Connecting the circuit

Screen capture from Duracell's moments of warmth Youtube

Following stories of terrorist hate-mongers in Paris, and as if on cue, my urban design and transport planner friend Megan Carr sent this fabulous video. It shows how transport design can connect people together even in the dead of winter. It is a candle in the dark news of late.

Montreal and Duracell Canada have a plan to warm bus stops in Canada's cold winter months. Imagine a bus shelter heater that only works if people waiting for a bus hold hands to connect the electrical circuit that activates the heater.

As with Lisbon's dancing traffic lights and New York's say-something-nice, this shows yet again that given the opportunity people will put their fear aside and reach out to each other in new and wonderful ways.

This is not opportunity-based crime prevention. Rather it's opportunity-based connection - warming our social circuits by charging our electrical ones.