Some Observations

From Hacking CitiesSteve Hoover

Complexity Rules

“Butterfly effect” Local culture matters and are often put in place by unusual

initial conditions Fracking explosion in SD Chines to construct railroads in US

Law of Unintended Consequences CA environmental quality act used to support Union labor

rules

Picking the right “strange attractor” Should Oakland try to be the poor mans SF?

Opportunities Complexity because often time both benefits & costs of

decisions are highly distributed in space and time. Can we hack that in some way?

Are there lessons from complexity theory and design of robust systems?

Hacking Infrastructure

Temporary transportation Uber

Temporary housing Airbnb

Regulatory bodies being ignored Probably best in short term Wont work in the long term

Political bodies and regulatory systems are not subject to Schumpeterian “Creative Destruction” like big companies

Opportunities Parking Physical infrastructure (HOV lanes) What are the platforms? What could they be?

Can we build API’s?

Can you DIY or make Hackable physical infrastruture?

Complexity again

The basics are hard and better come first

What will the impact be of

Low cost easily installed power and network

What about water? Sewage?

How will we all want to live?

Do we want cities?

300 Million in India in the big cities, 800 million outside

They deserve opportunities for improving their lives. Education, water, life span, …

Can we afford and do we want a future where population is highly concentrated?Do we need a new way?