The 24 hour society: are we prepared?
How will our attitudes towards time, especially the traditional working day and week, change over the next generation? As we accelerate towards a globalised and inter-connected society, furnished with technology that puts international communication at our fingertips, are we doing enough to ensure that Britain is prepared for such change?
The ITC’s Discussion Evening on 14th April 2011 once again demonstrated the value of tackling such big questions. Chaired by leading social scientist Kris Beuret OBE, an expert audience engaged with ideas floated by Steve Agg, Chief Executive of the CILT, Professor Marion Roberts of the University of Westminster, and Professor John Worthington, Director of the Academy of Urbanism.
Debate chairman Kris Beuret OBE (centre left) welcomes Steve Agg (left), Professor Marion Roberts (centre right) and Professor John Worthington (right)
Particularly important was a point raised by John Worthington, who noted that adapting to a 24/7 Society is chiefly about a new way of thinking and behaving. Work will become outcome-centred, while the office will be something we do rather than a place we go. John suggested that distinctions between work and leisure will become less compartmentalized, while tasks will be increasingly undertaken in parallel rather than sequentially. The way we think of cities and use our infrastructure will therefore change. As the traditional working day and week dissolve we will in all likelihood see overlapping use of infrastructure, and the development of new place types with multiple purposes. Universities, for instance, may develop double shifts, while stadia are already developing multiple uses as regional destinations and park-and-ride terminals. The Amsterdam Arena is a good example of such a multi-purpose venue.
Weekend transport mayhem
Unfortunately, as the ITC’s new Occasional Paper shows, public transport in particular is not well positioned to adapt to these changes. A 24/7 society may see the death of distance but not of travel, and would result in demand increases during evenings and weekends. There will be a continuing need for physical meetings and exchanges: not only for networking purposes but also to build trust. But increasingly convenience will be measured by door-to-door trip time and comfort, and we will see greater demand for the ability to work on the move. While first-class train travel is well suited for office work, mortals travelling in standard class or on other modes are poorly served.
What the ITC debate demonstrated was was that many aspects of the 24/7 society are already with us; yet awareness of this issue is poor. There is therefore an urgent need to address the implications of these changes for transport and masterplanning. The danger is that we see incremental adaptation rather than the strategic approach necessary if UK plc is to compete with other fast growing economies. These important national and local policy questions now need exploring in greater depth. Do add your own thoughts on the issues raised by the 24/7 society in the comments below.