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ChatGPT does Lin-Manuel Miranda vs. Transport

Hey friend,

The last Makeshift Mobility missive I sent you, featuring the op-ed I co-wrote with Dr. Klopp, blew us all away. I had 5x the readership, and it was reshared dozens of times.

I guess we hit a nerve. (Welcome new subscribers!)

After that serious post, I thought I’d send you something lighter. For sh*ts and giggles, I asked ChatGPT to rewrite the introductory paragraphs “in the style of lyrics from Hamilton, the Musical.”

It got me laughing out loud in my favorite coffee shop.

Here’s the AI’s output for your enjoyment:

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Verse 1:

"Avoid, shift and improve" is the paradigm we're told

But most attention is on big projects, that's just so old

Now electrification's the thing, with billions to be spent

Multi-lateral banks, coalitions, and governments, all on the fence

Chorus:

A legion of transportation experts and consultants, on the move

Descending on cities and towns of the Global South, they're here to groove

They've come to solve local transportation problems, it's true

But they're ramifications are global, that's what we're here to do

Verse 2:

Low and medium-income countries, they're getting in on the act

With resources, planning and consulting contracts, so they can adapt

But these experts, they're an army, deployed to do their part

To "solve" transportation problems, but it's not just a one man's art

Chorus:

A legion of transportation experts and consultants, on the move

Descending on cities and towns of the Global South, they're here to groove

They've come to solve local transportation problems, it's true

But they're ramifications are global, that's what we're here to do

Outro:

We're not throwing away our shot, we're not throwing away our shot

We're not throwing away our shot, we're not throwing away our shot

We gotta make a change, take a stand, take a breath

We gotta make our revolution, and make it happen yet.

Verse 3:

Decarbonizing and improving transportation, it's a noble goal

But there's danger in the current approach, it's a slippery slope

Pre-packaged solutions, they're not the way to go

BRT, electric buses, in complex urban systems, they're slow

Chorus:

We're transplanting solutions, on land viewed as terra nullius

Erasing popular transport systems, it's quite nefarious

Power imbalances, dependencies, they're all on the rise

Displacing people, destroying livelihoods, it's no surprise

Verse 4:

Neocolonial dynamics, they're just not right

Popular transport ecosystems, they have deep history and might

We can't ignore or erase them, that's just not fair

We gotta work with them, make sure they're still there

Chorus:

We're transplanting solutions, on land viewed as terra nullius

Erasing popular transport systems, it's quite nefarious

Power imbalances, dependencies, they're all on the rise

Displacing people, destroying livelihoods, it's no surprise

Outro:

We're not throwing away our shot, we're not throwing away our shot

We're not throwing away our shot, we're not throwing away our shot

We gotta make a change, take a stand, take a breath

We gotta make our revolution, and make it happen yet.

Verse 5:

Solutions proposed with missionary zeal, without a word

To communities not consulted, it's a problem not to be ignored

Denying existing transportation networks, it's a shame

It'll do more damage, create more problems, it's all the same

Chorus:

It's inequitable, it's neo-colonial, it's not right

We gotta be careful, in this transportation fight

We want to serve, but we can't forget

Existing networks, they're not something to neglect

Verse 6:

If you or your organization, tapped to deliver

Transportation improvement, including decarbonization

Be wary, don't become a neo-colonial transport planner

Listen to the people, make sure you understand her

Outro:

We're not throwing away our shot, we're not throwing away our shot

We're not throwing away our shot, we're not throwing away our shot

We gotta make a change, take a stand, take a breath

We gotta make our revolution, and make it happen yet.

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Now, if any of you want to put that to music (or, is there an AI that can do that?), we can pitch Neocolonial Planner, The Musical.

Maybe, off-Broadway.

Or off- off- off-Broadway.

DALL-E generated image with the prompt: “A general from the American Revolution, hailing a tuktuk, in the style of a vermeer painting.” (Note: I don’t know what happened to the tuktuk.)

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All for now. I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did.

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I’m Benjie de la Peña, and I’m the CEO of the Shared-Use Mobility Center. I co-founded Agile City Partners, and I am the Chair of the Global Partnership for Informal Transportation.