Participating individuals can be working alone, or as part of a group. These combinations can be any shape or size, like the vehicles, so there have to be a few understandings in order for this to work:
Safety is paramount. Vehicles, even if they are moving at an urban speed limit of 15 or 20 mph, can cause damage to riders and passengers, if not properly designed and constructed. Wheelchairs and other precious cargo, must be fully protected in their dangerous environs.
Respect needs to be provided for one another. Bullying should not be tolerated. If consensus is possible, that is best, when decisions need to get made. The participants have to choose a method for deciding issues, which does the least damage to the group. (Key, unresolved issues, might cause another project to have to be started).
The object here is to exercise as little regulation or control over how any group of individuals decide how to array themselves and organize their activity as possible. One assemblage may have the goal of making a marketable product, another want to make something for themselves and their families.
Sharing of ideas will be encouraged, and a space provided online for projects to post images and thoughts. This can be considered a community of interest, benefitting from being in a world, where technologists have erased the language barriers that always made communicating with others from other places a huge burden. Images are universal too, of course.
A central goal is to encourage communities to design, develop and even consider manufacturing, locally, products being fabricated by their fellow citizens. Fabrication, on the human scale, of devices that employ human power, makes sense. In many places, the talents and skills required are abundant. Unfortunately, there is no mechanism for bringing these individuals together or exploiting their creativity and willingness to contribute their efforts to a common purpose.
Ideas can have value and there is a patent system that exists to protect people’s ability to profit from their unique conceptions. Those who wish to participate in this program, but want the option of keeping their results to themselves, and filing their innovations with the relevant authorities are, of course, free to do this. Due to the historical neglect of this subject area for so long, there are nearly infinite ways in which it is now free to evolve, with the help of little solar-powered motors, to re-define our spaces and habits in a great many important ways.
Institutions such as governments, religious and social groups, professional societies and educational institutions, should be invited to help encourage these developments, without necessarily taking charge of any of these efforts officially. One benefit of this process can be that it becomes less necessary, in order for something to happen, to involve large institutions, including major corporations, to provide the motivation, prizes and a competitive framework. The approach here is intended to focus on the potential for bottom-up activity to flourish, in spite of our unfamiliarity with that way of doing things.
While support of local programs, from any direction, should be welcome, maintaining the integrity of the process, by not using it to “green” the un-greenable, is still necessary. If enough resources can be gleaned form the local business establishment, beginning with those providing professional services, doctors, lawyers, insurance agents etc., funding will not be an issue. All book-keeping must be 100% transparent, and thus prevent problems from occurring.
If there are substantial numbers of young people who prefer to keep older people from being part of their group and possibly dominating the activity, they may impose age limits. No outside authority may make this decision for the participants though, and as much openness as possible is desirable.
An effort will be made to provide advice and council to groups requesting it, in regards to their needs. No promise can be made yet that this help will be available but it is being sought and expected to be found. Professional societies, engineering etc., will be the first groups approached to provide such help, through retired members, desirous of establishing connections to community groups.
A media partner would provide the ability to tell participants that their efforts might be rewarded by being given attention, through the media, of their accomplishments. This program will not evolve into a contest, but that dimension is part of our world and it may well be that somebody will see the potential for a more limited version of this, perhaps with the addition of a speed, or other “spectacular” aspect of this subject.
One goal here is to expand the use of slow speed, clean, safe, economical, accessible, beautiful and comfortable transport, for those in over-crowded cities everywhere. Another is to activate us, on the most local level, to apply ourselves to cooperate in dealing directly and affirmatively, with our most immediate, dangerous and fully solve-able problems.
This is A Movement, not an organization, and nobody is required to have anything to do with this element of it. It is assumed that there will be different programs initiated in some places and limits, rules and other conditions mandated, which might even produce better results. Nothing can or should be done to prevent these varied developments. The best result of this program might be the initiation of other efforts, on the most local level, to improve lives there. We have everything we need to enhance our existences but not all of the mechanisms needed to unleash this energy and derive the most benefit from it.