systems for more effective utilization. The world is reaching a crisis state without true anticipatory responses. The strategy of the ant-i-TREND Project is to foster and develop a TRansit Energy Network of Development. The primary focus is to integrate specialized industries to produce the maximum impact for society. The essential elements to finding the Critical Path are related to the transportation, energy and development sectors. Success will not be found in a dymaxion car for the 21st century, but rather a dymaxion system for the car. The key is exploring the relationship between transportation, even down to the seemingly benign convertible in the suburban garage, and the massive effect it has on the need for energy and the re-shaping of the natural environment to sustain the ever-growing demand of increased world population. Human inhabitation of the earth is somewhat analogous to the “big bang” theory of its creation in that we have been on a path of expansion that has led to a model of extract and deplete. Only recently has an awareness of this strategy been seriously addressed and luckily the trend of expansion seems like it may reverse. The rate of this reversal is the “problem situation” that requires the design of a “preferred system” in the true essence of Bucky’s Design Science.

Describe the critical need your solution addresses.

Connect Ithaca, LLC was formed by a volunteer group of concerned citizens in Ithaca, NY active with the concept of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) as a response to the recent societal shift back to urban living and the need to control the damage of suburban sprawl. It was quickly realized that transportation choices were integral to the evolution of the historically developed landscape and a new system would be required since a simple return to traditional rail infrastructure had been outpaced by population growth and the stranglehold that the automobile had on personal mobility. “Light” rail is not enough, especially with the need to serve short trips within a small community. From a geometric perspective a new system that responds with a network of overlapping circles is far more dynamic than linear networks in providing local and internal urban mobility. The group’s internal knowledge of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT aka “Podcars”) led to a PRT immersion and eventual co-hosting of the 2nd International Podcar City Conference. The experience reinforced the viability of this transportation alternative and Connect Ithaca continues to pursue the feasibility and implementation of PRT in Ithaca, NY as a model for other communities. However, Connect Ithaca seeks to holistically analyze the implementation of a new transit system as a component of what we call the “Eco-City Emerging.” Overarching all of this are the questions of energy. The dilemma is that the idea we have formulated can have massive and perhaps radical changes for society that may be hard to accept. In actuality, the transit component can be viewed as simply another option, one already proven in Morgantown, WV since the early 1970’s with out-dated technology. The real benefit will be revealed in showing how a new technology in transportation can catalyze the development of our physical environment with yet-to-be-realized efficiency and energy independence. Funding to forward an effort that bridges industries is necessary since it is rare for one sector of society to take a comprehensive anticipatory design science approach to external problems.

Explain your initiative in more depth and its stage of development.

Through a transportation alternative served by a network built with existing road & utility right-of-ways whose infrastructure is upgraded to maximize the distribution of energy, communications, and mobility into one system that will reallocate the life support systems necessary to sustain continued population growth in a resource-efficient approach of guiding land development on an ecologically sound path- the Critical Path.

Free capitalism, relatively unchecked by political regulation and compounded by the social trend-seeking of human nature, has produced a culture in the US that is glamorized by developing nations. Our mobility choices create a tremendous resource dependency.

Auto-centric solutions still create the same issues with land use development patterns, congestion, urban densification limits, and perpetual short-term infrastructure maintenance & repair. A super-lightweight, system-dictated (vs. consumer driven), safety-mitigated, overhead-capable, automated, personal, and rapid transit system of electrified, rail-based networks will dramatically improve the current ecological degradation caused by the transportation sector. The fully distributed energy grid can be achieved if it becomes a non-specialized shared infrastructure of energy delivery, power generation, communications, transportation, and development "guide-"way thereby reducing economic, energy, political, and environmental pressures.

How does your strategy and approach respond creatively and comprehensively to key issues?

Connect Ithaca team is comprised of two architects, a developer, a social activist & founder of Eco-Village at Ithaca, and a socially responsible building contractor. We have positioned ourselves at the forefront of the PRT industry and posses the knowledge and skills to integrate it with the planning, design, and development of our region in a socially progressive way.