Underwater cities of the future. Life under water: ambitious projects of the future

Already, the appearance of megacities is rapidly changing under the influence of advances in the development of 3D printing, the Internet of things and composite materials.

“Cities of the future” are no longer just projects on paper. Already, the appearance of megacities is rapidly changing under the influence of advances in the development of 3D printing, the Internet of things and composite materials. The appearance of a city is also influenced by the transport system. More and more companies are starting to experiment with passenger drones. Following the transport infrastructure, the city itself will change.

The city of the future is not only “heaven on Earth”, but also a new class of related problems. In modern progressive agglomerations, poverty and crime do not disappear. So what should the settlement of tomorrow be like in order to overcome healthy pessimism?

Changing architecture

Moscow was included in the list of seven cities contending for the title of the smartest city on the planet (the winners of previous years were Toronto, Montreal, Eindhoven, Stockholm and Glasgow). But even if the capital wins, the pressing problems of the present will not disappear - traffic jams, at a minimum.

Innopolis, located in the Verkhneuslonsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan, can be considered a real place for the embodiment of futuristic ideas in Russia.

The architecture of Innopolis is pleasing to the eye, solves the problem of fatigue from the view of the “urban jungle”, and relieves some of the psychological stress of the city dweller. Residential complexes in Innopolis repeat elements of nature - they are unique, diverse, and exclude soulless copying of details. The buildings have bright green, white and wood colors. Parking - underground only; municipal buildings imitate the natural landscape; Electric buses run around the area.

Innopolis has one absolute advantage, because of which any ideas can be implemented - the population today does not exceed 3 thousand people. On such a scale, many problems do not exist at all. For example, transport. Self-driving cars are great for everyone, but they take up as much space as regular ones. Drones will not relieve the city of traffic jams - moreover, due to the accessibility of transport (you no longer need to be able to drive), there will be even more cars.

You can’t just build up everything with parking lots - it’s not profitable from an economic point of view. A city will thrive if it has large spaces where people come together.

The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority announced at the beginning of 2017 that the operation of flying drones for individual transportation will begin this year. The prototype of a new type of passenger transport can transport one person weighing up to 100 kg in 30 minutes over a distance of 50 km, traveling at speeds of up to 160 km/h. The passenger simply selects a destination using the touch screen, boards the capsule and flies.

It is planned that by 2030, 25% of transport in Dubai will be smart and driverless. However, other cities are still trying to solve problems in other ways.

Even environmentally friendly transport will not save the city from difficulties. The more eco-transport there is, the more acute the parking problem. In Hangzhou (China), bicycles began to be simply abandoned around the city - this is a problem with the popular car sharing model (the lock on the bicycle is removed through the application, and then the bike can be left anywhere in the city). As a result, the entire city was littered with thousands of ownerless bicycles. It’s also impossible to get rid of them - the city’s population increases by 200,000 people every year. It is impossible to demolish old roads and build new ones due to the city center, which has historical value.

The Hangzhou authorities are developing the metro, and have also increased the number of municipal electric transport by purchasing three thousand buses and taxis. This did not solve the problem, because there are too many people at the moment.

If you move to the other side of the world, to the Swedish city of Malmo, which is already called the city of the future, you can see an example of the synergy of different approaches to the transport problem. 40% of residents use bicycles to get around, and all public transport runs on biofuel, which is collected from the kitchens of city residents. In Malmö, bicycles are not abandoned, but left in special parking lots. Dozens of intersections are equipped with special sensor systems that give bicycles the right of way on the roads. Many trains and ferries have storage compartments for bicycles.

Real city of the future

Malmo is the Swedish Detroit, a dying industrial city, all the greatness of which remains in the distant past. But now Malmö, previously ranked as Sweden's highest unemployment area, has become a thriving eco-sanctuary for the creative class.

