HOTELS ARE CONSIDERED TEMPLES OF LUXURY & EXCESS, SO NOTHING SOUNDS MORE CRAZILY COUNTER-INTUITIVE THAN MY PROPOSITION THAT HOTELS CAN SAVE ENERGY, TIME, AND WASTE – SO LIVING IN THEM WOULD BE BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT THAN NORMAL HOUSES AND FLATS..!   

A hotel like this is very wasteful – even if it is a pyramid..!

In HG Wells’ “The Sleeper Awakes” (1897) the protagonist awakes, after sleeping for 200 years, to find that all of England’s towns and cities have been replaced by enormous “hotels”.  But, as usual in sci-fi tales, such “hotels” were not pleasant places but DYSTOPIAN hell-holes run by thugs. 

Tyrell Corporation headquarters

The concept of enclosed cities was later popularised by Paolo Soleri in his Magnum Opus “Arcology, the City in the Image of Man” (MIT, 1969)

OB-Cities will be the real DYSTOPIAS of the near future.

Whenever an “Arcology” pops-up in Sci-Fi movies – like the pyramidal Tyrell Corporation Building in “Blade Runner” – they are invariably portrayed as over-crowded dystopian hell-holes run by megalomaniacs.   Hardly surprising, given that in recent years Hollywood scripts seem to be obsessed with distorting and upending the truth.  Dystopian trends are already well-entrenched in the formless and faceless open-access OB-cities which migrants flock to, and such trends will accelerate millions more “refugees” from over-populated and chaotic 3rd world cesspits come to realise that Europe’s golden gates are wide open.  Perplexingly, leftists are facilitating this barbarian invasion by enthusiastically welcoming hordes of “vibrant” alleged “cultural enrichers” whose ultimate aim (whether they realise it or not) is the downfall of Western Civilisation.

Given that Hollywood routinely depicts Arcologies as Dystopias it is fair to assume that the opposite might be true and they could turn out to be ideal  places in which to live..!     

---

OASIS-CITIES could be likened to resort hotels

We all love staying in hotels – especially those all-inclusive resort hotels (and cruise ships) with non-stop gourmet food and drinks and every imaginable facility and hedonistic luxury on tap. So comfortable, friendly, convenient and safe that you never want to leave – until, like Cinderella, that unwelcome pumpkin coach arrives at the door and whisks us back to reality..! 

It seems hard to believe that, in the near future, we might be able to live and work and play in enclosed habitats that resemble resort hotels, only MUCH BETTER..!   

Few would question that living in a nice hotel would, for most people, be a huge lifestyle improvement..!   But how could living in hotels possibly be better for the environment..? 

The first reason is that resort hotels (and cruise ships) have no noisy wasteful polluting cars, so residents have to WALK everywhere..!   

Secondly, living in smaller but smarter spaces means much less energy consumption, especially if your living space has just ONE exterior wall, thus conserving heat..! 

Furniture, fittings, bedding, etc., would be included – delivering economy of manufacturing scale and less waste. Of course not everyone would want the exact same furniture and fittings as their neighbours so, just as with cars and boats and caravans, options will be available at extra cost. 

Living in smaller spaces facilitates DE-CLUTTERING as you would not keep buying stuff that you don’t really need..!  Because you wouldn’t have a spare room, or a double garage or a garden shed to shove them out of sight later..!   

The high prices charged by hotels are mostly due to staffing costs, and rarely are they fully occupied, so someone has to pay for those empty rooms..!   Hotels also have to pay for marketing and commissions to travel agents, etc.

If the “hotel” residents were to do their own cooking and service and clean their own living spaces, the “hotel” would not need any more staff than a concierge-fronted apartment building.   But, for those who want it, such services would be available for any residents prepared to pay, since Oasis-Cities will be big enough to have service employees on 24/7 standby. 

Of course, home cleaning services are widely available even in the suburbs – but at more than double the cost of on-site service employees (such as in OA-Cities) due to the inefficiency – in time wasted and distance travelled – of independent service-providers.

One of the advantages of living in a co-operative “hotel” habitat community is that maintenance costs could be dramatically reduced if residents were to assist with some of the general maintenance.   If this could be achieved, then “hotel” living could become an affordable lifestyle option for almost everyone.

OA-Cities will share many features with resort hotels or large cruise ships – leisure and sporting facilities, theaters, restaurants, bars, library, conference rooms, etc.  But this is where the similarities end because OA-Cities will not be just for leisure activities, residents will also go to work and their kids will go to school.  So there will need to be a full range of on-site employment opportunities.  It obviously follows that there will be no need for commuting, and that will mean less waste of energy, less waste of the materials which go into cars, less waste of time, and much less stress.  

Residents will live within a short stroll of workplaces, shops, schools, hospital/clinic, bars, cafes, restaurants, entertainment, etc, etc.  Residents won’t waste precious hours to-ing and fro-ing to work, schools, shops, etc.  They would consume much less energy, waste less and re-cycle more.  Life would be safer and much less stressful, and the simplified utility infrastructure of a compact OA-City would lead to enormous gains in efficiency and economy. 

Oasis City “hotels” would be far better for the environment than conventional towns and cities 

Once “Oasis Cities” become a reality they will prove to be such awesome places in which to live that demand will immediately outstrip supply – and when the SHTF the sneering naysayers in the back seats will be frantically lining up to apply ..!

 Cost considerations aside, in which of these 2 homes would you prefer to live..?

A SPACIOUS SUBURBAN HOUSE WITH GARDEN.  But with hours of daily commutes to work, shops, bars and restaurants, the “school run”, etc..?

A COMPACT YET CLEVERLY-DESIGNED APARTMENT.  But with an amazing panoramic view, and just a short stroll from your workplace and every other facility you will ever need..?

SURELY MOST PEOPLE WOULD PREFER OPTION 2 – if it were available..?

The “hotels” I am proposing – Oasis Cities – would be self-contained mini-cities with every facility on your doorstep – shops, schools, restaurants, hospital, library, etc.   But, unlike resort hotels or cruise ships, they would provide a full range of job opportunities, thus eliminating any need for the drudgery and time-wasting of commuting. Everything you would need to live a full and rewarding and exciting life would be found within the very same building in which you live.   And, furthermore, it would be a fabulous and inspirational building.

Living in an Oasis City “hotel” would deliver dramatic improvements in economy and efficiency compared to the appalling waste and inefficiency of conventional towns and cities – and particularly the low-rise, low-density sprawl of suburban housing estates.   It would mean a huge reduction in energy use, resource consumption and carbon footprint, along with a huge increase in re-cycling, re-using and conservation of resources in general. On top of everything, OA-Cities would be safer, quieter, cleaner, healthier, friendlier, less stressful and more enjoyable places in which to live.

Enclosed habitats would have no need for cars – or even a single element of the vast motor vehicle infrastructure that totally dominates conventional sprawl cities.  Why would anyone need to OWN a car when all the places one normally uses a car to get to – work, shops, school, etc., – would be just a short stroll away..?

A city with no cars at all, not even electric or driverless cars..?   Wow…what a revolutionary idea..!