Urban Experience

Yeah, but… can you dance?

When I think of self-sustaining, isolated communities, I can’t help but think of every movie with a dystopian future. Will humanity be carved up into districts like Hunger Games? Or does a prom-night-gone-bad in Babcock exalt the local minister to lead a charge to ban dancing? I mean, Footloose was based on a true story, ya know. Babcock Ranch sounds great. But, it also sounds like the setting to Pleasantville.

Truthfully, if it’s the first of many that can create community, provide with sustainability, while maintaining economic feasibility, then I’m all for it. I remember when Katrina devastated New Orleans; I recall saying,

“They should rebuild the city looking to the future with renewable energy and autonomous cars.” So, yes, I think towns and cities should be scientifically planned out to responsibly use its environment while creating a diverse, self-sustaining community.

I was impressed with Babcock Ranch videos.  They brought in the best planners. They integrated into the environment. They continually restore their aquifers. They are energy efficient. Autonomous cars is the future. A gigabyte of fiber is thinking ahead. The technology, sustainable energy, and environmental harmony appear to be well thought out. But, the hardest of the three P’s to plan for is People. Did they hire the best psychologists, too? Does the sheriff got 40 years of experience from a small town in Texas?

Profit and Planet cannot sustain without People. There was a video on diversity, but it was short and strangely vague. A melting pot of religions, races, and classes, oh my.

Every neighborhood has at least one elderly lady that complains about kids riding their bikes too loud or a neighbor’s tree with too many encroaching branches. Babcock sounds like heaven for this sort of overwatcher. Don’t get me wrong; I think this type of diverse living should have been part of immigrant integration instead of systemic herding. Every city has its Chinatown and Little Italy; this fosters borders with attitude. All it takes is one silly ordinance and man with a megaphone to create a divide, and Babcock is first generation diversity. It will take many generations to filter out silly religious dogmas, racial tensions, and class warfare.