Writers Strike Opens Door For Infrastructure

The strike has begun! Negotiations have broken down between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, forcing Hollywood's TV and movie writers into a strike.

What, you may be asking yourself, does this have to do with planning? Well, to put it bluntly, this strike is arguably the most important opportunity in American history for the widespread development of infrastructure and public works projects.

What planners need to do is take advantage of the void left by the striking writers and whip up some new TV shows and movies that center around the construction of massive public works projects. Those big Hollywood budgets will revive the nation's infrastructure needs, and at the same time keep its people entertained. After two full days of the writers strike, Hollywood is practically aching to hand out some of its money for new material. We all know the American viewing public can be fickle, and with only month-old episodes of Conan and reruns of last season's Tyra Banks show, the TV watchers will be craving something new. This captive audience has the potential to make possible the salvation of the country's disintegrating infrastructure and sorely underfunded public transit system.

The possibilities are limitless. Planners could write all kinds of shows, like maybe one about the race to secure water supplies for a drought-stricken community, or a drama about the changes a neighborhood undergoes as new sidewalks are built. Or a futuristic high-tech thriller based around a city's Wi-Fi network. Or a reality show where bus riders and car commuters are forced to live together as their city reworks a major artery with dedicated bus lanes. Or maybe a buddy comedy about two construction workers building that "Subway to the Sea" in L.A. And let's not overlook the obvious "Law And Order: Bridge Inspectors Unit".

Infrastructure may not be the sexiest use of taxpayer dollars, but that doesn't mean it can't be truly gripping television. Planners need to take those big infrastructure projects off the ballots of the stingy American taxpayers and put them in front of the Hollywood bigwigs who, because of this strike, have been left with virtually no one to whom they can give those sacks of money with the dollar signs on them. By writing TV shows and movies that weave the construction of expensive infrastructure projects into the drama and excitement of the silver screen, planners can both restore the country's crumbling infrastructure and fill the pop culture void left by the writers strike.

"Ridiculous!" you must be saying. But before you toss this bold vision for the future out the window, consider that this method of funding and building infrastructure is by no means new. In fact, it has many historical precedents. For example, a climactic scene in the film "The Matrix: Reloaded" involved a wild and dangerous chase and battle on an empty freeway. The scene and filming proved too complex to quickly perform on a temporarily closed section of freeway, so the movie's producers funded and built their own freeway just for the movie. The freeway is only a mile-and-a-half long and doesn't really connect anything, but they sure did build it. Another example is the extensive Twilight Zone, built during the late 1950s and early '60s for the classic television series -- a land of both shadows and substance, of things and ideas. Without the help of the Hollywood entertainment machine, this construction might never have been completed. Do you really think the American taxpayers would have had the foresight to approve the multi-billion dollar bond it would have taken to build the Death Star? Of course not. But Hollywood was there, and Hollywood made it happen.

While the writers are fighting for their rights, the golden doors have been opened for planners and the country's infrastructural needs. This strike represents the chance many planners and cities have been dreaming of.

So, planners of America, put on your bravest faces, bring your boldest plans and prepare to cross the picket lines. They may call you scabs, but inside you'll know what you truly are: heroes!