Here I am laying out my vision for what London and the surrounding area can and should be in the future. I’m accepting ideas via comments that may or may not get incorporated into my vision depending on the perceived validity of the idea. But by all means, please leave comments! This is not a solo effort – it’s meant to be a collaborative effort.

Mass Transit

What London has now:

• Buses

What London and the surrounding area should have:

• Buses
• Bus Rapid Transit/Express Bus Routes
• Light Rail Transit
  • Connecting outlying areas with large amounts of traffic into and out of London like Strathroy, St. Thomas, Stratford, Woodstock, etc.
• More bicycle paths
  • Bicycles belong on the road, but many cyclists bike on the sidewalk because they feel the road is too dangerous. This is because many drivers don’t understand that bicycles are considered vehicles and are therefore supposed to be on the road. Cyclists have to take charge of their immediate surroundings and drivers have to be more accommodating.
  • In the meantime, more dedicated bicycle paths will encourage cyclists to get on the roads and hopefully drivers will pay more attention to them.

Buildings & Downtown

What London has:

• Parking meters
• Lots of outdoor, uncovered parking lots

What London should have:

Portas do Mar - São Miguel, Açores

• Underground parking garages
  • I’ve seen marvellous examples in Portugal. Instead of crowding the skyline with ugly parking garages, they’re placed underground. This provides more real estate that can be used for more useful things, like greenspace or even businesses.
• Green roofs
  • Everyone knows the benefits and costs involved, and that the benefits outweigh the costs in the long run. Why more buildings, like London Life or One London Place, aren’t doing this is beyond me.
• Solar panels
  • If a building cannot get a green roof, the owners should at least make better use of the roof by placing solar panels on it. I’m working on a study of the last apartment building I lived in and how much solar power could be generated on the roof thereby lowering the owner’s utility expenses. If you would like to help, let me know.

Education

To my knowledge, what we have now:

• An educational system that is much the same as it was when I graduated high school.
• A system where teachers teach and students do their best to keep up.
• A system where the majority of teachers have no means, or don’t care, to adapt their lessons to different learning styles.
• A system that sends children home with hours of homework leaving children no time to learn about things that actually interest them or to be more creative in their spare time.

What we should have (for both the LDCSB and TVDSB):

• A system like the I one described in “The School of One” and “The Textbook of the Future?“
• A system that can be dynamically tailored to different learning styles – video, audio, hands-on, etc.
• A system where a child can take their time on a single lesson without having to be rushed to the next.
  • A system that ensures that those same children have the support to make sure they get through the curriculum by the end of the year.
• Textbooks that integrate with the internet to provide additional, contextual information like video, audio and discussion groups.

To be continued…