The most important thing right now is to reshape our cities. The grand design of cities needs to be completely overhauled. Cities first started to sprout up some 6,000 years ago. As places where goods, people, and information gather, cities have always been susceptible to attacks from disease and external enemies. However, even in the face of great risk, humans have continued to build their cities at a pace that, if things were to go on as they were, would cause the entire planet to become completely urbanized. Of course, before that happened, the collapse of ecosystems would likely make it impossible for even humans to survive. The current pandemic has likely been the result of the destruction of ecosystems and urbanization on a global scale that has been driven by capitalism. Humans need to stop and reconsider.
It could be said that the re-creation of our cities would mean changing everything about the way we live our lives. Our housing environment, transport, food supply, infrastructure, information networks, education, healthcare, administrative systems, security, energy supply…the list is endless. If a densely congested environment creates risk, then the only choice is to decentralize it. This would be a massive public works project. Unlike useless dams, surely this would be public works project that would be worth doing. I believe that every person has the right to the time and space to enjoy healthcare, education, security, and culture.
