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The V-pole and the new city, built out of our thoughts streaming through the air

July 23rd, 2012 · 8 Comments

There’s nothing the world loves more than a futuristic gadget, a truism that was illustrated when the joint endorsement of a new kind of cell-phone transmission stand by Mayor Gregor Robertson and city-defining writer Doug Coupland happened in Paris this spring.

The news of the yet-to-be-invented-as-reality concept, the V-pole, went off like a small nuclear bomb in tech-journalism circles.

Coupland captured something about the changing nature of cities when he came up with the idea, the way their infrastructure is no longer the heavy and concrete (roads, sewers, garbage disposal) but the wireless world. Which, as it turns out, needs a lot of wires.

I took a closer look at the way the city and the wireless world are coming together in this month’s Vancouver magazine, which involved a trip to the a downtown highrise rooftop that I managed not to fall off of or vomit near. (Vertigo issues) As it turns out, the V-pole will not exactly eliminate our need for more technology to support our social-networking habits. We’re all just consuming and producing too much of that intangible stuff.

 

 

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  • Michelle

    I would like to suggest to both Robertson and Coupland what to do with their laughable V-pole… but it wouldn’t be “lady like”!
    It’s about for you gents to get off your high horses and step on the Terra Firma, for once in a while!

  • Terry M

    Oh common, Frances, not this Coupland idiocy again! Please!

  • Frances Bula

    @Terry. You might want to try reading the story first.

  • Guest

    It’s easier to install and maintain fewer, powerful transmission towers, rather than many, many weak ones.
    This sounds like a make work project.
    There’s a reason that Toronto built one very tall CN Tower for broadcasting rather than hundreds of repeater stations…

  • Glissando Remmy

    Thought of The Night

    “Frances did it! To put Robertson, Coupland, Johnston, Judd, V-Pole, and… The Future… in one article, is not an easy task. Wow! Life, in this case, beat Science-Fiction!”

    Well written and well researched piece Frances.
    Nothing wrong, I’m only going to point at a few things, here and there.

    I’ll start here:

    “Last spring, Gregor Robertson reached out to Douglas Coupland; the two had got to know each other through the artist’s work on the new Terry Fox monument at BC Place. They began batting ideas around. The mayor’s message to Coupland in March 2011 was supercharged with excitement: “Cell towers. We’ve got a game-changing plan afoot and would love to collaborate…”

    LOL!
    Now, here’s the thing, none of them are either scientists or engineers, they are no Marconi and Fessenden debating the future of wireless technology … so, “Houston we already have a problem!”, all I could picture in my mind, is a first meeting between Kelly Osborne and Paris Hilton where they get exited discussing the newest trends in the use of backwater valves for the closing down the flow of sewage in an overloaded main sewer line… Bling, not included!
    Otherwise, a very good, visual, and smart introductory Plot Line!

    Then this:

    “Cities will talk to citizens through open dialogue.”
    Maybe, but not in Vancouver , definitely not with this administration, or under this administration’s control, whose sole purpose was/ is to alienate any possible dialog with its citizens.

    “Businesses will exist mostly virtually…”
    It already exists mostly virtually, thanks to Gregor’s Vision, who btw, moved his Planet Happy to… Burnaby.

    “their smartphones will tell them about every plant and animal around them while they feed information about what they observe back to the cloud.”
    Are we in agreement that you would rather pet a real pony at the Stanley Park Children’s Farm than look at an imaginary one on your smartphone, through the power of LOL, Vision?

    “The city will be able to listen to its residents constantly, not just through ponderous telephone polling or excruciating nights of public hearings…”
    This by far is best comedic paragraph in your story. I laughed so hard, I almost dropped my Taco.

    “So when something explodes like a Stanley Cup riot, we will be able to understand who are these people and what are they saying.” – The Munchhausen Syndrome, clean & cut medical dictionary definition, right there!

    “The city is experimenting. Nine out of 10 experiments will fail to live out the hope. But if you’re not trying, you’re out of the game.”
    The city should not experiment, not with tax payers money, there are several corporations/entrepreneurs that could be invited to “experiment”, if they want to go that route, on their own time and on their own dough. Let the Competition Game begin!

