Dear John:
The problem with SV and California in general is that the low housing densities. Low housing densities require that everything is further apart. In Milwaukee, the standard block is 440 feet by 330 feet. There are 192 blocks in a square mile. There are typically 12 houses per block each lot about 60 feet wide by 120 feet deep in the the newer residential areas. The older areas have half wide lots at 30 feet or about 24 homes per block. I used to live as a child in one of these higher density areas. This comes to 4608 homes per square mile. Given the average 2 kids per home, yield a population density of about 18,000 per square mile of higher density residential area.
In SV, the density seems to be about 8 homes per block or less. This make SV areas spread out by at least a factor of three. Because geography further restricts where housing can be and linearizes expansion the distance factors match or even exceed this factor (more area must be devoted to such things as drainage, roads, and infrastructure). Thus distances are about 4 times longer than a tight compact area. Thus, for a similar sized Midwest community of say 1 million where the commutes run about 30 minutes, you get 2 hours in SV. This also quadruples the costs of cable, telephone, utilities that also must travel these longer distances.
To prevent an SV type problem there are a few solutions. Telecommuting does not work for 70% of the jobs, such as manufacturing, agribusiness, public services (like hospitals, parks, roads, garbage, etc.), utilities (power, gas, water, etc.), construction, and transport. Thus, the savings are not what you would think initially. Besides, many of the rest of the 30% that may benefit will not due to cultural and practical reasons. These take a long time to change.
You could do what some enterprising individuals are doing in SV, going to a hotel or motel close to work, working there for 4 days at 10 hours a day (Company staggers people to work either the first four days a week or the last four days of one of three shifts. This yields 24/7 coverage and all the employees are available during Wednesday and there is a 2 hours transition between shifts) and commute only once home and back a week. This cuts commuting traffic by a factor of five, gas, pollution, and agravation. Some companies could put these employees on a hotel on the plant grounds thus, completely eliminating the commutes. These "hotels" can thus be very high density and the employees could live in the low density homes they come to like.
Three, go high density for residental areas. Build them in clusters around a public transit stops ala Chicago RTA. Say about one square mile or so so that one could walk to the station, drive a hybird/electric car to the parking lot by the station, or take some shuttle there (provided by the community or RTA). Then you take the commuter train to the station near work. A company bus takes you to work from the station. All of this could be done in less than an hour or two where the community could be still be 60 or so miles away from the plant. In that time one could read the newspaper, take a nap, eat breakfast, etc. Each cluster would be two or three miles apart so that parkland, farms, etc would still be available within a short time. Clusters could be shopping areas, government facilities (such as hospitals, public works, administration, and courts), industrial areas, leisure areas (sporting facilities, amusement parks, zoos, museums, etc.), and transport hubs (airports, intercity stations, and ports). This also cuts down on energy use both electric and gas (although co generation could be used to reduce pollution, and decrease overall energy use).
As to their energy problem, the mindset pervades California as their water also is imported at subsidized rates. If California farmers would have to pay for water at the true cost, most would be out of business. Any nuclear plant could go into the deserts such as Death Valley, the area east of Barstow, or around the Salton Sea (this may also be a way to shrink the lake and still cool the plant with either wet cooling towers or using it as a cooling/evaporation pond).
Pete |
