Space
I had the good fortune of spending the weekend in Vail Colorado. My daughter-in-law, son and I have made it a habit to come to this lovely part of the Colorado at unpopular times of the year. “Mud-Season” -- the end of ski season and before summer ---- others have declared --- not a good time in the Rockies. We have found it to be exactly the right time. However, it may not be the right time to go if you enjoy crowds. As the earth’s population grows exponentially, being in places devoid of people is getting to be more default.
I was in Roma recently. Roma is an amazing city with the remnants of an ancient past mixed with the conveniences of modern society. It is a walking city. You walk everywhere because driving is a challenge at best. Even if you could drive you cannot park.
I found walking in Roma to be a constant fight for space. When you became tired of fighting for your space on the sidewalk you start to stiffen up in order to protect your spot on the narrow pathways. Some of the beauty of this beautiful city is lost while experiencing this phenomenon.
Walking in Vail is a different experience. The wide level pathways were totally empty. It was a refreshing experience as the two dogs we were walking could go anywhere without having to deal with other dogs or people. It was a joy to be able to focus on the beautiful morning. Even that was unique as one morning was a blue bird day with a warm sunrise and the next was a reminder that winter was still in the wings as a light snow fall made the morning a brisk walk without the clatter of ski equipment or people.
These two experiences reminded me of what a big place the United States is. As an example, Italia is two thirds the size of California with 20 million more people. The average population density of Europe is 112 people per sq km compared to United States which has a population density of 36 people per sq km. It is an important consideration when understanding other people and cultures. Not everyone has the luxury of space.
Many countries have a long list of needs but many of those needs stem from the simple lack of space. People fill all space available. They are not only fighting for space on the sidewalk they are fighting for space just to live. If we were to bring spatial understanding into our decision making we might have a greater empathetic understanding of the issues of other countries. People’s lack space exacerbates all other challenges. Since we have so much space we do not focus on the benefits of space. A true understanding of space would help us to appreciate how other countries alter policy to deal with the reality of space. Japan has a population density of 338 persons per km or India with 434/km. Just two examples of the extremes of the need for space.
I doubt that airlines bring the quality of space into their decision making when it comes to the comfort of the people they haul around the world. Those discussions are about how many people they can fit into a small space to render the best economic outcome. They are always surprised when a fight breaks out on a plane because there is not enough space. It is unlikely they took into account the value of more space.
I saw a picture of people in the flooded region of Brazil. Now Brazil is a big country but at that moment there was not enough space for the people crammed into a small flooded part of the country. When the policy makers design a solution for future floods the subject of space will be again how many can we fit rather than what is the right amount of space.
Space is not just an economic question it is a human question. A question that needs empathy and a true appreciation that not everyone can walk in Vail alone. However, being able to walk alone should be the base case for how many people should walk not how many can walk.
Scusa – scusa……I need my space!!!
Technical Issues Last week - I apologize if this is a repeat for some….