Eerie Truths and Hard Lessons From a 1970s 'Ecotopia'

Twenty years after Oregon, Washington, and Northern California seceded from the U.S. to form the ecologically-focused nation of Ecotopia, a New York journalist visits the hermetic nation for the first time. He quickly notes the downshifted economy; all corporate capital that was remotely portable fled the new country at secession, but Ecotopians are content with a slower, humbler pace, including a 20-hour work week that halved incomes but doubled the number of jobs. He notes the friendly, laid-back culture. Despite his prejudice against the new state, he soon admits he’s having a good time.

But his first big shock is the Ecotopian city. Here’s what the new regime has done with San Francisco’s Market Street: