Week 12: Time

It is generally more enjoyable and efficient to move through the city on foot, bike or mass transit. If we accept that daily physical movement is a desirable part of the human condition, then modes with a slower pace - where one can engage the city in a very different manner, though a full sensory experience - should be the most desirable (giving you opportunity to "look up", like this photo - look at that building against the bright blue morning sky! and, who knew that building had such a detailed facade? etc.). Walking is great, especially for shorter distance destinations like food shopping (which then becomes a weight bearing exercise!). Biking is particularly enjoyable. It is faster (and more empowering) than walking, and allows more creative (!) and flexible use of the public right-of-way, but it also allows you to connect with your surroundings, to see the expressions of and even speak with the people you pass. The bus is great too - I love being driven, and the freedom to read, text or just watch the scenery and relax for awhile. I feel like I am in Milano or Boston or all other cities with robust mass transportation choices. I have been back over 10 years, but I have certainly seen and experienced things in the city this summer that I never noticed before! The few times over the summer that I have ridden in (or more recently, driven) a car, I have been stuck by the sterility of the experience. Hermetically sealed in my little steel and glass cocoon, racing along at ridiculously high speeds, no real sense of the ground or micro climate or natural or built environment or other human beings surrounding me. Not to mention the massive scale and monotonous texture of highways. This last week, on my way back from a last "get away" up north, I was driving west on I-696, stressed by the traffic and that I might not make my "Welcome Back" meeting on campus. At one point I was so overwhelmed by my panoramic view (a wall of traffic traveling eastbound) that I almost slammed on my breaks. How did we come to accept this as a desirable state of being - either for ourselves or our cities/regions?

Time. More than object desire and cargo capacity, I think time is what motivates our obsession with possessing our own vehicle. Precious time - a "non renewal" resource - and our ability to have some command over time) is what separates the wealthy from the not so wealthy and the impoverished. Command of one's time translates into self determination to a great extent (unless one spends hours a day stuck in that traffic on I-696!). Of course, this evaluation does not take into account all the other collective impacts - to environment, to public health, to urban form - and the collective resources devoted to mitigating those impacts.

Time has been on my mind as I contemplate how I will (can?) continue my "experiment" as my fall semester begins and teaching and other responsibilities will require me to be on campus at least 4 days a week.  While I could keep biking and taking the bus, will time force me back into my former "motorized" lifestyle? Might I make it work with my new Zip Car membership (oh, forgot to tell you - thanks to Matt Rolling at Rock Financial, I am a member! My first Zip Car experience will be the topic of a future post!)? Commuting two days a week with a colleague who lives nearby? Hmmm....just how much resolve, energy, and time do I have to devote to this?  The other day I once again rode the 23 Hamilton to Northland, then biked to campus. About 1 hour 45 minutes total for the trip up (bike from home to Rosa Parks (about 15 mins), bus to Northland (about 1 hour), bike to campus (about 30 mins). Later that day, my friends sent a text that happy hour was about to commence on the Campus Martius beach. Not for me - no fast way to make it back downtown. I stared at the sunny clear blue sky out my dungeon faculty office window and felt sorry for myself, then reminded myself of my own self imposed goals! When I finally did leave campus and biked down 10 mile to Southfield and onto Northland (always a busy scene, and a culture unto itself, above), I had missed the 23 Hamilton and had to take the 16 Dexter (much more of a "local" bus, making stops every few blocks). It took me almost 2 hours just to travel from Northland to downtown (complete with standing room only most of the way, no a.c., shouting fights, and a seatmate at one point - let's call him D.H. - who was quite bright and verbal, wanted to pursue college, but confessed he had spent 6 years in prison). Note that driving home from campus is 30 minutes, max. I thought of my friends and their cocktails on the beach. After biking home in the dark, I arrived exhausted, annoyed, questioning the value of my experiment (I had imagined generating much more dialogue through this blog!). Then I thought of D.H. He, and all my fellow bus riders, which helped remind me that I have a choice while many do not.  If we are going to expand mass transportation options in our city and region, those of us with choice need to inspire those in power, to make equitable, beautiful and sustainable decisions and investments which serve all citizens! I hope that the time I have devoted to the 5x8 Project this summer has given me the experience and standing to become a better advocate for that future.