Clean Air to breathe, taken for granted for decades, has now become a much sought after commodity

Given the activities of modern living, there is enormous clutter gathered around us over time, with our unconscious permission. They present us with a near demonic challenge, as they have become an integral part of our living- more than air, water and natural resources.

Take for example, our households: we buy so many things that are used, maybe, a few times in our lifetime (tools seem to have a longer lifetime!). Ask yourself the fundamental question – do I need a personal vehicle to commute to work, visit friends, for entertainment? – when the actual use would be less that one hour in a day (per person in a household)? The vehicle occupies space, and the assets required to maintain and sustain them, are part of the clutter in an urban environment. Parking spaces for vehicles take the essential lung spaces in cities, and societies need to pause and reconsider their choices of resources for urban living.

Would I be contributing to the contraction of economic activities, by resorting to practices like sharing, collaboration and cooperation? Not necessarily, since the facilities required for meeting our requirements would be provided by other entities in a structured and more efficient manner. Of course, there would be significant fall in the duplication of capital assets (primarily wastages), a measure the world needs to embrace in order to respond to UN’s sustainable goals.