The Speed Trap

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Sachs and Panghaal raise the question of whether we will have any choice in determining the tempo of our lives or will we all be dragged along by the furious push of a technologically charged society. When I hear friends complain that their lives move too fast, they're not talking about a wholesale rejection of speed so much as a wish that they could spend more of their time involved in slow, contemplative activities. One can love the revved-up beat of dance music, the fast-breaking action on the basketball court, or the thrill of roller coaster rides without wanting to live one's life at that pace. A balanced life--with intervals of creative frenzy giving way to relaxed tranquility--is what people crave. Yet the pressures of work, the demands of technology, and the expectations of a fast-action society make this goal increasingly difficult to achieve.

Another speaker at the conference, Ezio Manzini, director of the Domus Academy design institute in Milan, sees hope for a more balanced approach to speed springing from the same source that fuels the acceleration of our lives: modern mastery of all that stands in our way. "This is the first time in history in which people think they can design their lives," he said.

In an age of technological marvels, we've come to expect that solutions will be found to help us overcome our problems. So if the problem now appears to be too many things coming at us too fast, we'll naturally begin looking for ways to slow down. Humans may not have opted for slowness in the past, but they have also never had to contend with constantly soaring speeds not only diminishing the quality of life, but also endangering the future of the planet. As Wolfgang Sachs declared to the audience in Amsterdam, "Slow is not only beautiful, but also necessary and reasonable."

All this stimulating talk at a splendid conference is fine, but how do we even think about the enormous undertaking of slowing down a world that's been on a spiral of growing acceleration for more than a century and a half? Especially when the captains of the global economy dictate that speed is an essential ingredient of tomorrow's prosperity? How do we begin to apply the brakes in our lives when the world around us seems to be stomping on the gas pedal?

Right outside the theater where the conference was held, the city of Amsterdam itself seemed to offer an answer. More than almost any city in world, Amsterdam has consciously curtailed the speed of traffic, creating a delightful urban environment in which a bike rolling past at 15 miles an hour seems speedy. Strolling the narrow streets for just a few minutes, you encounter all sorts of shops, restaurants, nightclubs, parks, public squares, banks, and movie theaters--an impressive array of shopping and entertainment that would take at least an hour's worth of driving and parking to reach in most American cities. You're moving slower than in a car but experiencing much more.

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