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> We now have major technologies such as smart grids, autonomous vehicles, etc Not really. Autonomous vehicles are still coming. We don't know what infrastruct

> We now have major technologies such as smart grids, autonomous vehicles, etc Not really. Autonomous vehicles are still coming. We don't know what infrastructure we'll need to support them just yet. Will there be a standardized way of powering / recharging them? What non-autonomous needs will they have and how to we handle them (because there will be some e.g. mechanical repair, rescue, etc)? Sure we can "guess" based on trends but we won't know for sure for probably another 10+ years what a brand new city will really need in this regards. Same with smart grids especially with solar power becoming more efficient they may almost be unnecessary in 10-20 years (unlikely maybe but it's theoretically possible). > There are many high-level questions we want to think through[...]And there are tactical questions we want to dig into So there is a bit of reason to why most cities come up sorta "organically". Like NYC there was planning, sure, but that planning came from trends or requirements from the populous which happened over time. Engineering a full city from the group up sounds good but the majority of the people using the city are, well, people. People change. Technology changes. Political opinion changes. Maybe you'll succeed in having a solid plan agreed upon by a majority but by the time the plan is taken and put into action and built a large amount of time will pass and I do not believe that original plan will still be as optimal or valid by the time it is completed. Then you'll have to do what every city does: improve, change laws, build stuff here and there that you originally thought you wouldn't do. Ultimately it seems like a very interesting exercise but I do not believe in its practicality. > - Adora Cheung, Sam Altman Wait, Adora is part of YC? I thought after all of the drama around HomeJoy and the people it may or may not have sold to she had just basically disappeared. I had no idea she was part of YC. Edit: just to clarify (because I'm not sure it came off correctly) I just didn't know Adora was part of YC and am curious as to her role, etc not to bring up any drama or other bs. I had just assumed she went on to found another company as that seems to be the norm for many founders.

whazor 10y ago
We have autonomous vehicles once you forbid pedestrians on the road.
- vkou 10y ago
  Don't just forbid pedestrians - you also need to forbid the existing hundred million or so non-autonomous vehicles.
apendleton 10y ago
> Autonomous vehicles are still coming. Autonomous privately owned vehicles on shared rights of way are still coming. Centrally managed autonomous vehicles on dedicated rights of way are here already -- think inter-terminal trains at airports. If private car ownership is up for discussion (and it's explicitly called out here), you could imagine, for example, an urban plan where people got around on a macro level on automated elevated light rail, and on a micro level by foot or bike.
- BinaryIdiot 10y ago
  That would be pretty awesome and is very doable today. Good idea! You wouldn't even need roads really just stations everywhere to get on some sort of train type of vehicle that you can hop on and get to any part of the city. Hell make them smaller and more frequent and when you get in you put where you want to stop so it can skip stops, etc.
  - Jtsummers 10y ago
    Trollies. They leave the roads open for other forms of transportation. They can be made to move slow enough that people can embark/disembark while it's in motion. Some level of automation can allow them to realize they're full and skip stops unless requested by a passenger. Hell, you could put a button or offer a phone app so people can request it to stop at a particular stop instead of flagging it down like a bus. Automation is easy, they follow tracks. Put them on various, intersecting loops. They could probably be more self-contained, rather than using the grid constantly. If personal vehicles are banned, you only have to contend with pedestrians, cyclists, emergency, maintenance, and perhaps delivery vehicles.
    - BinaryIdiot 10y ago
      Hmm not bad. Embarking / disembarking sounds difficult for the handicapped but I'm sure that's work-around-able. I'd be interested in seeing more cities adopt quick transportation like this even if it's in a different but similar form.
baybal2 10y ago
>Engineering a full city from the group up sounds good but the majority of the people using the city are, well, people. People change Astana is a good example of this type of a designer city
ugh123 10y ago
> Wait, Adora is part of YC? I was really surprised by that too. Looking at her and her co-founder's handling of the shutdown as well as the overall fact that they just couldn't execute (raising money isn't executing). I'm not sure what track record and skills she really brings to this.
- justin 10y ago
  I competed with Adora when I was running Exec. Under Adora, Homejoy had impressive execution on the early stage: they were very good at customer acquisition, hiring talented employees, and raising capital. All things that are important in the early stage startups. Homejoy had missteps after that initial period. But sometimes you learn as much or more from failure as you do from success.
  - BinaryIdiot 10y ago
    > they were very good at customer acquisition The entire reason they failed was because they were paying more for customers than they were getting in return and even more importantly they were not retaining customers very well. It was a bleeding ship for a very, very long time until it went bust. I could be great at customer acquisition no matter what the product if I'm losing a lot of money on each acquisition. Typically people hold up metrics such as NPR or usage as far more important than installs / initial acquisitions. > Homejoy had missteps after that initial period. But sometimes you learn as much or more from failure as you do from success. While I certainly agree from the latter (I know the very first project I ever lead was a HUGE failure and one of the most amazing learning experiences of my life) I'm not sure that necessarily qualifies someone to give start-ups advice. Sure you can tell them how you fucked up but without real experience in applying those lessons it's hard to see much value in it compared to most of the other partners at YC. Hence why I was curious what her role was. If she's just leading this work or partnering on it then that might be a good fit. But if it's sitting down and giving advice to start-ups I'm not so sure I'd take it without a larger grain of salt than I would most of the other YC folks.

