IN THE BUBBLE JOHN THACKARA - witz cultural

provided. Today, people who do not have a family but wish to receive
a home-cooked meal can also subscribe to the system, which has been so
successful that since late 2003, it has also been possible to order meals
online. 45
Speed 41
Another way to close farm-to-table loops in a leisurely way is to adopt a
tree. Or a hen. Agritime, in the province of Bolzano, Italy, hires out apple
trees and grapevines. Whoever adopts a plant follows through the cultivation
process during the year, joins in the harvest, and receives the fruit. A
similar arrangement is offered for hens and their eggs.
Some people prefer to get their hands dirty. Urban family vegetable gardening
has been regaining popularity in Great Britain, where numerous
local associations hire allotments to people who want to work their own
piece of land, even in the major urban centers, and gather the fruits of their
labors. These associations are linked through the National Association of
Allotment and Leisure Gardeners. 46
A growing number of cities promote themselves as slow cities—even if
we reach them quickly. Citta Slow, the Slow Cities movement, was founded
in Italy in 1999 following the success of the Slow Food movement. Citta
Slow advises city managers to promote the quality of hospitality as a real
bond between visitors and the local community. 47
Slow food, slow trams, slow cities: These are more than passing fads. Demographic
change seems certain to diminish further the demand for acceleration.
People live more slowly as they get older, and we would do well to
note that more than half of all adults in Europe and the United States are
over fifty. By 2100, one-third of the world’s population will be over sixty.
This group is bound to influence time regimes. Two-thirds of disposable
consumer income will held by this age group—and it’s a group that tends
to appreciate quality more than quantity. ‘‘Slowness is fundamental to
quality,’’ says industrial ecologist Ezio Manzini. ‘‘To appreciate quality, I
have to take time. With a glass of wine I have to smell it, look at it, I have
to take my time to drink this wine. Even beyond that, to be able to understand
that is a good glass of wine, I had to do something before—to learn,
to spend time in study.’’ 48
Downshifting is also changing patterns of work. The average number of
hours worked per year has been falling in most rich countries over the
past decade. In recent years, 20 percent of Americans, a very large
number, reported that they had made voluntary lifestyle changes that
resulted in their earning less money, such as changing their jobs,