城市新景象

    麻省理工学院（MIT）的媒体实验室中停放着一辆小型车，它看起来就像《摩登家庭》中的智能车。它的工作原理是这样的：停车时，电动城市智能微型车”（CityCar）的尾部滑到底盘下面，车体折叠成一个紧凑的壳状。折叠起来以后，这辆车只需要标准停车位1/3的空间就能停放。同时，车头的单门可以弹开，让司机走上人行道。

    城市微型车只是麻省理工学院的换位研究小组（MIT's Changing Places group）构想的2022年城市生活方式中的1个例子。10月份，世界人口达到了70亿人，而有史以来，如今首次有超过半数的世界人口生活在城市中心。麻省理工学院正在研究如何在维持城市生活的基础上解决这些人口的居住和交通问题。该项目的负责人肯特•拉尔森说：“我们着重研究更有效的资源利用方式，以及如何在降低成本和能源用量的同时增加个人空间。”拉尔森认为城市微型智能车与Zipcar和Getaround等公司方兴未艾的汽车共享服务异曲同工。他期望这种车能够协同跑短途的自行车、小型摩托车和跑长途的车辆，共同形成完备的拼车系统。这款由麻省理工学院和西班牙公司DenokInn制造的城市微型车样车本月初将在位于布鲁塞尔的欧盟（European Union）总部亮相，其所属项目名名叫Hiriko。

    麻省理工学院媒体实验室还开展了名为CityHome的智能家居项目。同样，其关键要素在于更大的灵活性。CityHome概念采纳了墨菲多功能床的理念。1间卧室可以兼作多种用途，既可以做厨房、也可以用作个人健身房，里面有烤炉、冰箱，还有通过隐形活页固定在墙上的隐形活动班霸牌楼梯机（StairMasters）。拉尔森说，为小户型定制智能家居的费用可能将高达30,000美元。然而，这种可以充当三居室公寓的单居室工作室节约的钱可能是这个数字的10倍。麻省理工学院希望在波士顿地区进行试点。

    这种家居系统可以定做，以适应不同收入阶层的需求。想把Sub-Zero冰箱（美国高档冰箱品牌——译注）嵌进墙壁里吗？没问题。而对房地产开发商来说，好处在于他们可以在每座楼里搭建更多套房子。那么，采用智能家居系统的最大麻烦是什么呢？那就是当住户越来越密集时，停车位就会变得更紧张。但令人欣喜的是，这个问题同样可以得到解决，那就是：将CityCar和CityHome配套使用。

    译者：聂传炎

    A small vehicle that looks like a Jetsons version of a smart car rests in a room at MIT's Media Lab. Here's how it works. When parking, the rear of the electric CityCar slides under the chassis, allowing the body to fold up into a compact shell. Once folded, the CityCar will fit into a space just one-third the size of a standard parking spot. A single door on the front of the car pops open, allowing the driver to step out onto the sidewalk.

    The CityCar is just one example of how MIT's Changing Places group envisions the urban lifestyle of 2022. In October the world population hit 7 billion, and now for the first time in history more than half of the world's population lives in urban centers. MIT is studying how to house and move all those people in ways that will make urban living still bearable. Says Kent Larson, the program's director: "We're focusing on more efficient uses of resources, on ways to lower costs and energy use and at the same time increase personal space." Larson sees the CityCar, for example, as fitting into the shared-use programs already gaining traction through companies such as ZipCar (ZIP) and Getaround. The cars would complement what he hopes will be a full system of sharing, from bicycles and scooters for shorter commutes to cars for longer jaunts. A prototype of the CityCar built by MIT and the Spanish company DenokInn will be unveiled at European Union headquarters in Brussels this month under the project name Hiriko.

    MIT's Media Lab is also working on what it dubs the CityHome. Again, greater flexibility is key. The CityHome concept takes a Murphy-bed approach. A bedroom can double as anything from a kitchen to a personal gym with stoves, fridges, and StairMasters swinging out from hidden panels in the walls. Larson says that the customization cost for a small apartment would be as much as $30,000. However, the savings of paying for a one-room studio that functions as a three-room apartment could be 10 times that amount. MIT hopes to launch pilot programs in the Boston area.

    The system can be customized to fit different income brackets. Want a Sub-Zero to pop out of your wall? The benefit for real estate developers is that they can stack more units into each building. The biggest hang-up for adoption? Parking spaces for the denser housing. The problem is solved -- surprise -- by matching the CityHome with the CityCar.