In a study on the productivity benefits of working at home, Cisco estimated employees saved $10 million per-year on fuel costs in addition to in-house.... In a study on the productivity benefits of working at home, Cisco estimated employees saved $10 million per-year on fuel costs in addition to in-house savings. There's not anything negative about telecommuting in the report-productivity improved, employees were happier and retention greater-but it brings to my mind questions about whether telecommuting is good for our communities as a whole.

On one hand, how much street life can there be if everyone is locked away in their suburban houses? It's only at lunch time that many suburban-dwellers experience vibrant street life at all (unless they work in an office park, then they never experience it on a daily basis).

To counter this, working at home, it's more likely you'll want some personal interaction and a city will undoubtedly be a better place to live for telecommuters (should we say pccommuters--who the hell uses telephones anymore anyway?). Pondering pre-industrial America, most people worked at home anyway. Cities were filled with artisans and craftsmen (and women, even then) who often worked in their home. Perhaps pccommuting can usher in a new era of the pre-industrial city, except our corporate lords will be off somewhere in a quiet office park.

Cisco Promotes Telecommuting