whazor 10y ago

We have autonomous vehicles once you forbid pedestrians on the road.

vkou 10y ago
Don't just forbid pedestrians - you also need to forbid the existing hundred million or so non-autonomous vehicles.

apendleton 10y ago

> Autonomous vehicles are still coming. Autonomous privately owned vehicles on shared rights of way are still coming. Centrally managed autonomous vehicles on dedicated rights of way are here already -- think inter-terminal trains at airports. If private car ownership is up for discussion (and it's explicitly called out here), you could imagine, for example, an urban plan where people got around on a macro level on automated elevated light rail, and on a micro level by foot or bike.

BinaryIdiot 10y ago
That would be pretty awesome and is very doable today. Good idea! You wouldn't even need roads really just stations everywhere to get on some sort of train type of vehicle that you can hop on and get to any part of the city. Hell make them smaller and more frequent and when you get in you put where you want to stop so it can skip stops, etc.
- Jtsummers 10y ago
  Trollies. They leave the roads open for other forms of transportation. They can be made to move slow enough that people can embark/disembark while it's in motion. Some level of automation can allow them to realize they're full and skip stops unless requested by a passenger. Hell, you could put a button or offer a phone app so people can request it to stop at a particular stop instead of flagging it down like a bus. Automation is easy, they follow tracks. Put them on various, intersecting loops. They could probably be more self-contained, rather than using the grid constantly. If personal vehicles are banned, you only have to contend with pedestrians, cyclists, emergency, maintenance, and perhaps delivery vehicles.
  - BinaryIdiot 10y ago
    Hmm not bad. Embarking / disembarking sounds difficult for the handicapped but I'm sure that's work-around-able. I'd be interested in seeing more cities adopt quick transportation like this even if it's in a different but similar form.

baybal2 10y ago

>Engineering a full city from the group up sounds good but the majority of the people using the city are, well, people. People change Astana is a good example of this type of a designer city

ugh123 10y ago

> Wait, Adora is part of YC? I was really surprised by that too. Looking at her and her co-founder's handling of the shutdown as well as the overall fact that they just couldn't execute (raising money isn't executing). I'm not sure what track record and skills she really brings to this.

justin 10y ago
I competed with Adora when I was running Exec. Under Adora, Homejoy had impressive execution on the early stage: they were very good at customer acquisition, hiring talented employees, and raising capital. All things that are important in the early stage startups. Homejoy had missteps after that initial period. But sometimes you learn as much or more from failure as you do from success.
- BinaryIdiot 10y ago
  > they were very good at customer acquisition The entire reason they failed was because they were paying more for customers than they were getting in return and even more importantly they were not retaining customers very well. It was a bleeding ship for a very, very long time until it went bust. I could be great at customer acquisition no matter what the product if I'm losing a lot of money on each acquisition. Typically people hold up metrics such as NPR or usage as far more important than installs / initial acquisitions. > Homejoy had missteps after that initial period. But sometimes you learn as much or more from failure as you do from success. While I certainly agree from the latter (I know the very first project I ever lead was a HUGE failure and one of the most amazing learning experiences of my life) I'm not sure that necessarily qualifies someone to give start-ups advice. Sure you can tell them how you fucked up but without real experience in applying those lessons it's hard to see much value in it compared to most of the other partners at YC. Hence why I was curious what her role was. If she's just leading this work or partnering on it then that might be a good fit. But if it's sitting down and giving advice to start-ups I'm not so sure I'd take it without a larger grain of salt than I would most of the other YC folks.