Humanitarian Government Part 6: A New Infrastructure Beginning

In the world of Humanitarian Government, things will change: massively.

Will all of it be instant? Of course not. Nothing worth having or done well will ever be done fast. However, I’m not talking slowly either.

What do you mean by change? Well….human nature as a rule doesn’t change much or faster than a snail can slime its way across grass (or whatever). So, yes, eventually human nature will change. Currently, in the US, we operate within a consumer/capitalist thinking structure that has been in place almost since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, probably longer.

However, much will change.

How to go about all this?

First, let’s start from a fresh blueprint, review what we already have in place, and outline how to move from today to tomorrow. I put out the blueprint because what we already have is at least semi-known.

Rural towns, villages, and even the makings of a beginning city will be the slower moving areas of change. Not only do they have ‘room’, but they are also less reliant on the type of infrastructure needed to house, feed, and support the survival of the number of people already in cities. Sorry, bread-basket America, it’s just that simple, and that’s the way things are. Am I discounting you? Hell no! You’ll find out why in a bit.

Cities and the business sector will change, though. Faster than the rural areas and business will be the fast track — but what will be needed? I’ll be very clear: at first, they will not like it. Not at all. However, they will also be the first to feel the positive side of things, too.

In this little world of mine, hmm, let’s use an Old English term that isn’t too hard and keeps to a minimum of keystrokes: Erf. Its meaning is ‘heritage, inheritance’, and it fits specifically for the US.

Now, Erf isn’t centralized with a wide and long distribution system of a good amount of things, and its economy is much different from what it is now. The economy will be covered later, because Erf is not entirely based on the economy as you know it.

First, Erf’s cities’ aren’t exactly what you might think of one now. Let’s start easy: in areas of single-family homes outside of the denser inner cities of today’s ‘cities’. Not only this, but for the upcoming economic situation, it just might save us. In short: it's jobs, training, education and more.

Now, I’m not a specialist, and although I do a ‘shit ton’ of research all the time, it doesn’t mean I go into minutia. In fact, for this, being focused on minutiae will be counter-intuitive, but it will still play a part. The reason why I say this is because neighborhoods are the first building blocks. Sociologists, city planners, mental and physical medical practitioners, law enforcement, and even farmers will have a say in these new cities. One is definitions, and ‘neighborhood’ will be the first.

Take a section of land: you put in an extensive green area in the center. That area is half park, half community garden, and what is grown there has to be sustainable and be at least enough for partial feeding of the people around that land. Easily accessible and not too far away to be a chore to get to, it’s used in a way that allows for its growth or decline in areas that can be easily managed. That’s the heart of the neighborhood. Also, make it large enough for a meeting building with kitchen facilities. You might ask why, and the answer is simple: those who are serviced by this garden will have time off. Not just on a day off to help take care of it, although that will be a requirement to gain anything grown, but also to learn and/or prepare that produce for longer storage, like canning and drying. That building would also be used for rent. The money will either go toward the garden, improving batteries (see later), maintenance on the building, or even some to the city. That’s up to local agreements.

Around that land, there are single-family homes. Now, I’m not all fired up about cookie-cutter homes. Older homes, I love, and I honestly think ‘custom’ homes that a family has a say on where, what it’s built of, and looks all allow a family roots and a bit more care for that home.

Now, not all housing is created equal. The ecology of cities is different than that of rural America, too. They tend to be heat sinks, and as a result, they have other conditions to contend with. So, what should we do about this housing?

Well, fires are a huge consideration. Where I live, it’s no longer a ‘season’, and drought is a constant thing. Just a fact of life, and I’m going to use what I know and my local area to describe things, but it’s all fluid for the area. No more ‘one size fits all’ thinking can be done in Erf.

I mention fires here because, like most places, we have wood-frame houses, roofs of mainly burnable materials, and poor upgrading potential. But we also get floods, and the state I live in has mountains, plains, forests, and even a desert. Many of the states west of the Mississippi are like my state. Plains for farming and ranching are still numerous. Still, their cities aren’t nearly as packed and are generally farming states (sorry, Oklahoma, parts of Texas, Missouri, Kansas, and the rest of you. You’re not boring or unimportant, but we’ll get to you later.)

