Australian architect Andrew Maynard’s vision of the future is a highly urbanized world. Forced to abandon cars due to Peak Oil, apartment dwellers look out from dense skyscrapers to their decaying suburbs surrounding the city. And what to do with those suburbs? Trample them with robots.
Not just any robots, though. These are suburb-eating robots. They’re kind of cute, actually. They look like gigantic puppies - except that they’re mechanical beings set to destroy your former home, and they have six legs. According to Maynard’s blueprints, the sixth leg is the “liposuction leg” - sucking up the excess fat caused by the suburb’s sedentary lifestyle, which the robots convert to fuel. Other legs draw up the houses for recycling (leaving behind the footings for the benefit of future archaeologists) and leave a complete flora/fauna ecosystem in its footprint. And what looks like a double tail at the robot’s rear end shoots out now-thin urbanites, and complimentary bicycles.
Maynard’s studio hopes to start production on the robots by 2019. So a warning to all suburbanites: You have a few years sell your car, pack up your belongings, and start losing weight if you don’t want to become fuel for a suburb-eating robot puppy.
Check out this video presentation to see the robots in action, and an interview with Andrew Maynard.
Source: Ecolect blog
Wow, that is one bizarre concept.
Bizarre?
I think, not really, because all the acres of land that now has suburbs using up good soil, will be reconverted to growing food for the people now huddled in the high-rises in the cities. I think it’s the coming reality.
Consider that most people now living in suburbs, even now, can’t afford the gas to commute to their jobs at distances that can’t be walked or bicycled. (Bus and train commuting, over long distances, is not developed in the US, so not an option. It needs to be.) Their only recourse, if they want to keep their job, that is, is to move closer to their jobs.
The Europeans already do this. Cars, to Europeans, are toys, not necessities.
I see the suburbs becoming ghosttowns, and the sub-prime crisis, ejecting people from their suburban homes (onto streets designed only for cars) is just the leading edge. JMHO.
I wonder what effect the suburban migration will have on cities. Already, people complain about downtown development, with cranes scattered across the skyline to build high-rise condos. Will it be affordable for suburbanites to move into American cities, even if they’re willing to give up their square footage?
And what kind of amenities will accommodates them? Will big-box stores follow them into city centers, or will new patronage encourage more local businesses?
As a resident of downtown Austin, Texas, I applaud this concept! The 21st century is the human century, and living close together benefits not only our world’s large human population, but also the wild creatures, plants and waterways that inhabit this planet with us.
Like many people, I was dismayed at the growth in downtown Austin a decade ago. Now I love it! We can walk to many restaurants, galleries and movie theaters. We see the same neighbors out walking, doing the same thing we’re doing. Austin, to me, has become like a little New York City. It’s a great life.
Let’s densify!
Deborah
Paul Krugman, a columnist for the NYTimes, wrote this great (and really applicable!) column titled, “Stranded in the Suburbs.” He brings up an interesting point, but stops short of recommending suburb-eating robots:
Austin has been dealing with this problem, since residents of more suburban areas within city limits rejected public transportation proposals. Now we’re having that push for density, with a lacking infrastructure. And I’d imagine that’s happening in a lot of other cities.
But Deborah, I’m still not getting the Austin - NYC comparison?
This was awesome, I needed a good laugh. I especially like how the robots are designed to run off the excess fat of obese suburbanites. I myself have had a similar vision of the future for a few years now since become aware of peak oil, although my vision did not include robots. It is likely that cities will become denser and taller and that future (re)development will be built with walking, cycling, and mass transit as the main means of transportation. Suburbs will be abandoned as energy prices increase and the land they occupy will be re-used for agriculture or parks/nature preserves. I have suggested that the suburbs could be recycled for resources to lower construction costs of the new high(er)-density transit-oriented housing projects that would be going up in the central city, although never in a way as creative as this author.
As a resident of Austin, I have to say that this city is a huge suburban wasteland with a small urban oasis stuck in the middle comprising the downtown and university areas. This area accounts for less than 1% of the total land area of the city. In addition, even though this area is denser it still makes many accommodations for automobiles that will prove to be a huge waste in the near future - parking garages anyone? Austin has such a long ways to go toward achieving true urban sustainability that we should pretty much just raze the entire city and start over from scratch. A suburb-eating robot would help tremendously in this endeavor.
I learn bizarre concept.
TQ
Liposuction Costs