Urban-Rural Issues
Urban-Rural Integration
Creating Rural Solutions that Solve Growing Urban Problems (1-6)
1. The Problem
The Industrial Age has left a number of problems unsolved, and while the Information Age offers solutions, policy makers have yet to engage on their application. As important as the Internet of Things (IoT) is in gathering data, the Suite of Applications (SoA) is perhaps more important in enhancing our Quality of Life. Age old ‘turf’ battles, special interest alliances and the ‘old-boy network’ all must adapt to the new realities.
2. Status Quo Challenges
Unlike the speed of technological change society’s ability to understand the impacts of these changes has been very slow. Decision-making, in the public, private and community sectors all must evolve, and all must integrate around a set of principles for the future. Redundant activities, must consolidate while not losing the ability to experiment with alternative approaches. Decision-making must embrace better data, better information and better participation. The focus needs to be on:
- Building urban densities that embrace decentralization.
- Transit giving way to Suite of Telecommuting Applications (SoTA)
- ‘The city’ redefining its service area
- Neighborhoods expanding by geographical context
- Economic development giving way to community development
3. Community Demand
The community which, presumably feels powerless in the face of the bureaucracy, must learn to focus its real power. It is ironic that the community sector appears to be the weakest of the three sectors when in fact it has the potential to be the most powerful. The public sector depends upon the taxes paid by the community and the private sector depends upon the purchasing patterns of the community as well. New tools and new strategies are needed to re-establish the community’s role of balancing the other two sectors in making the Smart Region successful.
4. Implementation Responsibilities
All three sectors must be engaged in the Smart Region’s development. It’s fundamental focus is on behavioral changes that equalize opportunities throughout the metro areas service area and establishing an accountability process to inform the public about what is being contemplated and the community in turn must provide structured input into the process. It also must ensure that programs are properly evaluated and modified as needed to keep them current and effective.
Instead of spending millions of dollars on persistent problems we must focus on finding solutions and getting them implemented. The federal government budgeting process of budgeting plus a percentage increase can have only one outcome- more money for doing the same thing. There is few if any incentives to address the problems. Rather than dictating the solution, the government should be a catalyst to engage structured community input and private sector ingenuity.
5. Social Impacts
Once the focus changes from the workplace to the neighborhoods throughout the Smart Region, the world will change. This is not to minimize the collaborative nature of work but rather to reinforce the collaborative neighborhoods. Just as preserving a corporate culture is critical, so too is establishing a neighborhood culture. When this occurs, more energy, resources and creativity can be applied to strengthening the social fabric of those neighborhoods, the broader communities and the Smart Region and most importantly the individuals who live there
Our Las Vegas project asked the participants why they did not want to work from home. The number one reason was to visit with their friends. And they are friends because of an accident of employment that put them together. How much more important is it to build friends within their neighborhoods where they and their children interact? The local non-profit organizations can be invaluable it fostering these relationships by collaborating amongst themselves and by engaging the neighborhood residents as well.
6. Economic Validation
Acknowledging that a macro-economic analysis is required to prove our theory we believe that a population redistribution based upon a ‘Freedom of Residential Choice’ would save government money while enhancing profitability and competitiveness throughout the Smart Region. In the rural areas, we are paying to support healthcare and other services due to the declining rural population; in the urban areas we pay for mass transit and other urban services because of urban density. A re-prioritization of funding might be a powerful catalyst for the Smart Region economy.
Having performed an analysis on the Distributed City Model which underlies the Smart Region concept, it would appear that other than start up funding, the system could be self-sustaining. If you factor in the savings that should accrue from telework, distance learning and telemedicine alone, the potential is massive. If this would prove to be true, the entire nation could undergo a significant revival. ..and then there is the savings from a re-structured government.
Integrating Smart City Applications with Rural Renewal Efforts (7-12)
7. Regional Vision
A Smart Region incorporates the following:
- Provide seamless transit throughout its service area. Powered by solar panels on the guide way, the system would not consume energy or emit emissions.
- The network of Community Tele-centers would provide bandwidth throughout the system and would be supported (hopefully) by high tech companies that would provide the latest hardware, software and training to keep it state of the art.
- Individuals could enjoy education on-site, on-line or through a series of hybrid course designs that would allow them to live where they choose yet still enjoy the college experience..
- Alternative course offerings could be accredited to provide liberal, conservative and neutral views of the same subject matter…to restore a positive and open dialogue. The Community Tele-center would provide advocates to help individuals structure their program.
- Injured or ill individuals could remain at home with monitoring equipment, go to the Community Tele-center
- Smart Regions fully integrate the economies of the urban and rural hinterland.
8. Integrated Approach
Community leadership, transit and full technological support. Neighborhood revitalization, whether it is a rural small town or urban neighborhood, creating an adult presence and a balanced demographic is fundamental. A prime concern about telework is that it isolates the worker. To the contrary, it is an opportunity for the non-profit organizations to reach out to these workers and meet their social needs by engaging them in working for their own neighborhood and their own families.
9. Challenge Urbanism
Fighting congestion supports the suburban development, densification and transit supports the urban concentration. There clearly is not enough funding to address both issues and current activities merely increase emissions as trucks remain locked in the congestion. Add Climate Change to the mix and urban and suburban solutions both expand the problem.
The multiple forecasts for continued urban densification may not be accurate as telecommuting mitigates time and distance. Evidence indicates that suburban growth is expanding even as the desire to be close to work remains a significant factor in home buying. What happens when individuals can live where they want and still work for whomever they choose? Tracking these trends is vital if the urban centers want to be prepared. The Smart Region’s Regional Monitor would facilitate that process and more.
10. Rural Empowerment
Continued demographic decline is the challenge; attracting young families is the answer; but how do you do it? Creation of an integrating infrastructure to support the SoTA (Suite of Telecommuting Applications) requires technology, transportation and a physical focal point for supporting access and understanding of each application [normal age curve for the country vs for rural America < 15,000 population].
11. Regional Unification
The redefinition of the Smart Region based upon the cultural and economic orientation to a urban center rather than a political jurisdiction definition is fundamentally important. All leaders must embrace it to be successful. The Community must be the driving force behind the following evolutions:
- A multi-tiered vision must be established i.e., the Smart Region Level, the Urban Level the Regional Trade Center Level and the Neighborhood (including small town) level
- Higher Ed system must embrace distance learning and apply it strategically to lower costs to the student while expanding their offerings
- Health Care must support home based services
- Employers must strategically engage in teleworking
- The Regional Monitor must have cooperation from everyone that has relevant data
12. Geopolitical Opportunity
A fully integrated Smart Region is a more competitive region. In an ideal world the political leadership would recognize this unique and innovative entity and begin a process to make a more competitive outcome throughout the Smart Region.