Desperate times call for desperate measures - the city took on restructuring and renovation on its own. The old industrial shipyards were demolished and replaced with 600 houses, shops and office buildings, equipped with solar panels and wind turbines, using environmentally friendly materials. The new city block was connected to a water recycling system, in which the water is first used for heating in winter and then for air conditioning in summer.

Waste disposers have been installed in every kitchen in the new Malmö home. The resulting material is sorted into several dozen categories - it is sent for processing into biofuel for cars and urban transport, and is used to cover parking lots and roads.

Malmö is one of the greenest cities on the planet, and all this greenery is not just concentrated in parks, but also in botanical gardens open to citizens. In addition, on those roofs where solar panels are not installed, mini-squares are created and equipped with rainwater collection systems.

In the most advanced area of the city (Hollbarheten), inside their apartments, residents can control the level of electricity consumption depending on the time of day and their needs. The temperature in the apartments is controlled using thermostats. The level of illumination in the rooms is adjusted automatically - the parameters change depending on the purpose of the room, time of day and season.

By 2030, the city plans to completely switch to alternative renewable energy sources. Malmö is not among the top most advanced cities in the world, but if you pay attention to the practicality of the various ratings, many questions will arise.

Questions for Bangalore and Singapore's answer

Consulting agency Jones Lang LaSalle has compiled a ranking of the thirty most dynamically developing cities and agglomerations in the world, more than half of which are located in the Asia-Pacific region. Silicon Valley ranks only third on the list, but Bangalore comes first.

This city is the fifth largest in India. Bangalore is considered the scientific center of the entire country - it is home to a huge number of different IT companies. Bangalore is a huge IT city where hundreds of thousands of programmers come. American, Canadian and Asian companies have opened their offices and call centers here.

Is the city ideal to live in? No. Traffic on the roads is very busy and chaotic, the journey from home to office takes a long time, and “green” technologies are practically not used in the city.

But there is an exception to the rule. Singapore has received numerous awards supporting its status as a city of the future. A few years ago, the Smart Nation project was launched to prepare Singapore for the future. According to the plan, the city will become a testing ground for technological solutions to all sorts of urban problems. One of the main goals is to simplify the life of city residents with high population density.

Solar panels and vacuum waste disposal systems appeared. Several areas of the city have been equipped with sensors that monitor electricity and water consumption. All data from sensors will be centrally collected and analyzed to obtain the most complete information about the city.

Caring for people is manifested not only in ordinary things - the authorities have also installed a monitoring system for lonely elderly citizens, based on motion sensors. If an elderly person does not move for a long time, the system automatically sends an alarm to relatives and healthcare workers. Another medical innovation is telemedicine, in which patients undergo treatment (most often during the recovery period) at home, under the supervision of a doctor (via telepresence systems).

"Dead" city of the future

In the state of New Mexico, they want to build a CITE (Center for Innovation, Testing and Evaluation) city for 35 thousand people, in which no one will live. Telecommunications firm Pegasus Global Holdings plans to invest $1 billion in its creation. To profit from the project, Pegasus plans to lease buildings and provide services that will help clients test, develop and find commercial uses for experimental technologies.

The CITE project is a full-scale model of a typical American city that will be used as a petri dish for the development of new technologies that will shape the future of urban environments. Corporations, universities and the federal government will use the facility to test new technologies in clean energy, security and autonomous vehicles on a large scale, but without inconveniencing or even threatening the millions of people who live in real cities.

The 33 square miles will host transportation, construction, communications and security research. CITE will include dedicated areas for the development of new forms of agriculture, energy and water purification. Unmanned vehicles will travel on special roads and be controlled from above by drones.

The CITE city should be an “intermediate step” between laboratory testing of technology and its entry into the market. The project allows you to test not only the infrastructure, but also the new city of the future itself.

CITE is planned to be built by 2018, although the official website has not been suspiciously updated since the spring of 2016, but let's hope for the best. In any case, CITE is much closer to reality than thousands of futuristic city concepts.

