Monday, May 18, 2009
Housing and mobility
Isn’t it remarkable that you can lock up a house and return one or two weeks later, and find that everything is still in order? No rainwater leaking on to the floor, no bathroom taps running, no mold growing out of the fridge, and your broadband modem not blown up by lightning?
Leaving home with no one to look after it is as simple as clearing the fridge of perishable food, turning off the lights and locking the door. You don’t even need pack food for the journey anymore.
Was this even possible two decades ago? Could you make a trip when you felt like it, without elaborate preparation? How much has this contributed to changing our notions of social mobility?