So, how do we set things up? First, we engage construction experts to initiate the process. Every building needs to be disaster-prepped from the outset. Before a shovel breaks earth, building codes that are more generalized nationwide need to be agreed on. Part of that involves standardization, which will also allow for more resilience.

So, construction experts, ecologists, and the general population need to be consulted about infrastructure (like water, sewage, etc.) across the nation.

Disasters need to be listed. Granted, back East, tornadoes aren’t as common as they are west of the Appalachian Mountain range, and the same goes for the west side of the Rocky Mountain range. However, you do have hurricanes on the East Coast, in the Gulf states, and you get massive storms at times all along the West Coast. So, housing suitable to withstand high winds and lots of water. Earthquakes are just a fact of life along the West Coast, Hawai’i, and Alaska. But we’ve sleeper faults east of the Mississippi that are waking up, so nowhere is safe from earthquakes. Wildfires, even in what were typically ‘wet’ areas, are becoming well-known. I’ll name two fires that were considered wildfires, and the city areas burned weren’t necessarily near open, natural areas: the Eaton fire in Pasadena and Altadena in California, and Colorado has had its more than fair share: yes, I’ll be more open on the state I live in: Colorado. I lived through and was too damn close to many. I’m specifically referring to the Waldo Canyon Fire, but we’ve had large and city-damaging fires all along the Eastern Slope. Why do I point out Waldo, though?

Waldo started in a heavily wooded area just four miles from Colorado Springs on June 23. This was back in 2012, just to give you a timeline. Eventually, it was found to be man-made and at the trail-head of one of the many trails and paths we have. But the devastation was felt and changed things radically.

When it hit the Mountain Shadows part of Colorado Springs, there were a thousand homes in that area. In twelve hours, with winds of about 2 miles/hour at times nearly three hundred and fifty homes were destroyed down to their foundations, and two people died. The only reason those folks died was the spread of the fire, and they didn’t evacuate in time despite orders given hours ahead. Manitou Springs and Woodland Park were evacuated. A year later, we had the Black Forest fire: both take the top spots of the most destructive fires in Colorado history. California didn’t fare any better, and I could go on and on about the thinking and actions of the White House at that time, but I will refrain. But 100 miles/hr Santa Ana winds, I’m also very familiar with. These winds are dry, fast, and hot. Between the winds, conditions, and the high-density living and working conditions, there wasn’t much anyone could do except try to do the best they could. You fight embers in even a slow wind, and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

So, how to minimize damage? Well, wood-frame houses wouldn’t be considered housing in the first place.

Now, I’ve also lived overseas for a time, and their construction methods are meant to last and usually do: even with large-scale fires. Why? Many are brick and mortar, and/or concrete-walled.

So…as stated, we’ll dig into housing around those park/community use areas.

Now, poured concrete buildings do have some disadvantages: they can’t be as custom as one might like, but I’m sure something can be done about that. Per-poured concrete walls won’t be much over a box, no offense to boxes or those who like square/rectangular buildings. Brick and mortar are more customization, can still be ‘fireproofed’, and can be very pretty. I’ve lived in areas where the ‘brick’ was rough-cut stone and mortared. Turrets, texture changes, and more can be done. So take your pick. Windows? Well, that I had to do some research on.

‘Laminated’ glass seems to be the best. Now, I found two companies, yes companies, that have what I was looking for. One even has even better security options. So I’m going to take the liberty of putting in their names here and hoping for the best: Pyrostop and SentryGlas. Both are rated very well for multiple scenarios. I’ll let you decide what kind is needed, and I hope that, at least for home use, even the super-dooper fancy smart-glass kind can be developed. Smart glass is the kind that ‘fog’ up and changes opacity under certain conditions. Between that and curtains or blinds, well, you shouldn’t have any problems with peeping toms. As an extra layer of protection during various disasters, I’d also suggest metal shutters that can protect the glass from the outside.

So, (trivia research) even if an E5 hit with a 2x4 in it, 102.4 per square foot pressure can occur. So, you do the math and see if the cost is worth it.

Then, sustainability. This is a hybrid topic, to be perfectly honest, because the entire energy grid would change. With this bit, I’ll get into economics a bit.

