ending the american winter ver 2.0

8/3/2019 Ending the American Winter Ver 2.0

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ENDING THE AMERICAN WINTER: A GREEN PRESCRIPTION 203

sustained construction plan provides employment, room for growth for children and future

immigrants without sacrificing the American way of life or valuable cropland. This is not about

picking winners or losers but choosing the way America wants to organize the nation for the

future. With 10 million construction workers and 1 million veterans looking for work, the timing

is fortuitous to begin migrating society from a suburban wasteful consumer driven one to a

highly efficient ultra-modern urban lifestyle designed around energy and resource efficiency.

How to Organize a City for Efficiency

There are a number of high-density cities that America can model. Singapore stands out

as a model because as an island it has unique problems that a city in the desert or one in the

mountains might face. It has to manage its water and food resources carefully recycling and

supporting efforts to improve transportation. When building a high-density city, the streets and

thoroughfares have to be laid out precisely with an underground transport network connecting all

the main distribution points. A second criteria for these cities is that the factories and working

spaces will be underground along with shopping and entertainment centers. The above ground

area is reserved for housing, schools, hospitals, parks, and hydroponics gardens. Heat generated

by commercial activities is collected and reused to heat residences during the winter. Sunlight is

piped into office complexes to provide supplemental lighting. A third criteria for these cities is

that they employ emissions free transport. This provides a ready market for automobile

manufacturers to create electric or hydrogen fueled vehicles. Instead of worrying about

managing a variety of fueling systems, car owners will be required to have emission free vehicles

reducing air and noise pollution. With well-planned public transport, most residents can avoid

owning a car reducing the cost of living within the city. A final criteria for these new urban


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centers is the elimination of all fire-arms within the city, including police. All firearms will need

to be stored at designated storage facilities for safe-keeping on the outskirts of the city.

Financing the Purchase of Residences

Singapore has developed a model for financing apartments for its citizens. It follows

many of the FHA principles. Each resident is allowed to buy an apartment based on their income

levels and family size through a government sponsored lender. Payments are based on the

income of the borrower and amortized over 20 years and fixed as a percentage of income. The

government uses the payments of all the participants to average the total revenue providing

subsidies when necessary as incomes fluctuate. This type of lending promotes home ownership

and creates a steady demand for residences that reduce potential market imbalances that lead to

booms and busts. Construction is determined by expected demand instead of rising prices

reducing the potential for losses or sudden drops in the market. This allows construction to

occur in an orderly manner rather than getting in front of infrastructure requirements like most

cities. The island environment forces better planning and space utilization than American urban

planners are accustomed to following. When planning a city for 25 million, managing every

square foot becomes important to keep the city from developing sprawl.

Utilities

Electric for these cities will come largely from the planned desert solar-mirror farms for

daylight requirements and nuclear power for nighttime needs. Proper resource planning suggests

that 200 to 250 terrawatts should come from nuclear and another 500 to 600 terrawatts from solar

desert-farms. This will ensure that there are no carbon emissions associated with these cities

from power generation and that each city has two sources of power in the event of grid


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dislocation. Eventually, the nuclear power reactors will be converted from uranium to thorium

designs reducing the amount of radioactive waste produced.

Water will need to be piped from distant reservoirs and presents the greatest challenge

and highest initial cost to construct the cities. A large pipeline will need to be constructed to

supply water fresh water from the Great Lakes or other resources to supplement local water

sources. To conserve water, all wastewater must be treated and returned to industrial use before

being processed for release into the environment. Strict pollution controls including household

detergents and chemicals must be maintained to manage the quality of the water. Singapore has

developed highly efficient filtration systems to clean and purify toilet water for industrial use.

Applying these same systems will significantly reduce the need for fresh water. Employing

hydroponics systems to grow food throughout the city also reduces the need for irrigation water

used in farming to provide fresh vegetables and fruits. This raises the cost to live there but each

city can operate as its own independent economic unit limiting the need to compete with external

suppliers. Placing a carbon tax on transport would make local producers more competitive.

Each home, office, and public place will be connected to a high-speed internet service

equivalent to a T-1 line. This connection provided by the city will allow every citizen to access

the Internet and a plethora of programs for free. Individuals desirous of premium services can

contract with local providers offering bundled channels and programs. All mail and

correspondence will be delivered online to a household terminal eliminating the need for a postal

service. These terminals will act as video communication terminals between the household and

the local community. This is especially useful for teacher parent conferences as well as

communicating with health officials. Each household will be entitled to individual bank

accounts with the local bank for the payment of bills and other transactions electronically at no


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charge. Refuse and recycling will be collected at a collection point at each apartment tower

eliminating the high cost of curbside pickup faced by suburban communities.

Public Schools

Schools will provide all day instruction eliminating the need for after school programs.

These programs will include sports, clubs, and other activities to balance the time between study

and recreation. Schools will operate six days a week with a short day on Saturday. Each student

will attend a neighborhood school and participate in a blend of in-class and online class

activities. To insure that each child receives culturally relevant and in some cases dual-language

instruction, half the class day will be spent online and in virtual environments. The biggest

problem for local schools is providing support for the more than 100 languages spoken by

immigrants and their children. By employing virtual classrooms, students can attend classes

designed specifically for their particular cultural heritage, study in their native language, and

engage with fellow students in a natural fun environment. By employing individual education

plans monitored by a guidance counselor, students can move at their best pace mastering each

subject prior to moving on to the next level of difficulty. This type of program provides a high-

quality education at the lowest possible price. Classes arranged around a students ability will

insure successful outcomes.

Day-Care for Children and Seniors

Each group of apartments will have space reserved on the first floor for health clinics,

dentists, day-care, play areas, recreation, and senior centers. The hope is that by mixing a variety

of age groups together, seniors will be willing to help manage the local children and children will

redevelop respect for older members of the community. Instead of sending seniors off to

retirement villages, they will be encouraged to remain sprinkled through out the community


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supporting and engaging other community members. Seniors can provide a constant presence to

deter mischief and petty criminal activities as well as encourage youth by example.

Instead of sending everyone to large integrated hospitals, each complex will have a health

clinic staffed by nursing professionals to provide immediate and regular health care, only

referring the seriously ill to hospitals. This will reduce the cost of delivery for health care and

provide opportunities to engage in preventive medicine with much lower costs. Clinics will

dispense most medicines except for highly addictive drugs which must be prescribed by a

licensed physician. Additionally, dental services will be provided at the housing complexes to

encourage use. These facilities will be supplied at no rental cost to the operators to encourage

professionals to support these activities and provide them at affordable rates. The cost of the

space will be included in the purchase price of the complexs apartments and rental units.

Security and Fire Protection

Each complex will have a security office responsible for local security and dispute

management. These community police will act as a go between for the local neighborhood and

regular police who will investigate crimes. The intention is that community police will know all

the residents allowing them to anticipate problems before they become serious. Eventually, it is

hoped that these community police will restore trust in the police and develop good will in their

communities. The community police will also double as firemen in the event of a fire.

Professional police trained in criminal law will operate out of a central location and support

multiple communities along with firemen.

When designing a high-density city, it is important to manage the interrelationships

between the different stakeholders to minimize conflict. Each neighborhood will develop its

own characteristics and flavor, people are free to live their lives as they choose. The primary


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consideration is providing the expected services cost effectively and with the least possible

impact on the community. Government should be a tool of the people to provide them with basic

services, reduce risk, and be available when needed for emergencies.

ending the american winter ver 2.0

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