FUTURE CITY SERIES: INTRODUCTION
FUTURE CITY: THE WAY WE
IMAGINE
RISHIKA MUKHERJEE
Future of a city; a well versed, highly discussed and debated topic across all generations. Not only the term "future city" but the word ‘future’ alone evokes so many dreams, imaginations, hopes and fears in our mind. We spend our lives worrying, planning and trying to predict the future in the hope that if we would figure out the unknown, it will solve all our problems. We hope for a better life, a better world, a better tomorrow. But future is always changing. It is the most fragile, unstable, unpredictable thing there is. It is the home of our deepest fears and wildest hopes.
There are so many movies, fictions, stories; which encourage us and influence us to believe in this unseen and unknown terrain. The story of time travelers, intelligent machines, gadgets, robots, friendly as well as destroyer aliens, contagious diseases, floating cities, underwater cities, homes in the space and so on. All this seems so real that we actually believe in this future. We believe in green cities, sustainable cities, energy efficient cities and technologically advanced cities. We believe that one day we can achieve this goal; we will sense them, traverse them and inhabit them.
In the literary field, the theme of future city has been explored through various approaches and perspectives. From the future cities’ transportation and housing to public space and infrastructure, from the nature of planning and governance to energy and security; all has been debated and well written about. Also there are projected statistics and interpolations about the future of urban world. It is already well propagated that half of the world's population is already living in the cities. It is not impossible to imagine that by 2050 around three-fourth of the world's population would be city dwellers. Soon, City will be everywhere and be everything. Even if we do not think in terms of living population, the influence, dominance and extension of city life would be everywhere. The aspiration of becoming 'urban’ has ruled human psyche and even today; those who are not residing within the city boundary also maintain a city lifestyle. Footprints of the Urban Ways of Life have become omnipresent.
In our special series on ‘future of cities’ the writers let their knowledge and imagination go from these actual facts and vision to portray a future they believe will exist. Imaginations always lead to inventions and influential interventions. Any new urban era has started off with new inventions, new possibilities and new avenues.
In the present series titled: "FUTURE CITY: VISIONS AND BEYOND" we have started time travel with the evolution of cities till the present day and then hastened pace gradually after exploring different versions of possible near future. Towards the end of this time travel, we hyper jumped time to look for a possible world off our Earth. We ventured into the world of imagined geographies which broke down all barriers of reality and took us to a world beyond our known boundaries and into unknown possibilities.
TRAVELLING THROUGH THE FUTURE: THE PIT STOPS
The first in the Future City Series is a brief introduction to the evolution of cities till present day by Minoti. The article continues with few scenarios regarding the development of cities in the near future as envisioned by Nilita. In the next article by Ruby, a progression of Delhi's transport system has been discussed which reflects the city's futuristic goal of development.
The series progresses with Neha and Sagar's article on the infrastructural changes and new developments in the cities in future. The article provides a sustainable version of buildings, new ways of resource utilization and allocation and a peek into the future urban development in different cities of the world. This is further portrayed by Arunima and Sreetama's article on the futuristic outlook of cities with the help of some known and unknown fictional characters.
Further on, we have tried to explore two different imagined versions of reality set in future. The future city is set not above the surface of the land but below water in one and below ground in another. These two versions; the former by Aditi and the latter by Sanchayita provide the causes for opting such habitat and the consequences and influences thereafter.
The series continues with two more articles delving further into the imagined future of cities. The Hidden City by Shinjini provides a new hierarchical perspective of society manifested over the cultural landscape in a new way along with the manner in which its infrastructure is laid out and utilized. The second article by Ankita explores the ways of the Naturo- Technocity from the eyes of a visitor. It exhibits the subtle downside of (future) modern day developments.
In the concluding post of the Future City Series, Kriti has tried to present an imagined future of cities situated in far off future. She has discussed about a system of urbanization situated in far off time and space developed upon the premise of the necessity for human race to survive and to explore newer terrains as abode of humanity.
Towards a Concluding Note....
But it will be unfair to bind the whole world under one vision. Each city no matter how ‘global’, ‘modern’ or ‘advanced’, will have some inherent essence of it. Each city will have its own extraordinary variety and vitality within. Hence, it is unfair to delimit the nature of cities across the world in an uni-linear progression. Future cities will also have their plurality, complexity and intricacy within and among themselves which we will see and explore as the time- space continuum will allow us to do.
Until then, we intend to plan for sustainable and efficient future of cities which is greener, technologically and scientifically sound and inclusive in nature; cities which are above the notions of hierarchy and reflect a sense of social equality. However,we do realize that no matter how many plans we make or steps we follow; we would never know how our cities’ future is going to unwind and unfold. But that should not stop us from imagining, from dreaming, from innovating something new.
