[extropy-chat] Are cars on the way out?

[BillK]

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4174475.stm>


Wisconsin's small town futurists
By Peter Day
BBC News, Wisconsin, USA

The Midwest is normally the bit of America that people fly over going
coast to coast. But what do these small town people think our futures
may look like?

Well, argue William and Julie Draves, just as the 20th Century started
with two decades of huge disruptions to the 19th Century ways of doing
things, most notably the car, so our world is in the process of
similar radical transformation.

This time, the agent of change is, of course, the internet.
Despite the dot.com bubble bursting, we have still hardly woken up to
its disruptive force.
In particular, argue the Draveses, cars are about to go into sharp decline.

As increasing numbers of people work from home, using the internet,
they will not want to waste valuable time driving, so they will not
bother.
When they do move, they will take the train, and work at the same time. 

We parents do not understand our children, say these educationalists,
for good reason. They understand the future and we do not.


"Nine Shift" by William Draves, Julie Coates
<http://www.nineshift.com/index.cfm?pageID=49&ParentMessage=6778>
Using the industrial revolution as the benchmark and led by the
emergence of the automobile at the turn of the 1900s, the authors show
what we can learn and possibly use to project the changes in our
lifestyles, work, and education as we now navigate the Information and
Knowledge Age. The authors cover many topics, such as the Intranet
replacing offices, working from home, organizational restructuring,
the decline of the automobile and increase of light rail, and the
return to the city and the growth of the planned communities. What I
found most exciting, however, was what the authors have to say about
learning online, the transformation of the face-to-face classroom, the
future of the college campus, and the complete overhaul of our
approach to education. By the 1920s, the agrarian culture in the U.S.
was completely transformed by the Industrial Age. We are now in the
formative year of a new knowledge era. Hold on to your seats, because
the ride is about to get wild. This book is guaranteed to create
controversy and great discussions."


BillK