There are such things called solar tiles, essentially, it is a roofing material that generates electricity just like solar panels. They are considered fire-resistant, are close to or attached to a roof, and I’ll call them less likely than typical shingles to ‘fly off’ in high winds (up to 140 mph gusts) and can endure hurricane-force winds of 160 mph. In areas prone to damaging hail, any type of roofing can be damaged; however, solar tiles are built to withstand such punishment. So guess what? Your entire home is now a giant energy generator. Not only that, according to my research, a typical home with moderate to high energy usage can be fully powered on its own. Just make sure you have battery storage for nighttime use.

So, that electric or electric hybrid car that you might have? Along with all the electronic gadgets a house has and all that sort of thing? You might be energy grid-free even in an area typically (today) needing an energy grid. Not to mention those special glass windows and concrete? Well, both are also energy efficient, and particularly the concrete is self-insulating, cutting down the need for cooling or heating.

Here’s the economics of this. Big Oil, in particular, will be brutally hit. They would have to change their business model more to create more of the oil-based products (some lesser forms of laminated glass have some version of plastic either as a glaze or internal panel, that’s what I’m saying). They would also need to diversify, do some R&D, and whatever else to figure out use. Gas, like natural gas, can still be used, so that’s not going to be impacted nearly as badly or at all. Oh, you oil companies out there are also usually natural gas suppliers: don’t even think of raising those costs. You already have the infrastructure in place, and I don’t see much of a change in your situation, even if it’s not needed much as a heating source or for electric grid consumption. I didn’t do much research into coal, but I’m confident that with some R&D, current methods of potential use, and further exploration, it could become a source of raw materials.

This also allows the electrical grid we currently have to be used mainly for those blasted data centers and business use.

If you’re going to say, “But concrete walls won’t allow for electrical systems,” don’t bother wasting your breath.

There are ways of ‘tunneling’ or running a grid throughout a house (gray/white HDPE piping for ‘hidden pipes’ and cable protection, see the section on water below), even increasing the number of plugs and even developing (and I’m sure this is already on the market somewhere) electrical outlets with more than two outlets, cutting down the needs for multi-outlet extension cords. I also know that USB cord outlets exist. Not to mention a separate tunnel for hard-wired internet. Besides, hard-wired systems are much more resistant to RF hacking or surveillance, even though software is becoming increasingly vulnerable to surveillance every day. Both types would also have something like entries or ‘hatches’ to get into the wiring areas. Since mice can’t exactly chew on wires through concrete and the HDPE piping, guess what? Maintenance would be for old wiring or lines.

If you want a framework, I suggest steel. Guess what, steel industry? You might see jobs in your future.

Rural areas? Well, I’ll address that right now: You, too, have wildfires, freak weather, and unfortunately, you already have infrastructure that is old and at a distance from your house if you’re on a farm somewhere. Guess what? At least for energy, you won’t have to worry about running lines. For your homes, especially if you have to rebuild, your 100-year family heirloom farmhouse that was destroyed won’t be recoverable in the first place. I’m sorry about that. I love old homes, but I am also practical. Tornado Alley is expanding, and tornadoes are becoming stronger and more frequent. Let’s minimize issues, please.

Another positive is that neighborhood batteries, housed in protected buildings, enable every house to generate its own power, reducing the impact of natural disasters on power loss. Also, um, yeah… soundproofing (no, I’m not going further into that need).

A downside is that costs will increase for new construction. When remodeling or upgrading/maintaining, the costs won’t be nearly as high and won’t occur as often. But also, make damn sure of your architecture before you build, unless you’re planning to move around for bigger or smaller homes due to room size alone. That means considering the size of the family, space for all the gadgets and furniture, and other factors. Not just ‘now’, but the future, too. This applies to children up to young adulthood (before being able to move out on their own), and also to older family members.

Yes, families will revert to an older age: multi-generational.

For business, pretty much the same.

So, single-family homes. Next is a small business. Now, I already know of pre-stressed concrete walls that are craned in and can be used.

You might say neighborhoods are square-ish. So, between neighborhoods, there would be businesses: those smaller, family-owned businesses like small restaurants, book or boutique stores, specialty shops. Grocery stores and doctor offices would fall into this category, too. Granted, not all ‘greenway’ space dedicated to small business growth would be used. But that’s all good, too. Whatever isn’t used can also be used for additional garden spaces, park settings, and other outdoor areas until needed. Besides, that also gives some room for ‘fire lines’ too, if needed.

