Remote Work Is Mobility’s Forgotten Miracle

Artwork: Sophia Marie Pappas

In the ongoing pursuit of effective transportation, it’s often forgotten that mobility optimizes at zero — which is to say, the absolute best we can do to make transportation effective is to make it unnecessary.

What’s also forgotten is just how prominently the transportation constraints of yesteryear factored into telecommuting as a concept. Formalized in the 1970s by NASA engineer Jack Nilles, remote work seemed destined for prominence as the U.S. unwrapped the Clean Air Act and tumbled into the OPEC oil crisis. Crucially, Nilles’ in-depth examination of telecommuting feasibility occurred prior to consumer-grade internet — the offspring of which has since produced a comprehensive overlap between the means of production at a job site and the personal property of a white collar laborer.

Let there be no doubt as to the superiority of remote work as a mobility solution: with zero infrastructure cost to the public, zero speculation on unproven tech and near-zero development time, communities experience immediate cost savings, emissions reductions and productivity gains.

Environmental benefits realized through the current U.S. telecommuting workforce

Remote work may in fact stand as the only mobility tool to increase personal freedom…