L. How do you

envision the

city of the

future?

Dávid Borsós IE Global MBA+ Application

In the future …

… more cities are built

… most people live in cities (70% by 2050)1

… resources are scarce

… water utilization is critical

… waste and GHG production increase

… technological inventions help to

maintain urban lifestyle

The city of the future …

… is resilient

… protects its citizens

(threats might come from outside or inside)

… is built in a modular basis

… has a redundant setup

… has diverse services

Structure • The structure of the cities will

resemble the cells of living

organisms

• The different cells have their

own specific functions: • residental areas

• commercial areas

• public areas

• Cells can change their

functions to help the

develpoment of the city

Buildings • The building of the city are

built from materials that are

available around the city

• This decreases not only the

cost of construction but also

the cost of maintenance

• Using wood wherever it is

possible (even for

skyscrapers)2 can further

decrease the carbon

footprint of humanity

Food Production • Food production must be as

close to the consumers as possible to reduce transportation costs (both environmental and economic):

• Fruits and vegetables can be

grown inside the city

• Community gardens can be

located on the top of the

buildings

• By using hydroponics vertical

gardening can also be

introduced

• Hydroponics increases the

density of food production and

reduces the required land for

feeding the city3

• The rest of the food production

should be organized in a few hundred kilometers radius around the city

Sewage & waste • The city’s lymphatic system

• Future cities need fast waste

and sewage transportation

to places that make waste

selection, recycling,

treatment and energy

production

• From every cell in the city

waste and sewage are

transported to nodes where

the preprocessing of the

waste can be done

Water supply • Water service is one of the

most important utility in a

city

• Today we waste a lot of

water for cleaning and

sewage transportation

• In the city of the future drink

water and greywater

systems are separated

• After proper treatment

greywater can be used

both in households and in

gardening

Communication • The utilities and services in

the cells and among the

cells are in a common

communication network4

• They provide information to

each other about their

health status

• Based on this feedback

critical services (such as

power plants, water and

sewage transportation

system) can react in time

and adapt their output

Transportation • The average diameter of a

district is around 1 km

• Inside a district walking and

cycling are preferred

• Among the cells fast public

transport system is built

• Inter-city transportation is

handled by high-speed

trains that move in vacuum

(similar to the Hyperloop5)

• In-city and inter-city hubs

are well connected

• Other vehicles, which are

needed to reach rural

areas, are located at the

border of the cities

Power Supply • Every cell (district) has its

own mitochondrion

• Small molten salt reactors

are built in each district6

• By-products of waste and

sewage treatment also

supports power generation

• Solar energy is used for local

food production

• Wind energy is used for air

circulation and temperature

control

• Green areas / Parks

• Residental areas

• Vehicle parking

• Commercial areas

• Public buildings

• Farming areas

• Local power plants

Summary

References - Hyperlinks

• 1 – WHO

• 2 – Michael Green

• 3 – Vertical Hydroponic Growing Systems

• 4 – Conference about Smart Cities – Tokyo

• 5 – Extreme Engineering - S01E03, SpaceX

• 6 – Taylor Wilson, Wikipedia