In these open areas, there can also be multi-level (five floors or less) apartment complexes and living arrangements for the elderly that family can no longer take care of other than in a full-time setting.

Mass transit and transit systems would undergo significant changes. Within cities, light rail/trolley/tram lines would be able to get people from one end of a city to another. Bus lines could be substituted and/or used in conjunction with rail lines to access business/shopping areas. Personal cars can be had, of course, but a much more efficient system of short-term ‘rent’ cars or taxi systems would also be available. I mention these because of things like getting to doctor offices or to/from grocery stores and such.

Between cities, that’s where more passenger rail would figure in. All of this reduces air and sound pollution, moves people more effectively, and is yet another cost-cutting issue. If you don’t own a car, no payment or insurance is needed. That cost is now shared not only with your local transportation grid, but also with others. So, expect that car payment and insurance money to be turned over for transportation grid creation, maintenance, and/or expansion. I know someone will scream that I’m taking away their freedom of movement, and if they don’t use transportation, they shouldn’t be paying for it. Well, I’ve an argument for that: if you’re home most of the time, yet you have a car on tap, are you using your money effectively? Not to mention fuel, insurance, and maintenance on said vehicle? If you use a pick-up truck for an intermittent job frequently but not exclusively, but have access to both ‘short term rental’ sedans and pick-up trucks or even SUVs, wouldn’t that be a better, more flexible system? If you’re in an emergency situation, that’s what an ambulance system would be used for. If for handicapped, scheduled appointments, that’s what an effective handicapped transportation system would be used for. If urgent, then part of a taxi system would be for rapid response for something like urgent care or a rush to the grocery store for more food for an unexpected guest/guests for dinner. That sort of thing: a nesting of a nest.

Utilities like water, gas, and cable are essential, and then there’s trash.

I’ll start with water, since its availability means human livability. This begins with treatment. This is a topic I had to research, so bear with me. Those of you with water treatment experience/knowledge, please let me know if I’ve got anything wrong.

Ugh, and I do mean ugh, we’ve a vast amount of chemical treatments done between the time water hits the treatment facility and getting to your home. For those of you not interested, well, skip this or slog through, your choice.

The first step is some sort of chemical additions that help remove impurities in preparation for other steps. The next three steps all involve what is called ‘flocs’. Flocs are particles in the water that shouldn’t necessarily be there. So, it starts with binding the small flocks, then larger ones, with the last being that the flocs settle on the bottom, with the clear water above that mess. I've also been told that this step is only one continuous step instead of a break down. As stated, those who work in water treatment can either correct me or put out an article of their own and submit it to me. I'll go ahead and publish it as a correction.

Filtration comes next. In this step, if there is still a coal industry, this might keep it alive or increase its use a bit. Still, I’d like to see significant improvements in coal mining and a substantial reduction in black lung. Sorry, companies, you’ll be eating costs for a while, so no…no increases on costs unless so tangible that costs have to be passed down, that isn’t purely for profit.

These filters have five types that I could find. Three of which use carbon and remove PFAS. Granted, PFAS is a problem worldwide. Why is that? Well, whatever you put into the water cycle isn’t going to stay put, and the cycle isn’t just localized, either. PFAS entered the water systems through multiple pathways from the very beginning of its creation and manufacturing. Not to mention that research on the very employees making the chemicals showed negative impacts — and that was internal research. Of course, waste or dumping has occurred for nearly everything ever created via chemical nature since the dawn of man-made chemical compounds. Use of PFAS was also used in things like Teflon…so no, I have no love of industries that like to say one thing and it’s not, and yet also still use or make available such products. Damnit, use your brains, corporations: is it better to gain an honest profit that doesn’t make messes and health issues, and yet you complain of those messes and health issues? Or make profits for profit’s sake and spend money and time fighting, cleaning up your messes, and fixing health issues, all for even a fraction of those costs? Think: you’d get more of a profit and longer lasting if you did the right thing in the first place.

