COVID gives us a chance to redesign the physical and social environment that has gone awry in the last generation. Going back is no option. We must innovate to a new way of living.

That redesign can make our society healthier, cleaner and happier.  The virus and economic contraction give us a chance to do things better across the board: education, work, play, housing, health care and government. 

Background/context/history

America got rich after World War II - really rich. We built the wealthiest society in the history of the planet. We raised millions out of poverty. We went to the moon. Won the freedom in Europe and Japan. Saved millions of lives through our generosity. You know the list. 

But there were impacts. Native people, black people, women, the poor and under-educated were left behind. The wealthy became more wealthy. The air and water in the 50s and 60s were fouled because we didn’t much care about the environment while building that commerce-based society. A river in Cleveland caught fire. School segregation. Red-lining. Housing projects. You know that list too. 

Then in the 80s we started getting really, really rich. Republicans used control of government to cut taxes and enhance corporate profits. This floated some boats. But it left a lot of people behind. 

Then we got super rich. We overbuilt the suburbs, fished out the oceans and allowed commerce to destroy our manufacturing and replace it with Walmarts and Dollar Generals, poison food, plastic in the ocean and poison water in Flint. And we didn’t really care enough about that either.

Then COVID, which doesn’t care about political party. Who thought we would see Republicans handing out unemployment and subsidy checks like penny candy and stop caring about the budget deficit, all the while going along as Trump’s handmaidens.

The COVID economic contraction gives us a great opportunity to design a better, more equal and prosperous society. Let’s act to get rid of the primitive health care and antiquated school systems. Let’s create a fair tax system, getting rid of carried interest and raise the capital gains tax. Let’s not wait for the market to leave the carbon economy behind. Let’s push it hard. 

Additional thoughts:

Education — With no national leadership on this, we are left alone. But there are models. The Finns do education better than anyone and one of the keys to their success is getting kids outside. Why do we continue to jam kids into school buildings built 100 years ago, especially during a pandemic?

Take education outside. Put the wedding tent companies to work erecting tents for classes. In Montpelier, VT where I live, the North Branch Nature Center is a living, breathing outdoor classroom. Let’s use it. Get the kids out of the classroom and into nature. You can learn as much math and science in the woods as you can in a book. Students can read the book at home and be outside during the day. 

Divide the students into small groups that alternate in-person school with remote school. Use the assets we have. The parks, the woods, the farms. The idea that kids should be indoors in a classroom all day is obsolete. Oh - and it’s safer. 

It’s a question of imagination and design for school boards, principals, teachers, and parents. 

Work - Same thing. COVID forces us to redesign work, especially the work day. We have discovered that commuting to an office, working at a desk, going to lunch, and commuting home is a waste of time. Do your work at home. When you need a team meeting for synergy, the team can gather at an office, leaving home after the rush hour and heading home before rush hour. This kind of staggered work will reduce air pollution and make people happier without long commutes. Google, Facebook, and Twitter are sending their people home. The rest of us can too.

Eliminate the 40-hour work week. No one works 40 hours anymore. We all work differently. The data shows that work efficiency goes down after three hours. We will be more productive, not less. 

Play - Take sports out of schools. Sports are a huge financial burden on schools. Take sports into communities, the way they do it in Europe. The local soccer clubs and basketball teams can rent the gym and fields from their school districts. That is the way it’s going anyway. 

Government - Redesign the buildings. The Vermont legislature should reduce the number of committees and hold hearings in the larger spaces in the Statehouse. Knock down walls between committee rooms for more space. Cut the in-person legislative work week to 2-3 days. Upgrade the video conferencing and the Internet speed in all government buildings. Video conferencing should be easy, fast, and voice activated. 

Health care - do I really need to make an appointment to see my doctor? Can’t I just do it via FaceTime? I should be able to email my doctor or call them on their cell phone. Their answer has always been that they can’t bill the insurance company. It’s a design issue. Every health care regulatory body in the U.S. (looking at you Green Mtn. Care Board) should order the redesign of this system.

Food - start growing food locally. Let’s identify every open space in a community and grow food there. Start keeping food local in every way. Instead of making these spaces into parking lots for cars that pollute and deliver little value, let’s turn open spaces into outdoor movie theaters, gardens, and classrooms. We will create a new generation of young farmers and producers. 

What are the benefits of some of these proposals? Truth is - we should have been doing all this before COVID. Our schools and work habits are antiquated and obsolete. They don’t serve students or adults. 

Let’s rebuild work and education around the efficiencies the Internet has given us and stop clinging to an economy built after World War II.

Caveat 1 - I make this sound easy. It’s hard work for the people in the trenches who have to figure it out. But in the end it is a design issue. We figured out how to go to the moon and win a war by transporting ships, planes, fuel, and people across an ocean. We can redesign a society. 

Caveat 2 - This new world is easier for privileged, educated knowledge workers. But at the very least, eliminating these people from the roads every day makes more space for others doing essential every day jobs.

Caveat 3 - These are stop-gap band-aids that do not address the gross, structural inequities we have created. We have allowed our land-use design to spin out of control. We don’t pay people enough to grow food, teach school, fight fires, or provide safety.  We value wealth over humanity and fairness, and are destroying ourselves because of that. I don’t have an easy answer for the child-care/remote work conflict.

Huge structural change comes gradually, but the least we can do is start.

Sources and inspiration

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/07/coronavirus-pandemic-plagues-history.html

https://www.6sqft.com/pau-envisions-a-pedestrian-friendly-car-free-nyc/