Today’s Urban Commute is the Secret Weapon of Tomorrow’s Regional Vitality
Many of my friends, family members, and colleagues
throughout the country have pleasant drives to
And yet, for me as an individual and for the region I am
part of, give me the urban commute every day of the week. Because I truly believe that how I and almost
all of my co-workers get to and from work is the secret sauce to our individual
happiness and to why I am so bullish about Philadelphia’s future. Here’s why.
First, why commute at all?
Most of what many of us do for our jobs can be done from anywhere, so
why not decouple ourselves a central work location, and shed commute time and
gain personal autonomy in the process?
Ah, but there is a difference between what we do for our jobs and what
we accomplish in our jobs, the former being very self-centered and the latter
requiring much more human contact. Even
things you’d think can be done in isolation, it turns out are done way more
effectively when we are rubbing elbows with others. So, sorry, we have to tolerate our commutes.
Ah, but sometimes our commutes themselves are part of the
work. Perhaps this is truer for me than
for others, since I work on urban issues in my actual job. But you don’t have to have my job to benefit
from keeping your eyes open as you board a subway, walk through a train station
concourse, or stroll through a historic neighborhood, three things I do every
time I commute to and from work. All of
these things connect me to people, places, and experiences that help me,
however directly or indirectly, with things I’m working on. And, I suspect that no matter what you do in
y our day job, these kinds of experiences will enrich the work part of you as
well.
And this is why, regardless of your personal preferences, an
urban commute holds the key to personal satisfaction and region-wide
competitiveness. When you are in the
suburbs, you are largely in a car, which means that you certainly hope not to
literally bump into anyone. Maybe you
can take in the scenery, but maybe you need to keep two hands on the wheel and
two eyes on the road. It can be a
pleasant ride, but it is one in which you are not interacting with humans or
with places.
An urban commute is nothing except for interaction with
humans and places. And, in urban
settings, those humans and places tend to be really diverse. Lots of different people from different walks
of life, different industries, even different reasons for being on the go (work
vs. school vs. tourism). Lots of
different places and spaces, which you can more easily take in via
transit/bike/foot than if you were driving.
Given what we know about how innovation happens, one of
these experiences is vastly better than the other in creating a climate where
creativity can flourish and regions can advance. And it ain’t the one that relies on having to
get into a car in order to get anywhere.
Which is why I’m more bullish on places like Philadelphia, and
especially singling out how we get to and from work as a secret weapon for how
we as a region can be more connected and ultimately more productive.
PS By the way, let’s not limit this to the trip at the
beginning and end of the day. My office
is in the heart of Center City Philadelphia, which itself is the heart of the
Greater Philadelphia region. Not to
brag, but I don’t think that folks who have to rely on a car to get around a
sprawling region simply can’t match the intensity of interactions, both planned
and unplanned, that I can fit into the same number of hours as everyone else
has. Think about the implications of
this. I can be more civically involved,
schedule more meetings, and check in with more people, than if any one of those
things involved me having to go get my car, drive halfway across town, park my
car, and go find people/places. This
little nudge can make a huge difference in the quantity and quality of my
social network, which multiplied by millions of people can make the difference
between a vibrant region and a stagnant one.
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