Anyway, my mini-rant is over for the moment. The other two are Ion Exchange and Reverse Osmosis. Ion Exchange uses resin beads to swap out PFAS for harmless ions. Reverse Osmosis forces water through semipermeable membranes that can trap PFAS. Very similar to a particular brand of non-alcoholic wine, but their Reverse Osmosis is geared to alcohol (chuckles). Now, I would have that more for a second step within a two-step filtration system (Maybe first, water treatment people…let me know which would be better). The second would have the water go through ‘normal’ filter systems. That’s sand, gravel, or charcoal. That was from one source of information. I also remembered something about nanofibers being used for cleaning water from wells in remote regions known for their polluted water tables. This one removes 80-90% of PFAS, but also bacteria, viruses, and organic pollutants. So, the last one is nanoalumina fibers.

Hell, if you really want to get nitpicky about your water, your water treatment can use more than one system for getting rid of PFAS and contaminants. It depends on what the local population is willing to pay. I’ll get to that sort of thing, too.

Next is disinfection. Everyone should know about chlorine treatment. It’s even used during camping or keeping gallons of water at home from previously used bottles, such as well-washed milk gallons, juice, or other water types, to prevent the water from growing anything nasty. Even treated water sitting around in jugs needs something to prevent the growth of unwanted organisms. Nature always finds a way, right? The other method involves using ozone, essentially mixing ozone gas into the water. Both kill any remaining pathogens.

Once disinfected, the treatment adjusts the pH of the water. This is to improve taste and reduce pipe corrosion. Fine, OK, I get that you want to reduce pipe corrosion.

Now, I can make a few arguments on this. Yes, treatment changes the water taste; there are ways of fixing that. Acidic water does corrode metal piping. Last is fluoridation. Now, I have issues with this. My family (parents, siblings, and other more distant family) all have the same problem: we’re the unlucky ones who react opposite to what fluoridation is supposed to do. When I was a girl, the town I lived in at one point had only well water. No fluoridation. Guess what? Never a cavity. Before? I lived in a fluoridated area, and after we moved from that small town, it was the same. Both times, I had so many cavities it wasn’t funny. I ended up needing dentures when I was just 32, and at that time, I lost my remaining baby tooth (yes, long story, not pertinent other than this fact) and a dozen adult teeth. I’m suggesting that fluoridation would be on an individual basis despite the lack of convenience. This feeds into another economic issue, not covered here.

For water and sewage transport, there is one, only one, form of piping that impressed me with its longevity, use, maintenance, and the ability not to leak. It can also be used for not just the transport of water out, but sewage in. That kind is HDPE (high-density polyethylene). So, oil companies? Guess what? You have a product already in production, and you can figure out how to increase output or produce another form of oil product for another company to make HDPE from. (Yes, I know, economics, but I’ll repeat it later).

Now that HDPE comes in various colors, I’ll mention a few examples. Blue is used for water systems in urban settings. Let’s make that a standard, applying it to clean water only. Orange is known for water supply and drainage identification; let’s change the water supply to sewage. Let’s make that very clear: trust me, you don’t want to find out why you shouldn’t mix the two. Red HDPE is typically used for identifying fire hoses and emergency plugs. Now, if you’re also going to have a stormwater management system, I’d also use the orange for that, especially since that water will be from draining off roads, sidewalks, and the like.

Now there are a multitude of positives for this piping, beyond color coding. It’s flexible, it can be replaced with minimal excavation, as in you can put in new piping pulled through an existing pipe that burst. Guess what? Those water lines that take forever to fix? Not so much. I’m sure most of you have seen those cable line placers? Well, same thing, almost the same for installing HDPE pipes. So that headache isn’t exactly removed, but it is minimized on disruptions, not only environmental disruption, but also traffic. Longevity is another benefit: 50 to 100 years of use. It’s flexible, doesn’t leach things into the water, and doesn’t have water loss from the system. It doesn’t take nearly as deep to place as most other piping, too; the deepest is about four feet. It can range up to about 3 feet for warm areas. But that four feet? That’s for very cold regions. Otherwise, it can withstand temperatures as low as -94°F. How? Well, that flexibility and even the changes in ductility in freezing conditions are such that they allow for the expansion of freezing water without cracking. So, if you dig down four or even five feet underground on initial installation, most places will have a tough time getting pipes to burst. What I found for the best installations is to bury the piping below the frost/freeze line and even put insulation in the coldest of areas to protect the piping.

