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Dress Like an Architect, Think Like an Anarchist | Pro-Walk Pro-Bike Pro-Place 2016
If human-scale design is so great, then why aren’t communities demanding immediate change at local government offices across the country? It’s not enough to deliver great design. The 21st century designer needs to master (1) wardrobe and (2) storytelling. Wardrobe. You’re a cyclist, we get it. But normal people are terrified by your approach. They call you the Spandex Mafia behind your back. Blend in as best you can with planners, architects, and urban designers who are responsible for brutalist, car-oriented atrocities. The general public needs to assume you’re part of the modernist regime before you point out that the Infrastructure Emperor isn’t wearing any clothes. Storytelling. People don’t need facts, they need an emotional connection. Most of us weren’t trained to communicate like advertisers. We’re completely unqualified to be digital marketers – and yet that’s how we can persuade the general public. Voices in your head will fill you with doubt. Don’t succumb to the devil’s advocate. You have disruptive and socially radical messages to share with mainstream culture! Dress like an architect, think like an anarchist. That’s the secret to success for the 21st century designer. *** Originally presented in Vancouver, BC during Pro-Walk/Pro-Bike/Pro-Place. Check out #walkbikeplaces on social media for more.
![How to be a RESPECTABLE traffic engineer [5 easy steps]](https://cdn.slidesharecdn.com/ss_thumbnails/presentation16x9slidesharetrafficengineering-150708194110-lva1-app6891-thumbnail.jpg?width=640&height=640&fit=bounds)
Dress Like an Architect, Think Like an Anarchist | Pro-Walk Pro-Bike Pro-Place 2016
- 1. Dress Like anArchitect, Think Like an Anarchist Andy @Boenau Timmons Group
Editor's Notes
- #2 We have loads of data that shows amazing benefits of bike-friendly infrastructure. So why hasn’t it spread everywhere? It’s because facts never moved anyone to action. Emotional stories move people. And we have a storytelling problem.
- #3 These are nice outcomes of bicycle urbanism. Bike-friendly infrastructure is about people. It’s about saving lives and restoring individual freedom. We’re dealing with issues far more important than healthy trees and clean air.
- #4 Our culture is programmed to think speeding in cars with zero delay is the ideal condition. And so it’s okay that traffic crashes are the #1 killer of children. Speed is our idol, and Level of Service is the alter where we sacrifice our babies.
- #5 Walking and biking makes our body pump out natural anti-depressants. And the next most natural medication is a plant the government doesn’t want you to have. Meanwhile, our taxes subsidize actual deadly stuff – roads.
- #6 Prohibition is typical statism. The authorities don’t care about your health and wellness until it interferes with their elections. Imagine a future where our kids have the freedom to safely ride a bicycle.
- #7 Most people can’t relate to the little outfits and the little hats. Hardcore cycling is great, but it’s the 1%. You can’t win over the masses on a platform that appears designed for the 1%.
- #8 Thinking like an anarchist means creating solutions as if we lived in a stateless society. Self-governance. Non-aggression. We’d never even consider stealing someone’s front yard to increase the clear zone!
- #9 Blend in with the planners, architects, and engineers responsible for brutalist, car-oriented atrocities. They’ll get comfortable with you, invite you to speak at their conferences, and write for their newsletters. That’s when you begin the liberation.
- #10 The internet is no joke. I used to think Prodigy message boards were fun. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube… the meeting places for your intellectual riot. The easy information exchange terrifies the status quo.
- #11 Someone else, I hope. 35,000 Americans were killed in traffic last year. Imagine a Donald Trump product like that! The fact is, no private company can ever compete with the State when it comes to death & destruction.
- #12 George Lois is sometimes called The Original Mad Man. He’s an inspiration for any storyteller. Isn’t this the most popular response to your ideas? We’re not here to conform. Don’t succumb to the Devil’s Advocate.
- #13 Traffic deaths are like having a 9/11 every month. The State fights for conformity. Preserving the status quo. Transportation professionals who go with the flow are on mental auto-pilot. And worse, they’re training young professionals to follow their example.
- #14 Let’s talk solutions. The 2nd Amendment protects an engineer’s right to bear AutoCAD, but background checks are probably an easy sell. “Ma’am, have you ever treated traffic models as science?”
- #15 Anarcho-urbanism leads to some interesting possibilities. The State wants to speed up car traffic. You want to get people out of cars so they can touch and smell each other. That’s traffic engineering I’d get behind.
- #16 Management is overseeing a process. Leadership is different. Being fully prepared means it’s been done a million times, copy – paste. That’s highway engineering, and I don’t think that’s what you want.
- #17 Do we love worshipping sacred fabric and books or what. If you think like a Statist, elevated and protected bike paths are going to freak you out. You know what? Go ahead and burn a flag.
- #18 Here’s an idea of what that looks like. The ITE Trip Generation Manual assumes every new building creates new car trips. In real life, people change their driving patterns. But traffic engineering isn’t about real life.
- #19 Your stories can be more influential than you think. Don’t bore your friends with trend lines and research papers. Remember, facts don’t move people to action. Emotion moves people. Share your anecdotes about Vancouver.
- #20 I think Albert Einstein said “If you can’t tweet your story, you don’t know it well enough.” Help people imagine a future where grandparents can ride bikes at night, in dark clothes, with no helmets.
- #21 You need stories, not spandex. Dress like an architect, think like an anarchist. That’s the path to success for the 21st century designer.