An idea sparks silently in the mind first. Then one must capture the idea with more than just an oral expression. The first step begins with the set of sketches, then words, followed by a set of numbers. Unfortunately problems exist interfacing all three of these principles in context and sequence both logically and rationally in order to get an idea into reality.

The difficulty we all have is doing this by ourselves because interfacing with knowledgeable people in all the disciplines that should serve principally in each of these skills are missing. Simple cooperation would make the reality of our urban world far better. So what does one do to get a little better at these things that haunt all of us in building our cities?

One reads the words recorded in corporate and political minutes. Recorded are oral discussions of present activities about future aspirations. The attempt to associate these words with tables of numeric factors in an attempt to understand the estimates of value is difficult. The common next step is then to look for the graphic interpretation of the subject at hand. If one is recording a patent, two-dimensional as well as three-dimensional drawings are essential ingredients. However it is only when the combination of written words, graphic drawings and numerical estimates are integrated does one come to a better understanding of the idea to be explored for cities.

One struggles to accomplish this ´three principle´ integration. This causes us to become utterly dependent on our evaluation linkages, experiences and assessments of the risks, worth and value of the particular idea, issue or concern. Understanding these three primary communication principles can only be achieved if displayed and connected coherently. Getting smarter and more intelligent about placing such criteria together should improve the design of better cities.

Since businessmen with financial strengths normally initiate city development vision of long-term futures, they have been focused and rightfully so, on monetary returns rather than good city urban design. Most urban developers have little concern for the consequences of possible alternative urban design clustering of buildings to minimize infrastructure costs to better the energy inputs to waste outputs from these construction investments.

Focus on the creation of graphical alternatives forwarding the best of our urban design knowledge in transportation and land-use patterns for people is paramount. A demand for committing to a better urban design reality of the resources required to bring man-made cities into a balance with Nature is essential.

Is it policies, profits or pictures that forward a better urban future? Of the three principles of communication it is city design that should come first when considering future city growth and change.

Graham Kaye-Eddie

M.U.D.

Forty thousand people die every year in auto accidents in the United States. But we do not respond by withdrawing the right to drive our vehicles. And what does it cost to pave the way for these vehicles?

One has to ride whatever horsepower vehicle one has. And right now all we have to support this habit is hundreds of thousand of miles of roads getting to major freeway arteries to reach two large metropolitan areas in California. Oh, and we have an ancient Amtrak still working in subsidized fashion on a one way historical freight train rail line operation that reaches our ports ñ thank goodness. Thatís a lot better mobility than the other metropolitan world places or is it? And so we all continue to ride overpowered vehicles on average one person per vehicle 80% of the time we travel.

Our politicians are thinking about how we plan and connect two simple things city development and transportation. These politicians have spent a lot of time naming it SB375. What is this? Californians have to innovate plans for survival to gift a new reality in order to better our next generationís environment. Who is going to build the San Joaquin Valley Blueprint neighborhoods, towns and cities? It will be the collective intelligence of everybody. who will not be able to identify the body of knowledge as to who actually created the stories for each artifact that makes up our future places. Few will know or remember

Yet we all should nurture our natural environment with how we process our ´planned future´. Nature is regulating our climate for free. ´Mother Nature´, has been doing that for a long, long time. New technology applications to urban living cannot only be defined only as geo-political, geo-strategic or geo-economic. One has to really think about urban settlements in a totally new way. In doing so one must still respect Mother Nature.

San Joaquin Valley is hot and flat and is attracting more households. It is the belly button of California and not only feeds its citizens but a good portion of our nation. Incremental breakthroughs are all weíve had, but exponential change is what we desperately need. We have to innovate our way into a new plan that is far more than SB375. The problem is greater than an obscure policy from regulators, itís for urban designers and engineers to reveal.

One is now pressing against the boundaries of physics, and chemistry and biology. And thatís why so much of what one needs is to push the boundaries of urban innovation. It will only be between all those disciplines with urban designers and engineers that we find together a real urban design breakthrough incorporating practical technologies.

The way to sell a future to Californians has to be something big. It must be inspirational. It must spur city building on a scale never conceived before. The idea is not just transportation and land use as suggested in SB 375. It begins with clean air, clean water, food and fiber. It is not just about electric power; itís about California State and Federal power. It is about CALPERS investing in their own back yard! Itís about Californians selecting a new transportation technology.

One example of the things to be aware of is the importance of an entirely new form of transportation and the consequences made from its introduction to enhancing city urban design formation. This came about as a railroad mushroom back in the 19th century, that all these people went through to form much of what we have at present. Citizens bought railroad stocks, and built railroads ó most of them actually lost money. But what they left behind was the national railroad system and the urban settlements we now inhabit with our roads.

Presently we have made roads and freeways to serve our vehicle robots on 30% of our land surface. The greatest incremental innovation to this motor vehicle system has been focused on goods movement. The shipping container was integrated for road, rail, air and ship transportation. Why not for passengers? Vehicle ownership integrated with a maglev capsule system from ´point to point´ to reach distant places ñ swiftly is a solution. Itís named INTERMODAL.