Also, I’m not sure how it would work, but I’ve also read about in-pipe water turbines that generate power while that water moves. Yeah…see? Another source of power that a city can defray costs by selling that excess electricity to ‘Big Energy’ power grids. Sorry, Big Energy, if you want to charge anyone for power, you’d better look to the very companies you are putting the costs of giving that energy to, instead of the ‘little folk’. Yes, for those of you not in the know, that’s precisely why your electric bill is going up. Oh, one last positive: HDPE is also recyclable. So pull it out, process it, and reform more piping. Gee, nice, right?

The drawback, like all long-lasting items, is cost. Even in houses, this type of piping can be used, for that mythical house I proposed? Well, guess what? You can have damn good flexing water supply/sewage systems, too. Also, as stated in that section, wiring of all sorts. However, I’ll argue that reduced maintenance and fewer issues would outweigh the cost issue in either setting.

In my perfect world, transition means that any projects, even those in the works, that could be modified, let’s do it. Any infrastructure changes will create jobs, folks. Yeah, some will need to be retrained. However, if you’re in a call center, ticked off, depressed, and want a job that isn’t stuck in a building all the time doing something you would rather not do, this might be a better alternative and better paying. To those of you screaming about costs, I’ll deal with those issues later.

Now, we’ll get to trash since water and sewage are taken care of. Remember that community garden? Well, every gardener in the history of gardening will tell you that land either needs to rest or it needs a rotation of crops to keep land from burning out. One other way is adding nutrients. Mulch/compost does just that.

In Europe, or at least the part I lived in, recycling is just a regular part of life. Plastic isn’t used as much for one, and anything that can go into a compost situation goes. Glass is more. Paper was another category (mainly cardboard). I understand that plastic is lighter and takes up less space and weight when transported. That little town I lived in? It had a Coke bottling plant. Tiny though. This line goes into economics, so I’ll wait. So, glass is recyclable, just like HDPE; melt it down, reform it, and you’ve not only a new item, but it’s also been sterilized because the heat alone does that work. Plastic works for only certain things, and not all forms are as stable as glass. So, what’s wrong with creating recycling jobs while also improving your health and life? Well, OK, companies will change, and you’ll be happier because you’ll stay healthy longer. I don’t see a downside.

Food waste already is a huge issue. The US wastes straight from the field tons of compostable food. Whoever created the idea that ‘perfect’ is needed didn’t see the issues. But perfect isn’t always achievable. So, let’s stop wasting. Three pick-ups, four drop-offs. One would be strictly for plastics that can be recycled, and I’d force the issue of every plastic item becoming recyclable within a few years of the start of the transition—end of story. If it’s found that there’s no 100% iron-clad reason to avoid using recyclable plastic, you’ll face so many hefty fines that it’ll drive a company to its knees. I’m that serious. Now, glass would end up in other areas. Where I lived, clear glass and colored glass were separated; I suggest the same because not all glass is the same. Colored glass is generally made with some sort of additive. If that glass is recyclable, do it. Suppose it’s found that the glass color isn’t conducive to that end, then logos, or whatever needs to be done to make the item stand out beyond a colored glass that can be recycled. I also want to emphasize that certain items require colored glass to protect light-sensitive items from damage.

Cardboard boxes can and should have a couple of ways of being dealt with. My family, as stated, is a military family, and we’ve lived on post/base. On post/base, there are bins especially available for boxes to be broken down and reused. Let’s get that going for the heavier, moving-box type cardboard. The thin boxes would be in with recyclable paper. Plastic-coated paper? Well, guess what? Those juice boxes will need to be redesigned a bit. Get the picture? We don’t recycle nearly as much as Europe or even Asia does. It’s not that we can’t, it’s just been deemed by industry to be too much of a hassle and not cost-effective. What long-term plastics that can be recycled could be used for fencing, certain cloths, benches, whatever. So, use it.

Food waste will and can be trucked out to a designated area for large-scale composting. There are areas already in farmlands, but let’s do the same and put out that compost to community gardens and even to in-home planting. Mulching of non-treated wood would go through chippers and be used in the making of compost (in cases it’s needed) or directly tilled into the earth used for those gardens. Let’s be very clear here: we’re burning through our farmlands because we’re not rotating crops, which is a significant part of the problem.

