Reflections Post 2

More problems than solutions…
URBAN

PROBLEMS:
If we were to create a car free CBD in Brisbane we would have to think big. If the CBD only was car free the surrounding suburbs would become car parks, moving the problem is not the solution. New traffic regulation technology can help but it is a Band-Aid more than a solution.
In order to fix the Mirco environment of the CBD we must examine the Marco. The surrounding areas, the need to travel to and from work, as well as the desire for comfort influence this problem. To rely on public transport available now in Brisbane would require huge investments in infrastructure, personal and machinery and it still would not suffice as populations grow faster than services. A faster method of traveling is desired as the commute is long and slow. Many areas of Brisbane are poorly connected to the transport corridors that exist now and asking workers to drive to transport links that can be further away than the city will not work. We are dependent on cars. There is also the issue of ownership, of public and private space. The desire for ownership, for personal space and control means that cars are desirable and cramped public transport is not.
SOLUTION:
Teleportation


SUBURBAN

Sustainable retail experiences are changing as many stores go online. If all the stores go online what will we do with the stores? Reducing overheads is a driver in the online move and for many people the ability to shop online is convenient. There are positives and negatives to the experience of online shopping some are listed below:

Positives	Negatives
Reduced cost for retailers get passed on to customers	Inability to experience product before purchase
Convenience, shop from home, work or in transit	Distrust of quality or difficult return policies
Easy for consumers to shop around	Experience lost- social, fun, environmental
	Branding and online marketing paramount
	Reduced impulse buying

REGIONAL

Self-sufficient communities are a misnomer. No community can produce everything they need and want as they do not have access to all the materials (minerals, water, and variety in breeding population).   Step up, maintenance and disposal or waste cannot realistically be done within one community with the resources available and the high expectation held. This concept is a utopian one. In order to have a self-reliant community, expectations have to be lowered and few choose to do so voluntarily. Do we need a stick to achieve this? Or would a string of interconnected communities achieve this?  

VIRTUAL

·         Connecting people

·         Goldmine for businesses and developers

·         Change in expectations

·         Social limits

·         Physical and emotional needs

·         Sensory expectations

·         Censorship

·         Freedom of speech

·         Privacy

·         Ownership

·         Physical need for servers, space and heat

·         Physical infrastructure now that will be redundant could be transformed to green farms homeless shelters.