The Perpetual Metamorphosis of Primrose Close
When the last petrol-powered car drove out of our London street for the final time, we cobbled a party together for the occasion. It might have been Skinny Harper’s idea, though given the unrestrained outbreak of home-made bunting strung from tree to tree, compostable confetti on the tired asphalt, and solar barbecues in the communal garden outside of Middle Block – maybe it didn’t matter who thought of it first.
A couple of years ago, I had the luck and privilege to meet Professor Dan Hill, some days after he'd given a talk on his past projects. One of the stories he told caught my attention—the idea of the "One-Minute City" and "Street Moves", which allowed local communities to become architects of their own streets. I was enthralled by the idea that citizens could be empowered to design their own street to suit the needs of their community without the typical top-down interference from the design profession.
In typical speculative fiction fashion, I projected this practice forward in time, set a few characters in place and let the story happen. The result may be the most chaotic, unplanned, yet lighthearted story I'd written to date; what emerged were themes of mutual aid, creative use of materials and technology, and a community coming together despite personal conflicts and challenges. I like to think of it as how decent humans would normally behave.
There are several streets called "Primrose Close" within the vicinity of London and its sprawls. While I've taken inspiration from an archetypical residential area, for better or worse, the street (and its residents) in this story remains fictional.
I owe the inspiration for this story to my lovely real-life neighbours, and to Dan; thank you.
This novelette is available in ParSec issue #11, where I'm stoked to be featured alongside stories and articles by my heroes. It was edited by the brilliant Ian Whates, with cover art by the indomitable Fangorn.