Process on coming up with our final scenario
Selection:
- Health and Transport
Research:
- Article: Is Modern Transport making war on the Human Body?
Analysis:
- Key Ideas:
- As human beings we are affected by transport in many ways, based on our weaknesses of being human.
- Transportation by cars is the 9th leading killer of human beings.
- The emissions emitted by transportation have many lasting health diseases, including asthma, lung disease and cancer and other respiratory diseases.
- Prolonged exposure to transport noise can affect our cardiovascular health, sleep and reduce our ability to concentrate.
- The vibrations from vehicles can also cause long-term muscle damage and psychological impairment.
- There is distinct evidence to highlight that individuals that travel through healthier means (bike/walk) have less health issues.
- Positive changes that could be made to improve health, include:
- Redesigning urban spaces to encourage walking
- Road pricing and increasing parking fees to encourage people to find other means of transport.
- Expansion of bike-share schemes: bikes available at multiple locations.
- More safety improvements to automobile design.
Review:
- We have to actively think about the affects that our fast paced use of transport has on our bodies. As we are human beings first, our needs of health should be met first.
Speculate:
- Why is fast-paced transport needed?
- What benefits to we gain from getting to one place to the other faster?
- Are the long-term health affects work the transportation and getting to a destination faster?
- What would happen if all fast paced transportation were removed from society?
Coalescence:
- Have we become immune to noticing the health changes we have due to transport?
- Are we immune to noticing the long-term affects, as we prefer the use of transport?
- Would society become more active and healthier if transport was removed?
Speculate:
- What if we had to sacrifice immediate health for the use of transport?
- What if places were within walking distances would fast pace transport still be used?
- What if it cost to drive on all roads? Would individuals refrain from driving?
Refine:
- Costing for transportation on roads: There would be fees to be paid to drive on any roads. This will promote the use of healthier modes of transportation.
- Cars and other forms of transportation had in built methods of exercise: this would eliminate some associations with bad health.
- City areas become more like a community that way there is less distance to travel places and individuals can walk to each destination.
Key Themes:
- Each of the scenarios can be linked to ideas of the Antropocene and Human Technology relations.
- All these scenarios highlight a world with less use of transportation. This would mean a healthier living environment regarding air pollution and respiratory problems that arise from this.
- Human technology relations would also be affected in the instance of cars that have exercise ability. This would be an interaction with future technology.
The Futurists 14 