Telecommuting

Telecommuting or as it's more commonly called, "working from home" has been growing in popularity ever since its beginning in the early 1970's. There are many positive attributes tied to this type of work and in this post I plan to break these down as well as list some of the drawbacks. Then I'll leave it up to the reader to decide if telecommuting is a viable work option.

Telecommuting is beneficial for employees, employers, and communities alike. Firstly, it allows some who may not have the capability of a traditional commute such as disabled persons, stay-at-home parents, those living in remote locations to have a fulfilling and productive career. Secondly, it reduces traffic density on the roads during the important peak hour times. This not only reduces congestion, but it will also reduce pollution, accidents, oil usage, and wear of our transportation infrastructure.

For employers, telecommuting allows them to reduce their company's carbon footprint. It also allows for increased productivity from workers as time is not lost travelling to and from work. Employee morale is improved and issues such as varying time zones are much more easily navigable. For employees, work-related transportation costs and fuel usage are drastically decreased thus saving them large amounts of money. Many find that it is much easier to balance home and work-life and the conveniences of home are readily available. The overall benefit of telecommuting, in my opinion, is that it reduces energy usage without adversely affecting economic productivity and growth.

Now, the drawbacks. The main criticism seems to be that interactions and relationships that develop in the traditional workplace are severely compromised. Employers and employees are unable to talk face-to-face with one another which can be seen as a weakness in the ability to effectively manage and operate a company. Also, telecommuters may have inadequate office setups at home leading to a decrease in productivity. Along this same line of thought, telecommuting relies heavily on technology in order for it to work smoothly. Any disruption in the telecommuter's network, phone line, etc. could cause the inability to work for a period of time.

Personally, I don't think I would be able to work from home. I need a change of scenery between work and home and I don't think I could do without person-to-person interaction between my coworkers and boss. Having a phone glued to my ear all day does not sound appealing either. But I do recognize that there are many strong benefits to telecommuting, perhaps I'm just more traditional. Do you think telecommuting would work for you?

21st century transportation, a new mentality

It was brought up in class a few days ago that the 20th century mentality towards transportation was to "enjoy your mobility." And now in the 21st century, this mentality has changed to "mobility is a responsibility." I think this is a very interesting change in attitude and it accurately represents the movement towards creating sustainable transportation networks throughout the world. 

The 20th century witnessed many transportation milestones such as the introduction of the automobile, the transcontinental railroad, and the airplane. This created high levels of excitement as people could now travel faster and farther, reaching places never before possible. This newly-found mobility was celebrated and encouraged and concerns with carbon emissions, congestion, noise pollution, etc. was not yet a widely held concern. Mobility was not to be kept in check, it was to be enjoyed.

Once the 21st century rolled around, our attitude towards the transportation systems we had previously used with complete freedom and disregard for the environment began to change. In today's world, with fossil fuels quickly running out and carbon emissions at dangerously high levels, there is much more effort to make our transportation networks efficient and sustainable. In our travels, we must be cognizant of these issues and employ methods to move responsibly such as carpooling, walking or biking when possible, and operating vehicles safely. 

Who is in charge of making responsible transportation decisions? The answer is, we all are. From government officials, to urban planners, to transportation engineers, to any person taking a trip, we must all work together to ensure that our transportation systems can thrive well into the future. We are quickly approaching a major shift in the way we move from place to place as oil depletion continues to worsen. Alternative fuels will undoubtedly become much more common and many adjustments and innovative technologies will need to be developed.

Reducing congestion, it seems pretty simple

During class today, Professor Tawfik showed us this image and I found it to be very powerful and thought-provoking. With such overwhelming levels of congestion in big cities it seems like there's no way to avoid it. But this image makes a strong point. If we were to incorporate more public/alternative forms of transit into our cities, the space needed for transportation networks could be largely reduced. Rather than a street loaded with thousands of impatient, carbon-emitting, honking cars wouldn't it be nice to see a single electrified light-rail train smoothly, silently, and swiftly snaking its way through the city?

Empty parking lots, wasted land

It seems everywhere you go, especially in retail areas, there are massive parking lots that are largely empty. Doesn't this seem like a huge waste of land? Not only are they seemingly useless but they also create water runoff issues, discourage alternative forms of transit, and act as an eyesore for many communities. So why are they so big and often mostly empty?

There are many codes and ordinances that define parking space requirements for every piece of property in an area. An example of this comes from Columbia, Missouri where every supermarket requires 300 square feet of parking space for every 200 square feet of retail space. Therefore, more land is required for parking than the for the store itself. Reasons like this explain why we usually see hundreds of empty parking spaces.

Multi-level parking garages relieve the problem somewhat as they take up less surface area and if they're underground they may be largely unseen, but we need a better solution. Planners and builders should find ways to bring customers to their stores, restaurants, movie theaters, etc. in ways other than personal vehicles. They should be walk or bike-friendly, they should be close to public transit routes, and they should be situated in ways that discourage personal vehicle travel.