Masdar in crisis

Masdar in the UAE has long been considered one of the most promising futuristic projects. Although photographs of Masdar rather indicate the construction of a new “ghost town,” there are still people in it. The good news is that the city has been making a profit since 2015 and will return the funds invested in it to the state in two to three years.

At the time of completion of construction (it has been ongoing since 2008), 40 thousand people will live here, and another 50 thousand will come here every day to work from nearby Abu Dhabi, using the rapid public transport system (however, you can also drive around the city by car , but only if it is an electric car).

Masdar's builders are committed to minimizing carbon emissions, cutting them by half compared to other cities. Houses are built from eco-friendly materials, and their water and energy consumption is carefully calculated. Narrow (3 meters wide) and short streets prevent the sun from heating the asphalt surface on pedestrian paths, but the city also has two-lane streets for electric vehicles and bicycles.

Initially, it was planned to completely abandon personal cars, but the development of carsharing and mass production of environmentally friendly electric vehicles changed the architects’ plans.

A careful approach slows down the pace of construction - currently 7% of the territory is ready, but by 2020 they promise to rebuild 35-40%, and by 2030 to complete construction.

The city's infrastructure includes many minor improvements. For example, instead of the usual Wi-Fi points, Li-Fi is used here - a technology for transmitting data through LED street lamps, which allows you not to lose channel width as the number of subscribers grows.

In addition, the city has a 45-meter wind tower, a photovoltaic complex on 22 hectares, a refrigeration plant with wells 2.5 km deep, and much more.

However, Masdar is not the country's most ambitious project. In 2017, the Emir of Dubai, Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced that in 2117 it was planned to build a city on Mars the size of Chicago with a population of up to 600,000 people.

The first steps in this direction will be taken in a few years - the UAE Space Agency will send the Hope spacecraft to Mars in 2021. The main goal of the mission is to study the atmosphere in low orbit at different latitudes. Hope will also study how the Martian atmosphere leaks into space.

City-computer

In Portugal, they wanted to build a smart city called PlanIT Valley, almost all of whose elements (from traffic lights to tap water temperature) would be controlled using a single operating system that collects 5 petabytes of information per day from more than 100 million connected sensors.

The unified information system was supposed to connect not only sensors in the “smart home - smart city” format, but also combine an unlimited number of smartphones, tablets, computers, roads and buildings in a single communication space.

The construction required 20 billion euros, which were never found, but the concept turned out to be so attractive that it survived and spread to other cities - elements of PlanIT are now being implemented in different parts of the world. There is no doubt that sooner or later all elements will be implemented in one place.

PlanIT Valley's single control center will know everything about temperature, lighting levels, humidity, traffic, heating and water supply throughout the city. This will allow you to instantly respond to any emergency situations. It will be possible to optimize the use of resources and manage the city in real time.

PlanIT Valley is similar to a game simulator, where instead of one player there are hundreds of qualified specialists monitoring the condition of the city infrastructure around the clock. Residents themselves will be able to manage the city using Place Apps - it will be possible, for example, to turn on a lamp on their street through a mobile application.

Problems and other projects

In China alone, thousands of new houses are being built right now. The smart city of Iskander in Malaysia is known throughout the world. The dream city of Songdo is being built in South Korea. Even Skolkovo can become an energy-efficient, innovative city. Against this background, I somehow don’t want to think that any difficulties will remain in the cities of the future.

Overpopulation is one of the main problems of the urban world. When only 100-story skyscrapers remain around, trees will have to make room, and people will have to reduce their living space. State-of-the-art incubators do not answer the question of where to store millions of electric vehicles.

