on earth.  

If such a  remarkable transformation in peoples lifestyles could occur using the primitive technology and back-breaking labour of the time, imagine how much quicker OA-Cities could conquer the world?  

Within 50 years of the first OA-City, 50% of 1st world city dwellers will have migrated from OBC’s into OA-Cities.

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OAC’s WILL BE TOO SMALL TO PROVIDE TOP-PAYING JOBS FOR HIGHLY-QUALIFIED PEOPLE, SO THEY WILL HAVE TO COMMUTE TO A LARGE POPULATION CENTRE  

This would defeat one of the main objectives,

If you were to move to a Greek (or even a Scottish) Island, as some people have done and many more dream of doing, would you expect to earn the same salary you get in London, or anywhere in the mainland UK..?   Of course not.  And the same does not only apply to islands – most Brits who have moved to Spain or France are seemingly content making do on much lower incomes.

 

Commuting is anathema to the purpose and philosophy of OA-Cities and their charters should reflect this.  That said, each will have its own rules – some may allow commuting whilst others may insist residents must only accept “local ” jobs – either in their own habitat or a nearby one.  Although some traditional jobs may disappear (eg, police) new employment opportunities will be created by big companies who see the potential of the lower salaries, and lease offices in OACs.   Initially there may only be isolated or “stand-alone” OA-City habitats but it won’t be long before module clusters are established, thus giving the option of working in an adjacent habitat.   But this will be a short journey of a few hundred meters (or a few km at most) – ie, either an easy walk or cycle ride or a trip in a PRT pod.

 

Allowing OA-City residents to commute to work in conventional towns or cities would defeat one of the prime objectives of OA-Cities, the elimination of stressful, time-consuming and energy-wasting commuting.   

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ONLY HIGHLY QUALIFIED YOUNG WHITE PEOPLE WILL BE SELECTED 

This follows on from the above.

It is possible, if not probable, that for years after their introduction, perhaps decades, there will be only a small number of OAC’s and a huge back-log of would-be residents and applicants.   Until this demand is sated – and it may never be sated – the founders/trustees of OAC’s will be able to cherry-pick their citizens.   Critics will claim – and complain – that they will only choose healthy, wealthy, and good looking young white couples with good academic degrees and specialist qualifications – doctors, engineers, computer scientists, and the like. Maybe, but this is not the way I envision this concept being developed because – to repeat what I said above – this would defeat on of the prime objectives.

 

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SO THE COUNTRYSIDE WOULD BE COVERED WITH GIGANTIC UGLY PYRAMIDS?

• Oasis Cities would be beautiful to behold unlike sprawling matchbox-house estates (MHE)
• admittedly, they would dominate the landscape but would occupy far less space than MHE’s
• at least 50% of their land would consist of parkland and woodland so they will also BEAUTIFY and enhance the landscape
• they could be built on “brownfield” sites, former industrial sites, etc., which are not suitable for conventional housing