Yet another article about how to design for social cohesion on shareable.net’s excellent website has got me thinking.
I’ve always hated the stupidity of planners’ love of zoning: separating work, home, retail and play so that everyone has to travel to do the basic things of life. This has created suburban mazes where to only winner is the car manufacturer. In one of my previous lives I was a public transport market researcher working with public transport engineers and economists, and we saw people trying to find public transport solutions to ridiculous traffic congestion caused by planning idiocy. This zonal approach has had many dismal effects including a reduction in social cohesion caused by isolation, and the environmental and social (time wasted) dis-benefits of commuting and having to drive to achieve anything.
I’ve long been the odd one of my friends: choosing to take the train or bus if it is easier. And although I know live in deepest rural Norfolk (UK), where you really do need to own a car, I live in the centre of a small town. London friends who come and visit are quietly impressed by the fact that my butcher, supermarket, doctor, dentist, pharmacy and lost more are all a few doors away. Opposite is the bus to Norwich which takes 20 minutes. I do have a car, but I don’t use it much. As a result, we are quickly getting to know the people who live around us, and we’ve only been here three months. When I travel to London, which I do once or twice a month, I use the train. It’s very civilised: I lots of work done, or read the paper, or sleep, or chat to other passengers. You can’t do this in the car.
I hadn’t until today really linked my irritation with the reliance on the car and wish for social cohesion, to my strong instinctive wish to encourage as much sharing as possible. But I realise that it is the same pull to greater social cohesion. Every syndicate member I ever speak to tells me about the great community, shared responsibility, good buddies with a love of the same boat/car/horse/whatever. Sharing, even in small private syndicates, creates communities. By encouraging private syndicates, yours2share is creating communities and doing its bit for greater social cohesion.