    I’m getting the impression that this bunch of New Age Gurus, that claimed their foothold inside City Hall, are in fact a bunch of infantile Star Trek followers, ready to implement the 500 Years Solomon Plan. Nothing more!

    BTW…
    “Back on planet Earth circa 2012, Phil Lind…”
    Phil was too kind in his words, “And even if it won’t be in production this time next year or even next decade, that doesn’t mean time is standing still.”
    He wasn’t about to hurt anybody’s feelings or call them on their bullshit.

    I even have a joke for you:

    “It’s Dec. 21st 2012… in the early morning.
    As the expected huge meteorite approaches Planet Earth, a recently arrived spaceship crew from a faraway galaxy, sent over by the members of a more advanced civilization, is embarking humans in their quest to save as many of us as possible. (I know, there’s the question of “why”, same question I’m asking myself too)
    The Action is taking place in Vancouver, the Greenest City in the Best Place on Earth , on the empty Concord Pacific’s lot, South of the BC Place (still undeveloped but completely cultivated by then)!
    The Four New Age Gurus… Gregor, Doug, Aufochs, and Judd approach one of the Aliens in command and request permission to embark together, as a Thinking Brain Group.
    The Alien turns around to talk it over with his mates, and they argue for a few minutes; finally, one of them approaches the Group with a smile and says:
    “We’ll take everyone willing to join us… but, Not You! You are too advanced for our World, and we don’t want to keep you back, plus you could easily jeopardize… our future! Anyways, look on the bright sight of things, you could always use those V-poles of yours… for Teleportation!”
    “But, but, but… we were only joking with those V-poles, and all the other crap, we made it up! We were only making fun of these people, making an easy buck… really! We were only joking!” said one of them.
    “And so was I!” answered the Alien “So was I!”
    Then he sang this to them:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHPOzQzk9Qo

    “In May, Coupland traveled to the New Cities Foundation conference in Paris, where Gregor Robertson was already scheduled as keynote speaker.”
    They both came back, though… as we all know… no good deed remains unpunished!

    We live in Vancouver and this keeps us busy.

  • Andrew Browne

    From the article:

    “Instead, our high-tech lives amount to scanning our own purchases at Canadian Tire…”

    Hilarious, sad, and spot on!

  • Higgins

    He, he, he…
    Glissy @5,
    Joke was bang on!
    Hats off !

  • Bill Lee

    V-pole, shmee-pole.
    Surrey gets there first
    http://www.vancouversun.com/news/todays-paper/Surrey+mulls+cell+towers+city+structures/7005723/story.html

    Surrey mulls cell towers on city structures By Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun July 28, 2012

    Surrey is seeking to cash in on the demand for wireless services by approving a one-year-pilot project that would allow mini cellphone towers to be installed on street lights and utility poles.

    The move, approved by city council this week, is expected to boost capacity to meet the increasing demand from smartphones, e-readers, tab-let computers, mobile Internet and mobile workforce management.

    “This growing demand for wireless services has challenged the wireless industry to provide sufficient infra-structure,” the report stated.

    Under the plan, the city would rent its light standards to major cellular providers like Telus, Bell, Rogers, Wind and Mobilicity, which would install wireless transmission equipment on up to 20 city street light poles at a rate of four locations per provider.

    Mobilicity was the first to sign a con-tract with the city, after asking per-mission to replace a light standard at 152nd Street and 84th Avenue with the equipment.

    The city will charge the company $8,000 per year for the first five years, along with a one-time application fee of $1,200.

    The report noted wireless providers have estimated over the next three years they could use up to 170 street light pole locations which would pro-vide “a strong and sustainable revenue stream.” If each of these were rented for $8,000, the city could reap $1.36 million annually.

    Other potential advantages include allowing the city to control the location, number and design of light poles, reducing the need for larger radio communication towers in residential areas, providing better wireless coverage in residential areas and offering an opportunity to advance the installation of electric vehicle charging stations at street light poles.

    The report notes using city light standards is simpler to access for cellular providers than utility poles because many are jointly owned by Telus and many of BC Hydro’s trans-mission towers are on rights-of-way that limit Hydro’s use to the transmission of electricity.

    Staff will report back to council after the one-year pilot with recommendations regarding its continuation.

    —
    And why do you pay attention to a second rate author with one meme and rapidly poorly reviewed books who tries to bring back his student days as a design student?