The City and the Cell

I'm fascinated with the beauty and complexity of a cell in the human body. It reminds me of a city on a micro scale. The cell has a nucleus where all of the DNA or information is stored for the functioning of the cell. Likewise, each city has a local government where laws and local codes govern the functioning of the city. There is the mitochondria, which produces the cell's energy. A city has a power plant or some other means of electricity to give the city its power. The endoplasmic reticulum processes proteins that are then used in many ways in the cell just as manufacturing plants in a city would produce a variety of goods both simple and complex to be used by a city. The Golgi apparatus is a station for proteins being transported elsewhere just as a port, train hub, or airport is a center from which goods are transported to their destination. The lysosome is the cell's garbage disposal unit just as a city must have a dump where it can dispose of waste. Secretory vesicles store cargo and transport it when it is ready to be taken out of the cell and can be likened to a cargo truck, train, plane, or ship. Peroxisomes rid the cell of toxic peroxides just like a police force and justice system would function to reduce crime in a city.

The cell is dynamic just like a city, constantly manufacturing new structures and getting rid of old material. In cells and cities the great majority of materials are centrally made and shipped to other areas rather than being made locally. The shipping of proteins in and of itself is an intricate process. The packaging is different depending on where the protein is going, there are check-points along the way, and there are systems in place for unpacking and using the protein. Likewise, planners are always discovering new ways to transport people and materials more efficiently, preserving safety, and fitting these functions into the overall workings of a city in such a way as to provide the least negative impact.

In an age and time where there is so much discussion and use of biotechnology and engineering to tweak the systems of the human body to function more efficiently, perhaps when it comes to urban planning some "reverse engineering" is in order. Perhaps we could learn a few lessons from the cell in terms of how to plan a city efficiently and implement the things that we plan. How can we learn from the cell how to plan a city in a way that offers enough flexibility to compensate for change, yet enough rigidity to provide a framework of stability over time?