Why Are We Separated?
Our current way of living has zoning laws, with residents living in close proximity to large shopping centers, schools, hospitals and recreational and leisure parks. But what if we added another element to the picture? What if we considered adding natural Australian habitat with wildlife?
What gets me is that society has designed a formula that better suits them, us, and is detrimental to the most important thing in the world: nature. Humanity has replaced the natural world with a concrete jungle.
I understand that roads and buildings are the lifeline to civilization, but in order to reduce mental illness, depression and impulsive negative behavior, we need nature. We are only at the beginning of understanding of how our infrastructure and environment affects us, by placing new residential estates with parks and greenery; but we could do so much more!
We are still separated from nature. In order to move forward with an increasing Australian population, we need to immerse ourselves with wildlife and plant life living with us, meaning living within and outside and all around us where we are totally surrounding by our native environment. And this is only possible with good planning and the use of great architecture.
Architecture and mainly housing Architecture will be as important as resolving climate change, this is how important architecture is!
By simply looking closer at our surroundings and understanding our outer world (the macro environment), you can see our first-world mentality. This has evolved since settlement, as countless zoning laws are put in place and as industry grows and develops. As we develop into more "sophisticated civilizations" we put nature secondary and in some cases third and off to one side, as if to look down upon nature, by consistently separating us from nature, instead of living amongst our fauna and flora. There are examples of other countries and cultures where humans live more harmoniously with nature. Every country has its own problems but envisaging the problems of the future will define a country.
At least, countries that are considered "third world" still have a connection with their native wildlife. Mostly, they still enjoy that interaction which is a part of them and their surroundings. This link is part of their lives, not separated like ours! Whether they are living on top of water, or surrounded by water, their instincts of survival are stronger, as they teach the next generation the potential threats of the future. It is, in some cases, a tourism card for the first-world way of living. This is the best way to strengthen our children's instincts.
Australia is heavily regulated, and that can be a good sign of progress, as our strong governance is based formal contracts in everything, from population density to the way we deal with environmental issues, but it is also a form of control. This governance influences our behavior significantly. But this is just part of the solution as we head into the future. Especially as societies become more aware of our behavioral patterns, living so close to one another, our environment still has a major influence on our behavior. Sure, in small ways, we have combined certain structures, such as open parks (green spaces) which form part of residential housing as well as shopping centers with airports, and everything else in between. But this does not include the main elements that will lead us into the 21st century. We must use other countries (who have societies with a strong link to nature and sometimes a more simplistic approach to life) as case studies so that we can model our practices on theirs. We can model our cities and behaviors on many other cities and countries. The purpose is to enjoy the day ahead and create a bigger focus on plant life that creates an illusion of more space, to enjoy the simplicity of life and recharge our daily human batteries as work becomes the battlefield of the future, for some!
Australians crave simplicity and a slower pace of life. We see it on weekends as people travel to the countryside, for meals, coffee and wine, and to enjoy the country markets. The attraction is Space or the illusion of Space. At the moment, with a clear-cut way of living in the cities and suburb, our psyche starts to become disconnected from reality. To prevent this, we must have a balance between our known way of life and the realities of life. The heavy present of NATURE, will in fact reverse the current behaviour of Fakes News and the increase of fake behaviour, "why" because redesigning the way we "live" will re-alien our current behaviour, for the better, if not totally, at lease increase it measurably.
We need to understand creating a balance in our current busy way of life; we need to create a balance between the way we see time and the way nature sees time. For nature, it has never changed! Nature runs a different time zone to society! Humanity, in order to continue to grow in a smaller world, needs a conscious trade-off.
Imagine going home from work to an environment that demands a simpler life, where you slow down. As you enter residential roads and living spaces, things slow down. Steps to take are: using the mentality of bringing the outdoors inside or by living around the outdoors and setting up a system of minimum living standards that is not just for the upper class but for everyone. Eventually, it will start with the upper class, before our system changes for the masses.
A new form of residential living will become the norm, where it's up to you, the individual, how much of the outdoors you bring indoors. This next big thing in residential living will bring a bigger connection in your life, not via the internet, but with nature itself! It will depend on each individual to discover one's own worth and strength through nature rather than googling it. Why not create that personal experience in your surroundings? We already show the need for relaxation in the form of a second holiday house by the beach or by having a tree change. So, we could call it a getaway from the hustle and bustle of life! We look forward to relief whenever we can.
Well, why can't we start building the essential layers and elements today? In order to move forward, why not create that tourist or retired lifestyle when we go home every night!? Our imagination needs the creativity of real-life experiences. We can still allow technology to flourish. We can regulate it, when coming home to switch off, as we can use our homes, the microorganisms we live in, to study. This is what is going to take us forward, staying connected with our micro-environment. This is how society can move us far distances in the least amount of time. By understanding the two lives which we already live: our macro lives of our work culture and our micro lives of our homes and families.
Creating this form of lifestyle starts with thinking big and major new infrastructure in order to move our population around, especially if we consider our native flora and fauna. These two factors will allow us to create the platform of tomorrow.
The greatest thing about Australia is that we still have a large untouched land mass, a blank canvas. We still have the opportunity to develop these ideas and turn them into reality. One company has started this by creating a vision for a hyperloop train system, going from Melbourne to Sydney within two to three hours' time. Imagine all the space in between! We could create retreat-style residential properties of the future, live amongst the trees, as we build the houses of the future that are designed for 'tree style' living, with wildlife running around. We'll bring the zoo (so do speak) to us! We wouldn't have to go looking for that remote place ever again. And it's an opportunity for a different type of tourism of the future - the opposite of today's tourism where tourism is a zone away from residential living. To do this, Australia has the one thing going for it: land space. We can create as much land space as we want by combining it with air space. All we must do is plan the ultimate architectural design where we understand the basic layers to create one big giant platform made up of incremental layers.
By combining the essential elements that create life itself, we create an unlimited lifestyle that is connecting us with our native plants and wildlife, where there will still be some form of separation, but only when you look for it. This is a must in order to bring koalas and the rest of our wildlife back from their vulnerable status. By living closer than ever before, combining residential living in the masses with wildlife at our feet, while we live in the air, creating two layers so do speak, could easy happen!
Vision for the Future
To drive success and leverage the true earning potential of the koala, it's imperative that we, the koala industry, work hand in hand with stronger, more powerful industries. We've suffered through an incredible setback across the koala industry in recent years, particularly due to infighting. In order to return to the industry's former glory and to gain public trust, we need to expand our vision for a shared future.
The question moving forward is: "How do Australians grow as a nation, maintain our way of life and expand as a society while also supporting our rare and native wildlife?" Clearly, over the long term, we need to grow our native vegetation, improve habitats and surroundings and increase the understanding of our culture. We need to respect our unique environment while drawing on the support of the community. The koala industry needs to work hand in hand with other industries – to support and strengthens their interests as well as our own. All of this will be built on the shared interest that drives us all – commerce.
Ending the Theme 'Big or Best'!
This theme ends with an artistic finish. We will look at a 2006 "TED TALK" from Ken Robinson called "Do Schools Kill Creativity?". In this talk, Robinson talks about the future of education and the importance of creativity.
Here is the video: "Do Schools Kill Creativity?"
Our next article in our last theme is "Vision - A Picture into the Future of the Koala Industry".
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