Not directly related to the topic, but this is the first time I’ve seen renders of this new campus and it surprises me that it’s so car-dependent and suburban. It kind of disappoints me especially from a company publicly emphasizing environmental responsibility.

That same aspect really surprised me about Apple Park: how the building is so futuristic, but then getting there requires you hop in your regressive oil-burning couch on wheels. Personally, I would never again work for a company that made me drive down a highway to a giant parking garage complex. I want transit-oriented development and I want to live and work near transit lines, in walkable areas with mixed-use amenities.

If my choices in 2020 are remote work, suburban car commute, or downtown city office commute watching YouTube on a bus or train, one of these options is the clear last-place option.

My parents told me an anecdote of how they recently drove to the center of town (the old part built for walking) just to get out and walk around, as if this is a normal and not-insane byproduct of our misguided city planning. Their home is so isolated and pedestrian-hostile that they have to drive a vehicle just to find somewhere pleasant to exist. (The same story goes for getting to a park or outdoor recreation area)

Suburbs have all the downsides of a city with none of the upsides of rural life.

Obviously, it’s not Apple’s fault that most American cities happened to make massive city planning mistakes after World War II. But it seems like so many of those mistakes continue to be perpetuated by all parties involved.