John Thackara on Smart City
The other week I listened to an episode of Smart City featuring John Thackara. Two things stuck:
- ‘Macroscopes,’ devices to visualize ‘the big picture,’ ‘the cumulative effects of our actions,’ otherwise invisible to us, such as how much waste we produce (500 kgs per person and year, apparently). I’ve thought about this; in Sweden, tap water is usually included in the rent; sometimes even electricity. Perhaps we would use these resources more mindfully if they were separate fees? Perhaps not. Perhaps a meter that says, ‘If you go on consuming this much water, you’ll have consumed n thousand liters by the end of the year.’
- ‘Design mindfulness,’ being aware of the consequences of whatever it is that you’re designing. Thackara mentioned cars, how the people who created the first cars had no clue as to the extent that this would effect our society and world.
I guess these are topics of his current book, In the Bubble: Designing in a Complex World.