So let us all open our minds and step into the journeys of tomorrow.
There are so many movies, fictions, stories; which encourage us and influence us to believe in this unseen and unknown terrain. The story of time travelers, intelligent machines, gadgets, robots, friendly as well as destroyer aliens, contagious diseases, floating cities, underwater cities, homes in the space and so on. All this seems so real that we actually believe in this future. We believe in green cities, sustainable cities, energy efficient cities and technologically advanced cities. We believe that one day we can achieve this goal; we will sense them, traverse them and inhabit them.
In the literary field, the theme of future city has been explored through various approaches and perspectives. From the future cities’ transportation and housing to public space and infrastructure, from the nature of planning and governance to energy and security; all has been debated and well written about. Also there are projected statistics and interpolations about the future of urban world. It is already well propagated that half of the world's population is already living in the cities. It is not impossible to imagine that by 2050 around three-fourth of the world's population would be city dwellers. Soon, City will be everywhere and be everything. Even if we do not think in terms of living population, the influence, dominance and extension of city life would be everywhere. The aspiration of becoming 'urban’ has ruled human psyche and even today; those who are not residing within the city boundary also maintain a city lifestyle. Footprints of the Urban Ways of Life have become omnipresent.
In our special series on ‘future of cities’ the writers let their knowledge and imagination go from these actual facts and vision to portray a future they believe will exist. Imaginations always lead to inventions and influential interventions. Any new urban era has started off with new inventions, new possibilities and new avenues.
In the present series titled: "FUTURE CITY: VISIONS AND BEYOND" we have started time travel with the evolution of cities till the present day and then hastened pace gradually after exploring different versions of possible near future. Towards the end of this time travel, we hyper jumped time to look for a possible world off our Earth. We ventured into the world of imagined geographies which broke down all barriers of reality and took us to a world beyond our known boundaries and into unknown possibilities.
TRAVELLING THROUGH THE FUTURE: THE PIT STOPS
The first in the Future City Series is a brief introduction to the evolution of cities till present day by Minoti. The article continues with few scenarios regarding the development of cities in the near future as envisioned by Nilita. In the next article by Ruby, a progression of Delhi's transport system has been discussed which reflects the city's futuristic goal of development.
The series progresses with Neha and Sagar's article on the infrastructural changes and new developments in the cities in future. The article provides a sustainable version of buildings, new ways of resource utilization and allocation and a peek into the future urban development in different cities of the world. This is further portrayed by Arunima and Sreetama's article on the futuristic outlook of cities with the help of some known and unknown fictional characters.
Further on, we have tried to explore two different imagined versions of reality set in future. The future city is set not above the surface of the land but below water in one and below ground in another. These two versions; the former by Aditi and the latter by Sanchayita provide the causes for opting such habitat and the consequences and influences thereafter.
The series continues with two more articles delving further into the imagined future of cities. The Hidden City by Shinjini provides a new hierarchical perspective of society manifested over the cultural landscape in a new way along with the manner in which its infrastructure is laid out and utilized. The second article by Ankita explores the ways of the Naturo- Technocity from the eyes of a visitor. It exhibits the subtle downside of (future) modern day developments.
In the concluding post of the Future City Series, Kriti has tried to present an imagined future of cities situated in far off future. She has discussed about a system of urbanization situated in far off time and space developed upon the premise of the necessity for human race to survive and to explore newer terrains as abode of humanity.
Towards a Concluding Note....
But it will be unfair to bind the whole world under one vision. Each city no matter how ‘global’, ‘modern’ or ‘advanced’, will have some inherent essence of it. Each city will have its own extraordinary variety and vitality within. Hence, it is unfair to delimit the nature of cities across the world in an uni-linear progression. Future cities will also have their plurality, complexity and intricacy within and among themselves which we will see and explore as the time- space continuum will allow us to do.
Until then, we intend to plan for sustainable and efficient future of cities which is greener, technologically and scientifically sound and inclusive in nature; cities which are above the notions of hierarchy and reflect a sense of social equality. However,we do realize that no matter how many plans we make or steps we follow; we would never know how our cities’ future is going to unwind and unfold. But that should not stop us from imagining, from dreaming, from innovating something new.
So let us all open our minds and step into the journeys of tomorrow.
Author's Bio- Note:
Rishika Mukherjee is currently pursuing
her Masters in Philosophy from Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics,
University of Delhi. Her key interest areas revolve around Urban Planning and
Aesthetics.
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