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Urban Communications
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Communications infrastructures have complex entanglements with sustainable cities. They allow families to remain in touch even when kids and parents are in separate places; facilitate banking, financial, and health services; keep markets running more efficiently; allow global-local information networks; provide community information and entertainment and much more. Urban telecommunications requires hidden (e.g. switching stations, underground cables, satellites) as well as visible infrastructure (post offices). The capacity, quality, and location of each communication system (e.g. telephone, mail, airwaves), balances private for-profit companies with government pressure to provide equal and fair access to all citizens. Major concerns for sustainability include access to emergency services, traffic information, local share of TV and radio broadcast time, equitable access to the World Wide Web, special phone and Internet rates for the elderly, incapacitated and the poor, and identity theft. Sustainable cities try to limit telecommunications by encouraging face-to-face meeting places and conversation.
Keywords communication, telecommunication, telephone, cell phone, postal service, airwaves, television, radio, cable communications, satellite communications, World Wide Web, the Internet, equitable monthly service rates, face-to-face conversation, communications infrastructure |
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