Density Digest | Birthdays, Infrastructure & Gravel
March 14, 2024
density dad is a reader-supported publication covering all things urbanism and the built environment. Topics range from housing and public transportation to land use, safe bike infrastructure, and building equitable communities. I'm passionate about writing and aspire to cover this work full-time. Your subscription enables this pursuit. Join me in crafting meaningful content. Subscribe today.
New here? Check out other articles just like this here. For full access, become a paid supporter today.
It's my birthday so I've dropped paid support on the site to just $3 through Sunday. I wasn't to excited about writing this morning but just wanted to provide something that came to mind about how we age and the relation to infrastructure.
Let's get right into it!
Aging Infrastructure
I won't bore you with a some long drawn on comparison but rather a tailored revelation about our bodies and minds as we age and how it's related to infrastructure.
For me, the term "infrastructure" has always been associated with something physical. Today, I'm realizing that it also related to systems that challenge how we think and also how we react. While the trees in the median of a boulevard are physical, it's the natural slowing down of drivers that we are looking for as a result.
I've challenged myself to take a look at my physical and mental state and see how I can alter the "infrastructure" to better accommodate, well me. Much of my life has been set up like a highway, offering solutions to fixing problems as fast as possible. As people needed more out of me, I've just added lanes to accommodate.
There are no boundaries and people can hop on and off the expressway as they see fit. It's led to chaos I'd prefer was a bit more tailored to my desires as a real-life urbanist.
I've decided to remove this highway and turn it into a canal. It won't be the fastest way to perform a task or solve an issue but so what? I can slow down and enjoy coffee along the canal. I can set boundaries to who has access to me. I can cause others around me to adjust accordingly. Commuters naturally make adjustments with long-term detours or contruction projects. The same is said whenever a two-lane street is reduced to a single lane with an added bike lane.
At 35, I'm looking forward to this approaching 40 with this new mentality of an infrastructure and how it relates to me.
Beyond the paywall I discuss:
- What To Read
- Recent Interest Into Gravel Bikes and the Culture of Gravel
- Search for Community