A high-speed rail is not the answer for the 21st Century and our future. It is an incremental addition to an ancient technology. When Northern California desires the High Speed Rail technology of the past Southern California desires Maglev for the future it leaves California State divided in the choice of technology. Why? If Maglevís operational and maintenance costs are less what are the citizens of California getting for their dollar investment?

The financial bubble we are experiencing now requires a vision far beyond the California High Speed Rail Authority bungling of a $10 billion bond issue. We cannot place this burden of borrowing on our kidsí Visa cards. With the present financial crisis in our current thought process the vote cast by citizens will be most revealing.

If weíre going to do this mega financial bailout we have got to make sure we are laying the foundations of another great industrial revolution. The goal is to do two things first, resolve the energy and transportation infrastructure system. Consider first a proven solar electric power plant and a Maglev evacuated tube transportation system offering a new form of mobility to both passengers and goods at a cost of three cents a mile.

Innovation can, will and must solve every urban problem. Imagine enough energy to plug ones electric vehicle into the power system. Imagine driving this vehicle into a capsule to safely reach maglev speeds of more than three hundred miles per hour in a matter of minutes for long distance travel. Imagine no more 40,000 thousand terminal passenger traffic accidents insurance and medical costs. Imagine the faster logistical ´delivery on time´ for goods manufacture and delivery to cities all over America. Imagine having a dinner and date safely traveling in an “ipod” to all major cities in the USA in under three hours, POINT TO POINT!

What does it take to effect real change? Real honest, logical, rational information is the means. But how does a nonviolent movement present such for an electrical power driven integrated transportation system, to partner with media and confront public/private power? Speak the truth to power. “Plans for the end of the fossil-fuel economy are now being laid.”– The Economist

Graham Kaye-Eddie
M.U.D. 10/13/08

Remember some whispering five years ago? Prophetic words were muttered about investing in the housing market to reinvigorate the American economy. The current demise of this housing industry over exertion in 2008 has brought about a severe downturn to our economy. Why do we have this boom to bust cycles in this industry?

Government and lenders initially drove the housing initiative forward by lowering interest rates. ´Developers´ then rapidly acquired real estate land. The pressure for tract maps and architectural housing models plied professionals into fast preparing ´blueprints´. Contractors then beefed up their operations with unqualified labor to achieve the impossible fast pace of assembly to gain certificates for occupancy.

Government institutions as well as Fannie May and Freddie Mac, the banking industry, media, realtors and marketers, all took their piece of the profit pie along the way while offering extraordinary housing acquisition incentives for these new homeowners.

Paper flew in every direction from overloaded local governments receiving tract maps to mortgages, title insurance, appraisals and the collection of fees for building permits. Every player involved in this industry was stressed to collapse the time frame from start to finish in order to make a fast buck.

Clearly everyone thought this was easy money in this connected industry from the material source to the offering of manufactured goods and materials. All came to be involved in sucking on the gravy train of fast money. The collective greedy activity by the entire industry has revealed a sad fraudulent period on the very source of wealth building in America history — city construction.

Placing the burden on the people who could not afford their housing payments will not be long forgotten. So what future prospects should require prudent actions? And what should these be?

For some time the construction and performance of a single-family residence building has become a renewed challenge. Smaller structures, fewer quantities of resource material consumption and manufactured housing should be the goal formulated by all the players in the industry. A smaller house footprint on land, better use of internal spatial volumes and smarter applications of technology for cleaning, cooking and other life support requirements must be collectively forged.

The structural integrity and safety of the home must be advanced. Room separations for more open internal views or sliding divisions for privacy must be considered. Clusters of homes side-by-side and or back-to-back sensibly adopt a common wall practice also saves material quantities and increases structural integrity. These alternative patterns of settlement so formed have for many hundreds of years been adopted and are still occupied all over the world. Communities are standing usefully and still do serve their present populations satisfactorily.

It is time for ´hardcore´ plumbing, air conditioning, electrical generation and communication elements that serve the residence be reduced in footprint size? These hardcore items should be manufactured and easily placed for the comfort and use by the family in the home. The cost of these manufactured elements and the method of delivery to the residences geographic coordinates for efficient application should be carefully calculated.

Fulfilling performance design suggests we combine our knowledge in the use of materials together with the ancient principles of airflow, solar orientation, water conservation and the growing of food and fiber in closer adjacencies. When can we transfer the robotic manufactured production of new ´hardcore´ elements into our homes? How will we combine such elements efficiently into the three-dimensional service of the spaces in which we eat, converse, sleep and cleanse our bodies daily?

These are the challenges for performance housing in our immediate future. Dare we start this in our application of appropriate housing ´densities´ in the San Joaquin Valley Blueprint?

Graham Kaye-Eddie

M.U.D. 9/8/08