New York has, over the last few
centuries, become one of the world’s
most densely packed cities. But what
if you could redraw the city’s map –
and build it from scratch?
If we were designing New York today,
how different would it look?
The new New York City would
balance the relationship between the
information networks that the
metropolis depends on and Earth’s
finite resources.
All vital components of life would be
monitored and attuned to the needs
of every organism, not just humans.
Supplies of food and water, our
energy and waste and even our air
would be sensibly scrutinised. Thanks
to masses of miniaturised low-cost
electronic components deployed
across the city, communication
becomes far easier. New York will
grow and adapt to millions of new
minds entering it everyday.
The city would make sure every need
is provided for within its borders. How
we provide nutrients, transports, and
shelter would be updated.
Dilapidated buildings would be
replaced with vertical agriculture and
new kinds of housing would join
cleaner, greener ways to get around
the city. What were once streets
become snaking arteries of livable
spaces, embedded with renewable
energy sources, low-tech, green
vehicles for mobility and productive
nutrient zones. The former street grid
could provide the foundation for new
flexible networks. By reengineering
the obsolete streets, we can create
robust and ecologically active
pathways.
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