contents
foreword
Orion Ussner Kidder 06
comic between panes of glass 09
contributors 147
notes and acknowledgements 147
afterword Mark Kingwell 149
space... weneedtoramble. butthestreets,they’reinhowdoweshareapath-aroad? shambles. somewhere,avehicleracesinthecountryside..
justbeyond,abullfrogisreflectingpeacefully..
OCREATuRE
OFMORTALhabit
YOURpitiFul,tinyHOPANDStEP ALiGHTiNTOYOURCaROCHE.
AllBEDECKeDinMANYPoLYS AritualOFMAGNETOS sixSACREdCHArGES, DOCOMBUStANDbANish AllTrACESOF SKELETALStRESSES sink!
sinkDEEPLYintODAVENPORt.
FROGHeArStHe veHiclespEEdily apprOacHing.it disrupTsitsreveriEin tHisCOMFYPuDDLE..
andinthismemory, you’restillonlyabout twelve,theothersare alloutsidenow-walking, lookingandtalking andplayingoutinthesnow.. o-kay-ummmnn. youknow, you’restillin thebackseatofthecar? whydon’tyougoout andexplore?! ok,ok,fine.. so-whatgame willyoustartup? it’sgettingnear twilight-youwon’tbe abletoseethe screenmuchlongeronthat liquidcrystaldisplay..
isitagameabouta greatflattening?
electronicscreenspacebleepingawayolderthings. thescratched,wrinkledworld ofbuttons,paper, levers,creakingknees. loadingscreensdisplay sizzlingcolors.
somewhere,a paperboy’srolledupnewspaperhits someone’sfrontdoor intheearlymorning withaveryloud-
‘iridemybike, irollerskate. don’tdrive nocar don’tgo toofast, butigo prettyfar..’
-melanie
downtown
2:25p.m.
summertime
..youhaveto gobacktothebasics andask-what’sa streetmadeforand whatisa carcapableof? layersonlayers.
finding common groundwithall ofususingthestreet isachallenge.we needtoquestionusing speedforeverytripsosometimes,inorder tomoveforward..
aroundtheheightofa 6-year-old,barrel-shaped,steel R2d2wasaninstantglobalhit. theshinyobserverofmostof themainstory,withslow-rolling treads/wheels,herepresents howchildrenwithfoot-propelled scootersglide.
c-3po,withhisawkward,stiff walk,mimicshumanitywith itsfrailtiesexaggerated.his locomotionisstepbystep,firmly fixedtotheearth.together,they coverglidingandwalkingfortrue comiceffect,reflectingourown slightlycomedicbipedalism
theconstants ofmechanical communication fadeinthe2d pixelatedlandscapetraditional slowspeedskills tumbleandfall underdigitalmedia.
westepinto adot-matrix,8-bitera anddon’tnoticea globalnetforming aboveourheads, utterlytransforming howweconstruct reality. itbecomesdifficult tobelostinyour thoughts.
thecloserone looksatcherished momentsfrom childhood,the moredifficultit becomestonotkeep returningtothat eraofslownessand quaintconstraints.
lookatyour state/province’s definitionofavehicle. insomeareas,akid’s bicycleisconsidered thesamethingasatruck orcar,andallare expectedtobehavethesame. um,thisdoesn’tmake anysense.it’saremnantofolder highwaytrafficacts.weneed updateddefinitionsthat reflectalltypesofjourneys acrossthecity.
localtripsto long-haul journeys-allneed differentapproachesin streetdesign.
communities needtosketch outwhattypesof journeysaren’t accommodated intheir’hoods.
Thismagnificent balletofOurlimbs, movingthrough Space-effortlessly Glidingacrosstheearth..
Ourbuilt-in,self-propelled intuitionguidingour Movementsforallto seeandto respondtoinkind.. Suchashametosee suchliquidMotionbeing hiddenFromthepublicrealm, trapped,immobile,behindthe carapaceoftintedglass, reclininginapowder-coated, power-steeringmini-world.
so,we
There’sno Denyingit.
independent privatemobility isafoundation Ofourmodern Automotive civilization.
entrenchedin Ouryoungest selves,inplay. Of personal Freedom.
aswemimic theAdultwho Movesabout.
with Velocityand purpose.
it’scodified intosomany thingsandit’s asymbol.
..verywell. Buthelphim crossthe streetwith it. ofcourse, ohyes,Iwillthankyou ’tish!
yescreeping vinesare beautiful.
’tishthis twistedbranch wouldmake aperfect chewtreat forulot!
canyou freeitand growit?
sigh
Puleeeease?
Nonsense! Recallthat Trucktirehe foundback in’06?
Grrrr!
ulottheglorious goldendoodleGripshis Mttsuperbike.watchhim crankthatthrottle andfeelhis speed-Varoom!
it’s Getting Late.
Nyeeeah! Maybea WhilemorewemightGo chasing cars.
i’mgoing backHome. AreYou staying?
Suityourself. Besuretogive ulotawalk beforeyou getback. O-kay? goodbye, uncle.
hearthat, ulot?We’re goingfor awalk! Bye ’tish! awalk?
surroundedbysystems andControls thatidon’t understand.
glass. . thecomputer interface;andour originalvertical Barrierseparating theinsidefromthe outdoorswelivemore thaninanyother era betweenpanes ofglass holdingourphones, andinoursealed buildings Andvehicles.. theonce-clear Separationbetween Publicandprivate spaceisreplaced withsomething else.
Webeginto Collectively ‘..hearaTune thatis different.’*
isourabilityto focusonwhat weseethrough thewindowpane, windshieldandour devicesstartingto blur? constantroaming ofourgazethrough virtualwindows isafarcryfrom usingallour sensesoutside.
if multitasking isagiven whenseatedwhatif you’resitting andalso moving?!
okfroggie! thoseareour optionstotravel asgliderswhatdoyou think?
iknowofa waytotake backtheland forus! takethis exit-ithink there’sa gasstation nearby!
thewallsthemselvesmurmur alow,constant road-canyou hearit??...
too..>
<yess..it’sbecoming clear-allhumans,they wantourintervention.. naturewillresetthelandand makeitright.animalkind’space willbecomedominantonceagain!.. everycitywillbecometrappedin agiantanimalcrossing! icanseeitinmywakingdream. i’llmakeitsothat..
..alltheintersections’ lightswilltime-outas redtogether,to createthecrossing mykindyearnsfor..>