In that mythical house? If at all possible (with lower birth rates, it means less need for smaller houses because of what I envision doesn’t mean smaller, just less multiple homes for parts of a family until a certain point), a ‘grow room’. Full-spectrum, timed lighting and such for not only house plants (although of course those can fit anywhere), but for ‘salad’ or ‘herbs’,ornamental trees, maybe even tray grown items that aren’t in season or not available in your community garden, and even dwarf fruit trees that you can coordinate with your neighbors on who grows what, how many and such. Apples, peaches, cherries, plums, lemons, limes, figs, and bananas all have dwarf varietals that can be grown in small spaces but produce full-sized fruit. If you really want to get technical, even berries can be grown, just you’ll have to be careful of them getting out of control. There are even dwarf varieties of these, too: blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, and strawberries. All but the apples are self-pollinating, so not much work.

When you get to inner cities, let’s be reasonable: this is where city business needs to be conducted, and if a county seat, that too. If a state Capital, I would suggest designating one area for local city/county purposes and another for state purposes.

This area would also be for any jails. I know, not pretty or whatever, but hear me out.

One: the entire area for city/county business would be surrounded by parking to start (a small area around the buildings because of the transportation system). It would also be fenced off completely. Courthouse(s) would be located in that area, and I know this won’t be well-received in some areas—either tunnels or some sort of secured walkways connecting. I’m saying secured because there would be some things I won’t compromise on, like locking doors on either side of any tunnel or hallway. A secured elevator at the courthouse if needed, but even that area is locked down. Each and every building would have a security area before getting into the building proper (even here, you go through metal detectors and such, just like TSA), so let’s get that pre-planned into the architecture. That area would have some sort of locking door system. I’ve seen videos of people getting loose and escaping custody through doors, so let’s not have to spend time and money searching for them, please? I’d rather use that money to either pay for the security in the first place or more First Responders. Otherwise, have at it with your needs and architecture. City jail with city courthouse, if county...same and a city/county (joint if needed) hall for other business.

Two: Again, public safety concerns. The entire area would be surveilled in every way possible. To those of you who aren’t in favor of surveillance, I think you’ll overlook that the area is that way. I’m not so dense as to think things can’t fail, and there would be a need to lock down an area like this. Due to numerous factors. Like bases, whatever entrances would also be able to auto-lock in an emergency.

So, there’s the city and the county. State-level crimes would be fairly the same. Only the courts and prisons/jails would be segregated even further and sooner. Get arrested on state-level charges? You get sent to whatever gender you are physically, not biologically. Societal issues will come up later.

Courts, security, and the like would be the same as the lower levels. It’s not to create secrecy; instead, laws and other safety firewalls will need to be developed to prevent such incidents. It’s just public safety, and frankly, if you’re a violent offender on any level, you’re going to a higher security facility. If you’re multi-state, then the federal system will have to handle you. You get arrested, put into a confinement system that meets the needs of violent offenders that also covers your human rights, but that system won’t be pleasant. Same deal: courts attached, security even heavier, maybe even a video system to secure the accused from attacks from family or friends of whatever potential victim(s) involved instead.

Attacks have happened. Let’s not have to put a second trial for a grieving family member or friend.

Next would be hospitals and schools. *sigh*

I would rather just say, enough to cover the population, and not many changes. I can’t, though.

With the transportation system I envision, there might be a need for a small parking garage system for hospitals in particular. But those would be specifically for hospital visitors and staff who are already pre-cleared. It would also have to be secured. Otherwise, you need to be dropped off/picked up.

ER/EDs would be pretty much the same: ambulance entries would be double-doored, with delayed timing, and would be dependent on which side the doors are opened. That’s not just a pain in the ass, but even a slight delay could have outcomes I’d rather not think about. However, it’s a weak spot.

Most hospitals now, especially for ER/EDs, do have security outside. So, there’s at least that, not to mention doors similar to what I’m thinking of for the ambulance entries.

That deals with that.

Next, I really hate having to talk about, and the changes aren’t those I want to think about at any time. But I know the nationally reported shootings, and they aren’t all of them, I know.

