15-Minute Cities: A Tool for Control or a Path to Sustainability?
I believe there is a growing, perhaps universal, trend to displace people from rural lands and draw them into urban centers. This shift isn't solely about people seeking comfort or opportunity. It also appears to be driven by a broader institutional agenda—one that finds it more efficient to concentrate populations in cities, where they are easier to monitor, regulate, and control. Increasing taxes on land, coupled with restrictive rural regulations, seem to be steadily paving the way for the gradual removal of people from the land. Admittedly, small-scale farming is no longer the most productive way to earn a living or feed a family. However, for those who deliberately choose this lifestyle, modern technology offers a path to a more sustainable and autonomous existence. Today’s tools and knowledge make it possible to live at least partially off-grid with a level of efficiency unimaginable a century ago. This means farming doesn’t have to be all-consuming—it can leave time for othe...