Big Dream Question One

Last year I ran for city council. It was an impulsive decision to apply the lessons I've been learning and try to help communities I've been enjoying. The experience was mind-opening. I spent a month cycling around Ward 9 and visited over 1,000 doors (you can find the whole journey here). As a result of those conversations I became deeply aware of the accelerating pace of life we are all experiencing. It's a hidden killer that few are conscious of, yet it is constantly impacting our consciousness.

The Problem

As identified by the Geoffrey West’s book Scale; the increase of opportunities that cities (and the internet) provide, create an accelerating pace of life for those who live in them. [1] Cities provide many things to do, and many things that need to be done. If a city was a river of human potential, the pace of life in a city is how fast the water flows. Most cities around the world have been experiencing exponential growth in their "flow rates." Human brains evolved to manage a certain level of complexity, and process information at a certain speed. Now we live in a world that is highly complex and moving lightning fast. Our brains cannot cope. Some people respond by sinking ?down into depression, others turn to addiction, while others?simplify the world into conspiracy theories they can understand (or worse—poetic LinkedIn newsletters).

Feeding A Solution

To help manage the complexity of the world, imagine if cities consciously facilitated bundles of information in neighborhoods that allowed an entire neighborhood to group needs together. Similar to the infrastructure already in place for water and transportation, but for other common needs. Those who choose to can meet their needs in bundles with their neighbours. These bundles operate as "eddies" in the river of the city; allowing critical nutrients to replenish communities, without the whole current being affected. Those who wish can jump back into the main current, while others stay in the eddy as long as needed. Happiness is choosing your pace of life.

Utilities and reliable infrastructure allows us to manage our pace of life when it comes to core human needs. Water allows us to live, heat allows us to survive and electricity opens up a new world of possibilities. Are we self-aware enough as a species to embrace awareness of the collaboration that our cities embody? How far should we let that collaboration go? Just safety, just roads, just electricity or just water? If it's done with water, why shouldn't it be done with food?

I don't actually know what the answer is, but exploring the question is one of the key themes for this newsletter. In several of the past editions I worked at an understanding of what life is, and at least one critical principle (boundaries) to keep top-of-mind in designing solutions. Controlling the pace of life for someone borders on controlling their pace of life. I don't know how to do one without doing the other. Hopefully as we discuss the concept more, it will become more clear.

I really believe this generation can figure it out. I've been given an incredible privilege to a front-row seat as that happens. This past week I joined the board of a non-profit organization that works with schools in and around Calgary. Peer Mediation and Skills Training is on a mission to "equip youth, families, and communities with the skills to manage conflict where they live, learn, work, and play." I know I'm going to learn a great deal from the lessons that our youth learn about life while solving their own conflicts. Stay tuned to learn them with me.

*** The content and frivolity expressed in this article is my personal perspective, it does not reflect the position of the incredible organizations I work with.

[1] Geoffrey B. West, Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies (New York: Penguin Press, 2017).