5/6 of the lifts were not operating today, and there were 4 camps of people:

(A) Those waiting at the first floor queueing to get into the lift.
(B) Those deciding to get some other errands done first before coming back.
(C) Those who decided they will take the stairs.
(D) Those who take the stairs up in order to take the lift down and up again.

Naturally my problem-solving job hazard cum second nature made me take (D) without even thinking.

Anyway, made me think about time/cost living in the city again. Lifts fold land and time - pretty much like a space warp. It makes it feasible to support the city growth beyond a 1:1 vertical density while keeping the amount of time required to access this new space reasonable. Which is to say, if there were no lifts and land were still that expensive... we'd probably taking perhaps the first (and last) 1/2 or 1 h of our working day, walking up stairs... Considering the price of professional time, this is no small saving!

Makes me feel once again that the dimensions of city life are so different from non-city living. The numbers work differently. But when we're in it, we don't even realise.