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    What is wrong with Singapore

     
    So an island and even a nationstate cannot produce everything locally; it isn’t  even wise as the competitive advantage of nations theory by David Ricardo explained that a long  time ago ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage )
     
    But that doesn’t mean a country – like Singapore - shouldn’t try – specifically for fresh goods. It’s just dumb, uneconomical and unhealthy to have ‘organic’ produce from New Zealand in supermarkets 10 hours flying away… that’s not organic in my view. Food and fresh produce should be produced locally.
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    Right? We’d like to hear from you and understand your views. We welcome your ideas, links and feedback.
     
    The Neighbour
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    ​09 October 2020 – Small scale communal living


    We found this initiative in The Netherlands https://knarrenhof.nl/ - small scale projects for people young and old, in-house developed in cooperation with local communities.
    That’s the way to go in our view. Clearly economic reasons exist for big scale developments and in densely populated cities perhaps high-rise buildings are the smartest solution but… most people prefer to live in a small scale community.
    Right? We’d like to hear from you and understand your views. We welcome your ideas, links and feedback.
     
    The Neighbour
  • Published on

    Planning ahead - communal living


    We’ve been talking about communal living on various occassions. It is now time to start putting our money where our mouth is.
    The plan is to find a property in the Netherlands to live with several couples or families, have a multi-functional space for meetings and courses, maybe an orchard and vegetable garden, a professional kitchen to host dinners table d’hôte style and organise cooking classes and a few guest rooms or cabins.
    We’re looking someplace central – in the middle of the country - not too far from civilisation yet in a rural setting.
    Interested? To join us, invest, rent rooms or share ideas? We welcome your ideas, links and feedback.
     
    The Neighbour
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    Rules or Risk based distancing

     
    Little or large droplets that’s the question. Now. Because our knowledge on the corona virus is still evolving and what measures are best taken to contain the spread of the virus is still hotly debated.
    Irrespective of the exact causes and government guidance following the advice from experts or – like in the US – completely in contradiction with it, there is the question of rules or risk based guidance.
    If a government trusts it’s citizens shouldn’t it be enough to explain the risks, give advise and only issue a few rules. The underlying premise is that citizens are responsible and knowledgable.
    If a government issues detailed regulations and follows a ‘command and control’ policy, it’s basically indicating that it doesn’t trust its citizens.
    Right or wrong? What do you think? We welcome your ideas, links and feedback.
     
    The Neighbour

  • Published on

    Opening hours

     
    Businesses serving consumers - shops, restaurants, bars but also musea, public transportation companies you name it – around the world are thinking about how to function in a society where people have to keep a safe distance. See for instance this article about McDonalds
    ​https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/dutch-mcdonalds-trials-social-distancing-restaurant

    Facemasks can help perhaps as The Atlantic describes  
    https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/dont-wear-mask-yourself/610336/?fbclid=IwAR1o6xJ9k0FKTnVLeQR8ZLeaGjpn2ljWI8UlUHa0IF09lgGdpaeCF7_2Sy4
    but one aspect is continuously overlooked…

    With venues limiting visitors the automatic results are queues… and in most countries (forget the Brits here…) people hate queues. So wouldn’t it be wise to extend opening hours? All around the world people following a 9 – 6 schedule but that only became commonplace after WWII… why not open up and extend opening hours?
     
    What do you think? We welcome your ideas, links and feedback.
     
    The Neighbour