School shootings shouldn’t happen in the first place. Seriously, there are things to do about keeping them from happening in the first place, after the thoughts, but before getting to a building. But, seeing that it isn’t going to happen anytime soon, this is my solution.

Whatever school grounds will be an open area. Hate to say it: no trees in the area at all. Areas screened off with vegetation or even a nearby police station (actually, skip the ‘even a nearby’. Police stations are damn near next door to the area. Police cars can turn on sirens later or find some way of soundproofing for the school).

I hate thinking of possibilities, outcomes, and other issues of mass casualty situations, and that’s what school shootings are, in addition to deaths. My writings, other than this, are fiction, granted; some get dark. But, in this, I have to open the flood gates, look at things in ways that I wanted to leave behind when I burnt out in nursing, but reality doesn’t allow for that.

Of course, schools are already built according to codes that are fire-resistant. That is only the wall, however.

Remember that special glass for homes? Especially the one that has security features even beyond the fire resistance? Yeah. Every damn door and window, that’s to start off with. Doors? If ‘wood’ they are all steel cored, able to be locked down multiple ways, too.

Electronic locks that can be triggered via the room, the main offices of that individual school, and the district offices. Dead bolts on the top, middle, and floor would be a second line of defense. That’s to the main halls. If locks are triggered, you best believe every First Responder in that particular area will be showing up. So, kids, don’t be stupid and trigger anything if you end up thinking or gaining access to that sort of thing.

Surveillance — a necessary evil in this case —will be required, especially sound and color, high-resolution cams. No grainy CCTV cams allowed in this case. That’s up to the bathrooms, of course.

Safety officer(s) who are also licensed police officers, investigated to a fair-thee-well would be on site, preferably the kind that can do hand-to-hand effectively in close quarters, taser-only otherwise. Preferably, one person should watch the videos, and at least one should walk the halls, even during class.

That’s just the inner building. Yes, you read that right.

There is an outer ‘building’ shell. This area would house entries with double-locked doors, accessible only in emergencies or when kids arrive at or leave school, and feature wide connecting hallways. Hate to say this…pardon my language on this…but it’s fucked.

Detectors are needed at every level of school for metal over a certain amount, and possibly even more. Kids are the next generation, and they shouldn’t have to go through all of that and worry about living through a school day. So…we’re going to try to cut the worry, but to do that, they’ll have to go through all of what I’m proposing. Almost like a prison, only we're trying to keep people out rather than in.

School rooms would have a ‘back door’ into the spaces between the inner building and the outer building. This way, if at all possible, at least we can evacuate during any emergency because there will be ways to evacuate that way: extra outer doors, tunnels, I don’t care. Tunnels or underground halls in Tornado Alley might be best; otherwise, a solution that minimizes exposure for the kids is preferable.

On bases/posts, there are either giant planters, boulders, or specially designed posts specifically made for stopping vehicles if they are slammed into.

Guess what? I know this will cross someone’s mind, but consider this: maybe every 3 feet, reasonably close together, and around the entire building proper. If you can’t figure out what I’m thinking, feel blessed. Otherwise, sorry to those who can. It’s screwed up, but it’s a reality we live in.

If the school is on lockdown, either due to an active shooter or external circumstances, all levels of surveillance will be monitored in person, including a feed to First Responders.

Cameras, mics, and fire sprinklers will be as unobtrusive as possible and overlap. Why? Well, simple: full coverage means that if someone unlikely gets in, they can be fully tracked without blind spots. Being unobtrusive would mean they’re hard to spot and less likely to become sitting duck targets.

If — and this is a huge if —something beyond what I’ve proposed is needed, make the seals on the doors air-tight, and implement another system: some form of sedative/anesthetic gas to put a person out. As far as I know, the only way to avoid that is possibly a gas mask. But once inside that building, it’s essentially going to be a jail cell unless the absolute horror of horrors happens. If that scenario plays out, there won’t be a damn thing anyone can do about the situation. I’m just hoping my overactive, sick imagination won’t ever be thought of.

All I can say is that all of this will cost people, time, and money. However, I’ll even be willing to forgo nearly half of whatever I make to get this done, schools in particular. But I’m thinking long term. I also don’t think humanity will learn its lessons easily or soon. So,...I’ll stop here for the moment.