In 1979, Shenzhen was just a quiet fishing village of 30,000 people. Today the city's population is more than 11 million, driven by an influx of workers from rural areas. Cities attract people. It is possible that in the future there will not even be countries left - there will only be cities stretching for hundreds and thousands of kilometers.
On the other hand, we have only just begun to solve the most obvious problems. No one builds a city for a million people at once. If we manage to solve all the problems for a thousand people, then the project will scale up. And there the future is just a stone's throw away. published

According to statistics, 54% of people on our planet live in cities, and according to scientists’ forecasts, by the middle of the 21st century there will already be 66% of urban residents... What could they be like - the cities of the future, in which the majority of the world’s population will live.

The first thoughts that come to mind are about flying cars, hoverboards from “Back to the Future” and tall skyscrapers... But still, the main problem today is to develop various projects for cities of the future, in which all resources will be spent as efficiently as possible, since the population of our planet is growing every day year.

1. Masdar, UAE

Masdar is a project of a future eco-city located in the emirate of Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates, being built 17 kilometers southeast of the country's capital, near Abu Dhabi International Airport.

The environmental situation in the United Arab Emirates is far from ideal. This is due to the fact that hundreds of oil production plants have been opened in the country. At the same time, the presence of large reserves of “black gold” makes the UAE one of the richest states. Here are the most fashionable hotels, the world's tallest skyscraper, and artificial archipelagos. And recently, local sheikhs decided to create the first city on the planet without harmful waste and carbon dioxide emissions - Masdar.

Masdar will be supplied with electricity from 88 thousand solar panels located on the outskirts of the city. This decision is due to the fact that clear weather in the region occurs 355-360 days a year. All light switches in Masdar are equipped with motion sensors - this will help minimize electricity consumption. The city will be surrounded by walls, and its foundation will be raised by 7.5 meters.

The architects designed Masdar so that the buildings would heat up as little as possible, and the pavement would be constantly in the shade. The streets will be laid taking into account the prevailing wind direction and the position of the sun in the sky. This will lower the temperature near the ground by about 20 degrees. Cars will be prohibited within the city, and all tourists will have to park outside Masdar. Local residents will travel using an underground transport network powered by electricity. The first stage of construction of Masdar will be completed in 2018; 7 thousand people will be able to live in the new houses. The engineers plan to complete the project completely by 2030, after which the population of Masdar and its surrounding suburbs will reach 100 thousand.

2. King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia

King Abdullah Economic City is located 100 kilometers north of Jeddah (the second city in Saudi Arabia by population). Its construction will cost $100 billion, and the size of the city will be comparable to Washington. It will connect Mecca and Medina through a high-tech railway network. Another important stage of the project is the construction of the Industrial Valley near the metropolis, its center will be a large petrochemical plant.

The largest educational institution in the city, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, began to be built back in 2009; Abdullah himself donated $20 billion for its construction. Once construction is completed, the university will be second in size only to Harvard and Yale. This city is the legacy that the King of Saudi Arabia will leave to the people. After construction is completed, 2 million residents will receive modern housing, and 900 thousand new jobs will be created.

3. Songdo International Business District, South Korea

Korean engineers are developing the Songdo International Business District project. It will occupy an area of 607 hectares and will be located close to Incheon Airport (65 kilometers from the capital, Seoul). Songdo will consist of 40% park areas, some of which will be smaller copies of New York's Central Park, the canals of Venice, and so on.

The garbage system that will be implemented in Songdo deserves special mention. Waste will be sucked directly from the bins and transported through underground pipes directly to the processing site. Another interesting idea is the use of a powerful information network that will unite all household devices and service systems using wireless communication technology. This will allow engineers to perfectly coordinate and “synchronize” life in the city.

By the end of 2016, 60 thousand Koreans will be able to live in Songdo, and 300 thousand new jobs will be created. Of the project's estimated cost of $30 billion, one-third has already gone toward the construction of 120 buildings. South Korean authorities expect that after completion of construction, Songdo will become the main business center of the northeastern region of Asia.

