Atomburbs vs. Atombombs: A Different Type of Distributed Network

Last spring at Cal Poly I took Dr. Lewis Call's History of Network Technology (History 354). Early on we discussed Paul Baran's concept of the "distributed network" in regards to networked computer systems during the Cold War which was s design which thwarted the efficacy of a nuclear assault disabling a computerized command and control network. This concept via ARPANET ultimately evolved into the modern internet and transformed the face of the modern world and how we all live. Fast-forward to today and I am conducting research for my senior project. The moment I found this image it occurred to me that it is a different sort of "distributed network," this one a network of distributed communities thus designed to minimize the efficacy of a nuclear attack by spreading the population out so much that there would be no population centers to target. This concept, christened the "atomburb," was created by the then-Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists of Chicago later to be called the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
Image courtesy of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (all rights reserved).