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Scientifictionist, v. 1, issue 4, April 1946

Page 7

THE URBANATE -- TOMORROW'S CITY
by John D'Arcy

Among the many tremendous problems which must be solved in the America of tomorrow, one of the greatest will be the task of building entire new living centers to replace the inefficient, obsolete, unsightly and unhealthy cities of today. As has been pointed out in the Technocracy Study Course (Lesson 22), all of America's present big cities owe their existence chiefly to the fact that they have become centers of trade, commerce, bookkeeping, advertising, and selling. With the removal of Price System financial controls, these cities are doomed to dwindle into insignificance for the simple reason that trade and commerce as such will cease to exist. To replace these doomed cities it will be necessary to design a Continent-wide system of new functional living center -- 'Urbanates' -- machines in which to live.
One of the first great problems which will confront the designers of these urbanates will be to determine the extent and direction of the wholesale re-allocation of population which will follow the inauguration of a technological system of production and distribution. Our present cities owe their size and location to the accidental fact that they chanced to fit the requirements of the covered-wagon and sailing-ship era. The size and location of the urbanates, on the other hand, will be determined entirely by the requirements of functional operation of the entire Continental system of production and distribution of an abundance on a balanced-load basis.
It is difficult for us today to realize the extent of the wholesale redistribution of the population which will result from this approach to the problem of 'city planning'. The removal of Price System interference controls, and the inauguration of a technological system of production and distribution, will effect vast and far-reaching changes in every field of endeavor -- and every one of these changes will be a factor in fixing the size and location of the urbanate.
For example, one such factor which will be of tremendous importance will be the greatly increased leisure time available to the citizens of the Technate. With the adult population on duty only 4 hours perday, 4 days per week, for only 41 weeks out of the year -- and with 35 to 40 million people over 45 years of age on the retired list -- there will be a demand for recreational facilities far beyond even the wildest dreams of a present day tourist resort chamber-of-commerce. This demand will probably greatly influence the design of every city, and will also probably result in a shift of population toward new 'resort' cities -- especially in the warmer regions of Mexico, the West Indies, California, Florida, and the Gulf Coast -- and also toward summer resorts,mountains, forests, lakes, etc.
Another important determining factor which will affect the distribution of population will be the reorganization of agriculture which will be necessary under the Technate. Agrobiologists have definitely established the fact that, with the widespread adoption of scientific farming methods, the food supply for the entire North American Continent can be produced on one-fifth the present agricultural land area and with one-fifth the present number of agricultural workers. In consequence, the agricultural activity of tomorrow will probably be restricted to only the most desirable farming areas which will be farmed in units tens of miles square -- large enough so that one trip to the far end of the tract and return with a high-speed cultivating or harvesting combine will require a full working day of 4 hours. Instead of living in tens of thousands of tiny villages or individual farms at present, the farm population will peobably live in a relatively small number of conveniently located towns (probably one for each tract) -- thus combining the benefits of heathful outdoor

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THE URBANATE -- TOMORROW'S CITY by John D'Arcy Among the many tremendous problems which must be solved in the America of tomorrow, one of the greatest will be the task of building entire new living centers to replace the inefficient, obsolete, unsightly and unhealthy cities of today. As has been pointed out in the Technocracy Study Course (Lesson 22), all of America's present big cities owe their existence chiefly to the fact that they have become centers of trade, commerce, bookkeeping, advertising, and selling. With the removal of Price System financial controls, these cities are doomed to dwindle into insignificance for the simple reason that trade and commerce as such will cease to exist. To replace these doomed cities it will be necessary to design a Continent-wide system of new functional living center -- 'Urbanates' -- machines in which to live. One of the first great problems which will confront the designers of these urbanates will be to determine the extent and direction of the wholesale re-allocation of population which will follow the inauguration of a technological system of production and distribution. Our present cities owe their size and location to the accidental fact that they chanced to fit the requirements of the covered-wagon and sailing-ship era. The size and location of the urbanates, on the other hand, will be determined entirely by the requirements of functional operation of the entire Continental system of production and distribution of an abundance on a balanced-load basis. It is difficult for us today to realize the extent of the wholesale redistribution of the population which will result from this approach to the problem of 'city planning'. The removal of Price System interference controls, and the inauguration of a technological system of production and distribution, will effect vast and far-reaching changes in every field of endeavor -- and every one of these changes will be a factor in fixing the size and location of the urbanate. For example, one such factor which will be of tremendous importance will be the greatly increased leisure time available to the citizens of the Technate. With the adult population on duty only 4 hours perday, 4 days per week, for only 41 weeks out of the year -- and with 35 to 40 million people over 45 years of age on the retired list -- there will be a demand for recreational facilities far beyond even the wildest dreams of a present day tourist resort chamber-of-commerce. This demand will probably greatly influence the design of every city, and will also probably result in a shift of population toward new 'resort' cities -- especially in the warmer regions of Mexico, the West Indies, California, Florida, and the Gulf Coast -- and also toward summer resorts,mountains, forests, lakes, etc. Another important determining factor which will affect the distribution of population will be the reorganization of agriculture which will be necessary under the Technate. Agrobiologists have definitely established the fact that, with the widespread adoption of scientific farming methods, the food supply for the entire North American Continent can be produced on one-fifth the present agricultural land area and with one-fifth the present number of agricultural workers. In consequence, the agricultural activity of tomorrow will probably be restricted to only the most desirable farming areas which will be farmed in units tens of miles square -- large enough so that one trip to the far end of the tract and return with a high-speed cultivating or harvesting combine will require a full working day of 4 hours. Instead of living in tens of thousands of tiny villages or individual farms at present, the farm population will peobably live in a relatively small number of conveniently located towns (probably one for each tract) -- thus combining the benefits of heathful outdoor page 7