The Ecotopians have eliminated automobiles, and land which formerly served cars as pavement now is in service to people. The streets of San Francisco are quiet, greenbelt pedestrian malls with bike lanes and minimal paved passage for public transit and delivery vehicles. Most strange are the Ecotopians themselves, transformed by twenty years of eco-living. Consuming less, they are able to work less to support their needs. Cooperative work groups set a relaxed pace for an average of twenty hours per week.
Responsibility is decentralized and personalized.
Each worker signs his or her product so that comments and also any complaints can be directed appropriately. As a novel Ecotopia is not without its stylistic flaws. Nonetheless, his subject matter is fascinating, and the intriguing nature of Ecotopian culture more than outweighs any weaknesses in storyline. If the purpose of a utopian novel is to present a more desirable alternative Ecotopia succeeds fabulously, at least with me. I m already gone.