Geographies of Speed and Power

 

Speed: what is it?

The answer to that question will depend on who's asking, and in what context. In some instances, the answer might seem straightfoward, and in others it might seem oblique. In this instance it might be a figure of relative motion, but in an unusual sense of the word.

In a society where haste is more important than quality (fast-food, speed dating, sound bites), where pause for thought could be construed as loitering with intent, speed is power. But I'm not thinking of the power to go fast, nor of the rewards of being first, but au contraire, this essay is about the power of going slowly.

That explains the speed bit. But how does geography figure in this? One might suspect that we're about to consider the spatial distribution of speed, mapping the relatively fast and slow bits of social space. That's not what I'm doing, much as I'd like to have a map of red and blue social shifts. (Imagine, for a moment, that the rate of social change in a given area were coded as blue - for no perceptible change, and crimson - for change in a frenzy. What would Threadneedle Street look like? Would it be the coldest of blues, for its adherence to the social conventions of financiers? What spaces of social change would be red-hot?)

Instead, I'm thinking about the spaces speed, or its absence, engenders. What are the spaces of fast, what are the spaces of slow? Are airport terminals part of high-speed geographies, despite their torpor? Do workplace slowdowns exemplify spaces of power? Is window-shopping a form of resistance, or is it a particpation in hyperactive retail culture? Does speed - or its negation - promise anything? We'll want to have a look at some of these questions, and consider when and where a bit of foot-dragging would serve us well.

The History of Speed: elimination of time and distance

 It'll be fun to look back over the obsession with speed. We could start with Aesop and the fabled hare & tortoise. We can consider various aphorisms, like 'haste makes waste'. We can look at the technologies of speed over the millennia. We'd need to take a glance at technologies of clockwork as well, given that speed is not just about going faster than the next person, but is also a race against the clock, and eventually, as the nanosecond comes to define the pace of transactions in a wired world, it is the clock itself that defines our existence. Along the way we may learn a thing or two about how the here and now is not what it used to be.

We might also do well to take a look at something we've histrorically rejected: a desire for increased distance, the reverse of the desire for speed. Why would we want something to be farther away, or require more time to get to? Can we think of the longest possible way of getting somewhere? What would that entail? Does it shed any light on why we spend so much time going as fast as possible?

Dragging Their Feet: bodies and resistance

 We'll also want to take a look at our own biologies and rates of motion. We'll parallel the previous section by looking at the technology of movement, namely, our legs, and at the biological metronome, the heartbeat. We'll look for evidence that we are designed, or constrained, to move and act and think at certain rates. We may revisit the history of transport technology, at the point when locomotives overtook the horse as the fastest means of movement, and at the dire predictions of people who feared its effects on human bodies.

We should also look at drag, the factors that constrain our movements and the ways we are slowed by circumstance. Perhaps we should think of these as design parameters, as the framework for identifying ourselves and for working within.

More importantly, we'll want to look for evidence that speed has its limits; that certain functions lose their value when performed at high speed, and that a deliberate effort to slow down may be an appropriate response.

Wake Up and Smell the Roses: a walker's guide

 Having spent much of my life in the slow lane, and having gotten off the road entirely for extended bits of wandering, I want to report on some of what I've seen and understood by getting lost on purpose.

While we might tend to think of these excursions as occurring in remote, rural places, the places 'downshifters' go to, it's quite clear that such places and spaces occur in the midst of congested urban areas. In Birmingham, places underneath motorways are desolate vantage points that present an absolute contrast between speed and its negation. Pedestrian walkways cover the ground under Spaghetti Junction, above the Aston Expressway at Park Circus, and in the centres of all the Queensway roundabouts. Some of these are  landscaped decoratively, while others could only be described as brutal. All of them, to varying degrees, are desolate. Park Circus is emblematic, a patch of turf with a line of benches set on a slope facing the city centre skyline and the expressway below. This spot is not on any pedestrian through-route, so its main function is as a place of escape, a place to sit and watch others rush past.

Similarly, certain 'no-go' neighbourhoods are non-starters for someone who wants to get on in life, but for those who want to be left alone, or to live at a standstill, they are places of refuge and peace. Some of these are insular neighbourhoods in the most deprived areas, yet residents are not so fast in describing themselves as deprived. Rather, they may see themselves as steeped in tradition, community, or even freedom.

Nous Bites: takeaway for thought

1. From Ivan Illich, Equity and Speed:

I am struck by the speed with which language and issues have shifted in less than five years. But I am equally struck by the slow yet steady pace at which the radical alternative to industrial society---namely, low-energy, convivial modernity---has gained defenders. In this essay I argue that under some circumstances, a technology incorporates the values of the society for which it was invented to such a degree that these values become dominant in every society which applies that technology.

2. From the May 3 2004 Independent:

Chris Smith, the former culture secretary and the new Ramblers president, said the map marked a historic milestone, and came at a time when physical exercise was of paramount importance for the health of the nation. "If I had to pick one issue out, it is the importance of walking as part of a healthy lifestyle. We're gradually waking up now to the problems of obesity and the need for people of all ages to be active. Walking is absolutely the best way of keeping fit," he said.