To help prospective EcoLoam inhabitants understand our cities infastructure we have contructed a narrative to explore what a day in the life of a resident may look like.
Morning
Eve woke with the sun. Her first action is to activate her Eco-step, alerting her home sustainability system. The system registers that the space is beginning use for the day and adjusts energy usage accordingly. As is Eve’s habit she puts on her robe and heads to the building’s rooftop garden to go through her morning meditation routine. Meditation complete, Eve waters the plants in the garden. The past week has been dry and Eve is thankful for the rainwater collected by rooftop systems during rainier days. Lazily, Eve picks off a couple mint leaves and starts to chew, relishing the banishment of her morning breath. She peruses the gardens looking for ripe produce. The melons are growing nicely and Eve picks one off the vine for the day’s breakfast. Back in her apartment Eve checks her Eco-step and sees there is 20 minutes of showertime for the day if they are to sustain the water supply.
Once ready for the day, Eve checks in on her son Atom. His Eco-step sits beeping on the nightstand. Atom is oblivious to the world, sleeping past the alarm in the comatose sleep of an almost-teenager.. “Wake up now! Breakfast in ten minutes” Eve calls as she prods him awake. Over breakfast Atom chatters his excitement at presenting his diorama to the class at school today. The pair decide to check out a cargo bike from the building in order to more easily transport Atom’s project to school. Eve deposits the trash and recycling in their respective chutes on their way out the door. She will compost the melon rinds from breakfast when she next visits the garden.
Navigating
Borrowing the cargo bike is easy. Each building in Ecoloam is equipped with vertical bicycle garages. Citizens of Ecoloam are loathe to give up green space, so the vertical storage of bicycles inside the garages saves space as well as protects the bicycles from the elements. Atom carefully loads his diorama into the cargo space and then checks out a bike for himself by scanning his Ecostep at the garage's sensor. Eve’s scans her Eco-step and the two pedal off toward the center of their city neighborhood. It is a pleasant ride. Many fellow Loamians are out tending their gardens or riding their own cargo bikes filled with produce towards the market. Eve notices “desire lines” being worn away as residents develop new walking paths and she makes a note to check in on the Ecostep data for pedestrians once she gets to work. Atom begs to stop and watch as a newborn kid rambles around its paddock in the courtyard between two apartment buildings. Eve reminds him of his presentation at school and away they ride again.
Work & School
Like most of Ecoloam buildings Atom’s school houses more than one function. In fact, Eve’s office space is two floors up from Atoms classroom. Atom waves his mother goodbye and bounds into class carrying the all important diorama. Eve scans in the bicycles to this building’s vertical garage. Eve works at “The Hive.” Here employees manage and maintain the immense eco-surveillance network known as “Eco-step.” Each morning workmates begin by sharing passages from great literature on the philosophy of sustainability. This contemplative practice sets the tone for the work done at The Hive. The surveillance of Ecoloam’s sustainability indicators is considered to be of utmost important to not only the survival of the city, but also it’s spiritual well being. As an informed citizenry Ecoloam’s residents live in harmony with their environment as symbiotic participants in the Earth’s ecology.
The Ecoloam Project "A Day In the Life"
Lomian
Leisure
At the lunch break, Eve meets up with Atom in the mess hall of the building. Kim and Sara ,a couple who resides in the residential apartments on the buildings top floor, sit down to eat with them. They share that the squash in the day’s stew came from their rooftop garden and it was the biggest squash they’ve ever grown. Over two pounds! The couple has also been working with the city to establish chickens in the courtyard here. Kim had chickens growing up and would like the eggs close by but her wife Sara would much rather start a beehive. Atom votes bees.
As is custom in Ecoloam the lunch period is followed by time away from school or work. It has started raining and Atom decides to visit the library instead of playing out in the schoolyard. Eve heads to the indoor gym in the building next door. She works out on a stationary bike marvelling at Ecoloam’s newest innovation; all energy generated by exercise machines is now being channelled into electricity.Eve’s workout energizes her for the rest of the day. Soon it is time to to pick Atom up from school and head home for the day.
Mealtime
“Mom! Mom! They loved it! They want to leave my diorama on display in the classroom!” “That’s great son, how about we go to Mel’s diner for dinner to celebrate.” Mel’s diner is Atom’s absolute favorite because the owners live on the edge of the city and have space for cows. As a result they always have milkshakes on their menu, no matter the season. Eve and Atom took a water taxi to the restaurant. The canal route is also a favorite treat of Atom’s because he can view the aquatic life and take in more of the city than their neighborhood community.
Scanning their Eco-step’s as they enter the restaurant both Eve and Atom receive suggestions on menu items that are sustainable to the food supplies of the city as a whole. Mel’s menu and specials reflect what the restaurant in particular has growing locally. Atom and Eve enjoy the seasonal fare at the diner before hopping in another water taxi. As they head back towards the city center, Jerome (the driver of the water taxi) tells the two about a concert taking place in the city center.
Community
Eve and Atom decide to attend. The city center is a special place for the residents of Ecoloam. It consists of a nature preserve with a performance space. It is also accessible by foot, water taxi and magnet train. These transportation options are the only development in the park. Ecoloam residents are preserving their connection to the natural world by maintaining a city core that’s entire purpose is recreational community building in the natural world. It is considered a point of pride that every visitor exiting the magnet train in Ecoloam must walk through the natural environment of the park before attending to their business in the city. Tonight the concert is a lively one. Fall is fast approaching and Loamians are reveling in the warm summer air before winter banishes them indoors. Soon Eve notices Atom nodding off in the grass beside her and they walk home.
After tucking Atom into bed. Eve pours herself a nightcap from the moonshine her neighbor May made from the peachtree in the courtyard. As she sits on her balcony she takes in the mountains that shelter Ecoloam and the river that runs through the city.
