There I was, stuck behind a semi truck cruising along at a measly 3.22245 mph on a jam-packed freeway. I was in the far-right lane having just gotten on, but I could see that the lanes progressively got faster. The lane directly next to me was maybe at 5 mph, but the lane farthest to the left must have been going a steady 8 mph.
That's as fast as I can jog! Life must be good in the left lane.
I began my battle to the outside. I turned on my blinker. Big mistake. The 4-foot gap that was there a second ago vanishes, and suddenly the drivers go into "I'm not letting you in, no way" formation. Ah, some Phoenix drivers should become Blue Angel pilots with skills like that.
I went for the fake out. I turn off my blinker like suddenly I had become uninterested in changing lanes. I gave the "being in the ultra-slow lane is awesome" look. But no one's buying it.
Finally, I saw a gap coming where I might have had a chance to dash into the lane. Here it comes … here it comes. Yes! Plenty of room! I signal … but no! The car behind me suddenly jumps into the spot, leaving me where I began. Stripped of my will and self-determination, it looked like I was going to be there for a while.
Because of moments like these, over the years, I have developed a deep and unwavering hatred for traffic. This gave me no choice but to be optimistic when I visited the "cure" for traffic — the experimental city, Arcosanti.
Arcosanti is an actual place set out in the desert about one hour north of Phoenix on the I-17, and it is definitely worth the trip. The small town is the creation of Italian architect Paulo Soleri. Fundamentally, it is ingenious. His mantra is that you can do away with cars and trucks inside the city with some careful planning.
Here's some food for thought. We drive everywhere because everything is so far apart, yet everything is so far apart because of the huge roads we put in between things. It's true for everyone; urban sprawl is the worst possible city design. The city is a huge maze of roads that can become claustrophobic and crammed.
His idea consists of building up rather than out. Building up would save a lot of space so the city would not damage as many natural habitats. The grand scheme is to make escalators to go from one part of the city to the next. It would be much easier to walk to the grocery store because everything would be planned out to the smallest detail rather than just paving havoc for us to deal with later.
Proponents of Arcosanti say that a city built more compactly would be beneficial for more than just environmental reasons. Even though Paulo Soleri's city would definitely be good for things like clean air and natural habitat, it may also help lower the crime rate and decrease the poverty rate. In a smaller city where people are not as isolated there would be more sense of community.
Arcosanti is still underdeveloped and has yet to build escalators and many other things, but it really made me think. If you take the car out of a city, you do away with a root problem. There would be less reason to rely on other countries for oil, air pollution would decrease, traffic jams wouldn't exist, and people would get more exercise. It's worth a shot. So, if you're like me and would rather pluck your toenails out than sit in traffic, check out Arcosanti.
Visit arcosanti.org to learn more or contact Lindsay at lindsay.wood@asu.edu.
