The skies no longer belonged to us. There was no clear view of Coit Tower from my house five blocks away, even when the fog wasn’t invading from the sea nor the inland smoke hovering over the city. Nope, it was the drones and aeromobiles that blocked the view and made the ground level clear. Delivery trucks had morphed into delivery drones and street traffic was sparse. Walking was almost peaceful, if you didn’t look up.
And yet, the infrastructure remained. Everything built for the combustible engine remained, despite the only remaining ground traffic being municipal vehicles. One week I decided to count them and nearly did it on one hand. Six all week, and only two that I recognized as locals. So I took a page from Big Tech’s playbook, moved fast and broke my sidewalk with a jackhammer.
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The city wasn’t thrilled, but we already had seeds in the newly-churned ground by the time they caught on. Of course, my neighbors had come out immediately and while some were ornery about the noise, I’d befriended more than ever before by the end of that first afternoon. Most were completely on board and even signed up to help, lugging concrete and asphalt chunks to the end of the street and spreading soil in their place. One lawyer on the block drew up papers to block the city’s attempts to reverse our efforts, taking the fight to the court as our work continued.
Pathways remained for any carts, bikes, or wheelchairs passing through, but most of the old street was reserved for planting seeds or leisure areas. We gathered information on what crops suited our climate, how they could grow together, and finally put together crop proposals for the street to vote on.
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Looking over the street, I beam with pride. Walking down my steps, carrying a pot of homemade stew, how could I not? We beat the city, showing how a block could unite and change their environment to suit them and were celebrating with our first harvest festival. I join my neighbors - my community - at the picnic tables under the coast live oak that is the new centerpiece of our block. Taking in all the aromas of our feast, our crops, our work, I know there is hope to create new sights instead of having drones blot out my world.