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Friday, March 29, 2024

Future Cities

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More than half of the world’s seven billion population is currently living in cities. There has been a major shift since 1950, when only 30 percent of the world’s population was living in urban areas. It is projected that by 2050, 70 to 85 percent of the world’s nine billion population will be living in cities. This can possibly even be higher with changes such as China’s abolition of its one-child policy. 

How can we possibly provide for the needs of at least an additional two billion people within 35 years? By 2050, economies will be more complex, weather conditions more extreme, and social issues will imaginably be more diverse. While a more connected world presents greater opportunities, each nation will be more sensitive to others’ political, financial and development climate. 

This is the century of the city, and the actions that we choose to do, or not do, will greatly affect the kind of urban environments that we will have in the decades to come. How can we provide the needs of the current generation while ensuring there are enough resources for future generations? What will the cities of the future look like, in terms of densities, landscapes and skylines, and natural environment? How will infrastructure and utilities support the needs of homes and businesses? How will people and goods move from one place to another? Will mass transit be encouraged, or will our cities have several levels of highways to accommodate private cars? How will driverless cars, and technologies we have yet to come up with, transform transport systems?  

3-D Model of an imagined Filipino City with smart technologies

THE FUTURE CITIES EXHIBIT

Throughout the years, science has allowed people to create solutions for the world’s challenges. The first science museum in Asia allows children and adults to explore how we can design, build, and manage better cities. The Mind Museum, in partnership with Shell Philippines, recently launched its newest exhibition “Future Cities: Planet-Friendly Technologies.” 

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What kind of city do you live in?

According to Manuel Blas II, the managing director of the Bonifacio Arts Foundation, “the Future Cities exhibition will hopefully seed the kind of imagination required in order for us to break free from how we currently think we can design cities.” The exhibit can educate its visitors on what kind of technology and engineering will be required to create smarter and more livable cities. 

It includes three interactive displays – the City Quiz, Planet You and the model city. The City Quiz will give visitors the archetype of the city they prefer based on their own answers to questions regarding lifestyle preferences. There are 500 cities in the database, representative of the city archetypes identified by Shell and the Singapore-based Centre for Livable Cities. These include the underdeveloped urban centers, developing megahubs, sprawling metropolises, urban powerhouses, prosperous communities, and underprivileged crowded cities.

Presenters at the exhibit launch – Mayor Del de Guzman of Marikina City, Guillermo Luz of the National Competitiveness Council, Architect Paulo Alcazaren, Manuel Blas of Bonifacio Global City, and Ed Chua of Shell

 Planet You allows visitors to design the energy identity of their own planet. They can design their planet with their own prescription on the sources of food, power and water, as well as the footprint of the buildings and communities. A visual of “your planet” will be sent to visitors by email. 

The most prominent feature in the Future Cities exhibit is a 3-D model of an imagined Filipino City that features planet-friendly technologies such as a geothermal plant and solar-powered infrastructure. It also shows underground farms and an underwater city that are powered by yet to be engineered technologies. The exhibit will feature QR codes which would give access to a related video or information on the proposed technologies. 

Shell partnered with the Mind Museum because innovation requires inspired understanding. According to Shell Philippines chair Ed Chua, “as the largest human habitat of the future, cities should be an essential target for innovation.” Shell hopes that the exhibit will inspire shared perspectives and spark collective action among leaders in business and government, as well as Filipino citizens. 

The Future Cities exhibit is a permanent exhibition at the Technology Gallery of the Mind Museum in Bonifacio Global City. 

Follow me on Instagram @karmipalafox

 

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