Project
The Challenge
Aligning diverse initiatives in the region for economic and sustainable growth in a digital era.
The Outcome
Designing a city that places the inhabitants at the core and positions itself for sustainable growth.
At unthinkable we are constantly thinking about design and how to make daily activities simpler, more meaningful and enjoyable. In essence, how do we enrich human lives? Walking through the city and experiencing its many virtues, one cannot help but imagine how our daily experiences could be better and how we create a city that will be desirable today and sustainable for the year 2050 and beyond.
With the rapid growth in urbanization and other mega-trends providing significant challenges for cities, cities are being forced to adapt and change. Yet those cities who are able to plan and navigate the future will prosper handsomely. Cities have always had the ability to develop their market position based upon many factors. Today, the globalization of industries and the speed and transferability of capital – human, intellectual and financial – enable cities to transform themselves, with greater flexibility and increasing speed.
Recently cities have undergone rapid transformation and with success. Some have risen from a simple beginning while others have resurrected their existing status, all with insightful changes to their positioning. Examples abound, Silicon Valley, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Mumbai, Shanghai, Lagos, Bogota and many more across the globe. The rapid transfer of capital is evidenced by the fact that most of the world’s fastest-growing cities are located in Asia and Africa. Some traditional metropolises are showing signs of nominal or negative economic and population growth. All bodes well for cities to design their future. In fact, it is a necessity to adapt and remain meaningful.
How do cities begin to create a viable and sustainable metropolis, and what needs to be considered to transform? In all instances, a design that places the citizens at the center is the cornerstone to future success. Cities that are successful will likely have achieved a balance with the following elements.
A holistic blueprint
A city design must strive for economic, environmental and social sustainability requiring a rethink of space and how we symbiotically merge various functions together. We need to think of people first – how they work, live and relax. Firstly, it requires leaders to break out of silos to achieve success. Significant change requires a collective initiative and pooling of expertise and talents for comprehensive yet innovative solutions. Designing the persona of the city requires the melding of public, private sectors and academia. How do we thoughtfully align city and regional planning, tax credits and back investment, incubators and creativity driven organizations towards a reimagined nucleus? The physical design of the city must embrace and align the advancements of digital technology into infrastructure while providing sensible use of spaces as required with changing needs. Similarly, designing to address expected social needs is important to ensure the entire ecosystem can function cohesively.
Green spaces, fresh water and clean air
As a starting point, the basic fundamentals of life need to be met. With land, we must plan for lateral and vertical expansion, mixed land use and expanding a diversity of communities. Urban and rural will begin to morph. City ordinances will appropriately accommodate viable and responsible vertical expansion, as the nucleus of a city forces it to grow upwards. Access to clean water and air will be mandated by inhabitants. Cities will need to develop solutions that ensure the clean and fresh supply of basic resources including purification and desalination plants, new innovative energy sources, zero waste in water usage and sensible recycling.
Technology advanced
Cities will be defined by their adoption of disruptive technologies. This includes technologies that enable the quality of living conditions, ease of living and doing business and access to state of the times conveniences. Digital technologies will help create safer and predictable environments to provide better living conditions and enable simpler management of protection, health and social services, all leading to more efficient ecosystems. Technologies will also drive urban farming, better building design, reduce waste creation and improve transportation networks.
Magnet for talent
What will the city be known for? How do you differentiate yourself from other cities? What makes a city unique and meaningful to people and organizations? Cities will need to create and develop a strong identity to attract, develop and retain talent in short supply. With global trends leading to slowing population growth especially in urban areas, an aging workforce and increasing urbanization, cities will be hard pressed to create balanced environments that appeal to talent. Thoughtful design can bring in new talent, achieved through the creation of niche courses in both academic and trade schools, with jobs waiting for them in these chosen sectors. This requires a robust business community characterized or anchored by a growth industry sector or competency, with a supporting social infrastructure that fosters a community.
Accessible efficient transportation
Transportation has fueled the rise of many urban centers and similarly contributed to the demise of cities. Denser urban landscapes with congested public transport networks rapidly decrease the desirability of a city. Multi-use spaces, green spaces and easy access to and from various spaces will add to the vibrancy of a city. With the growth of multi-nodal cities and inevitable suburban sprawl, an intelligent and energy efficient transportation grid designed for both convenience and energy efficiency will increase a city’s appeal.
Urban organic farms
With rising medical and wellness costs and lifespans increasing rapidly, it would be prudent to foster an environment for healthy lifestyles to enable us to enjoy the years ahead. People are seeking healthier lives, one with good food and fitness as part of their regimen. Since nutrition is the most significant determinant of an individual’s state of health, cities will need to provide environments where almost everything consumed is farm to table from locally grown sources. This will include urban greenhouses, mass hydroponic community gardens and responsibly farmed produce from which we can identify the exact source of what is being consumed.
Diverse living spaces and a strong community
A city of significance is one with a collective soul. Bringing people together in fun and exciting ways is required to overcome a growing trend of less human contact brought about by technology developments. Physical environments that compel individuals to want to spend time together because of its appeal and benefits, multi-use spaces, spaces for public exhibitions and areas for relaxation and exercise need to be planned. Like an organization, creating a culture that ingrains respect and pride into the community, will help promote a vibrancy in the city leading to improved productivity and less illness, while reducing many social ills. A city where people are seen to enjoy life, get together, enjoy a sense of belonging, are likely to further attract investors and talent.
Roof for all
Homes should be available to everyone. Unfortunately, many cities who have experienced growth and required more talent and workers at all levels, have also experienced increasing property costs, further pricing workers out of the property market. In addition, the growing trend of urbanization will place a greater burden on the housing and infrastructure of the city. Individuals who are able to live closer to where they work are happier people who in turn invest in their community. With thoughtful planning, we can achieve a balance in developing the housing schematics for a city. This will not only incent sustained investment and development but also avoid NIMBYism, provide housing at all economic levels and likely reduce the growing rate of forced ‘homelessness’ associated with escalating property costs and declining salaries.
Some cities will wait until the next tech blockbuster chooses to set up a new mega-campus for its business before they begin to set aside areas of land and begin to plan, while other cities are methodically designing a well-balanced and sustainable landscape and infrastructure that will be desirable for organizations and people. While complete redesigns are not mandatory to position a city for a bright future, investing in a few select coordinated mega initiatives to demonstrate the conviction of the public and private sectors will be a requisite for future success.
