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Designing cities by shifting time
In many ways, the idea of the Fab City is of re-inventing how we do things, of re-thinking why things work a certain way, and if it’s inappropriate, finding a better, more planet-compatible way or citizen-friendly way of doing it. In this great piece on “the simplest tool”, Sara Hendren (artist and design researcher, and professor at Olin College of Engineering) does just that by drawing our attention to the use of time as a tool to design and recalibrate the city.
Electric vehicles could be mini power plants
Replacing fossil fuel cars with electric cars is not the solution to our climate woes, we need way way fewer cars. However, those that do get replaced could have benefits beyond emission reductions, like plugging back into the power grid and acting like mini power plants.
Public transit direct to nature
Sometimes, making a difference doesn’t require a huge budget, new technology, or incredible innovation. Sometimes you just need to notice a need and look at existing services and equipment. This is what happened and is still being perfected in suburbs of Seattle, with the creation of specific bus routes to get people from various neighbourhoods to mountain trails, where they can enjoy nature and get some exercise. When you think about it, it’s pretty obvious that it’s a kind of service that should exist elsewhere, and that “transit agencies need to ensure that whatever their limitations, people can access public lands with public resources like transit.”
Regenerative cities
There are a lot of ways in which people frame a reaction to the climate crisis: building a circular economy, becoming more resilient, more sustainable, greener, etc. Often, whether from the start or through influence by various vested interests, the discourse and action or even potential actions are pulled towards consumerism. For example the original idea of sustainability is a great one, but sustaining what? When the concept is pulled towards sustaining the same lifestyle, just slightly less damageable, it becomes a delaying tactic, not a way forward.
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