4. Skyscraper cities, UAE, Kuwait, Azerbaijan

Skyscrapers such as the 828-meter Burj Khalifa (Dubai) are an example of the efficient use of space in cities that lack free land for expansion. They are where the majority of high-rise buildings are built. The main advantage of this approach is the rational use of limited resources (fuel, water, electricity, and so on). Therefore, in some countries, projects for the construction of futuristic skyscrapers, which to some extent will become full-fledged cities, are being seriously discussed. They will house parks, shops, offices, entertainment areas, restaurants, and so on, that is, people will be able to lead a full life without leaving the high-rise city.

In Kuwait, the construction of the Mubarak al-Kabir building is underway (its height will reach 1000 meters), and in Azerbaijan - the Azerbaijan skyscraper (1049 meters). The first project will be completed in 2016, the second in 2019. Such buildings are, of course, not full-fledged high-rise cities, but simply the right step in this direction. But in the near future, the Dubai City Tower skyscraper will break all conceivable records; its height will exceed 2400 meters, construction will be completed in 2025.

The Americans were thinking about a similar project back in the early nineties. In San Francisco, it was planned to build a 500-story skyscraper, the Ultima Tower, 3,200 meters high. It was supposed to be home to 1 million people. Japan, several years ago, abandoned the construction of the two-kilometer Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid skyscraper.

5. Earthscraper in Mexico

Mexicans surprised the whole world by announcing the construction of an underground skyscraper. It’s funny that it will be called Earthscraper, which means “earthscraper”. Architects and engineers expect to build a 65-story building in the shape of an upside-down pyramid with a base area of 7,600 square meters in the center of Mexico City. The “roof” of the skyscraper going deep into the earth will be a durable glass panel measuring 240 by 240 meters. It will also serve as a public square where concerts and military parades are planned to be held.

2 years ago, American designer Matthew Fromboluti presented a project for a similar underground building. He proposes to build it near Bisbee, Arizona. The Above Below Earthscraper could be built inside the abandoned Lavender Pit Mine, which is 275 meters deep. Geothermal energy will be used to meet the household needs of people in these “earthscrapers”.

6. Polar miracle city of Umka, Russia

Meanwhile, in Russia, a project for the autonomous city of Umka, named after the polar bear cub from the Soviet cartoon of the same name, is being discussed. It will be located on Kotelny Island, which belongs to the Novosibirsk archipelago. From here to the North Pole is only 1600 kilometers. Kotelny Island is an inhospitable place. The average air temperature here in January is -30°C, in July – about +1°C. Piercing northern winds blow from the sea all year round.

The city of Umka will resemble the International Space Station, enlarged tenfold. Up to 6 thousand people can live in it. The city will be self-sufficient and isolated from the outside world. Umka is a large-scale experiment that, among other things, will help scientists improve designs for future space colonies.

7. Floating Village, France

French architect Jacques Rougerie developed the concept of a huge floating city “City of Mériens”, the outlines of which bear a striking resemblance to a giant Manta ray (sea devil). The scientist is known for his love for the sea and everything marine, cannot imagine his life without it and dreams of founding a city where, together with like-minded people, the same “belonging to the sea” people, he will study the unknown ocean.

The water metropolis will be about 900 meters long and about 500 meters wide, and will be inhabited by about 7,000 international researchers - students, professors and scientists of all stripes. The city will accommodate many classrooms, lecture halls, laboratories, living rooms and special halls for sports and recreation. The floating settlement will be completely autonomous, self-sufficient and absolutely harmless to the environment. The City of Mériens is planned to be powered exclusively by renewable marine energy and produce no waste or emissions.

9. Floating Cities, San Francisco

The San Francisco-based Maritime Villages Institute is preparing to build the world's first floating city. The authors of the project promise that “a new type of human habitat in the sea” could appear by 2020. Research center specialists have been developing the idea of a floating city since the mid-2000s. There is currently a campaign going on online to raise funds for an innovative project. According to the plan of the Institute of Maritime Settlements, the future city will consist of square modules with an area of 50 square meters each.
The construction of one such “residential complex” will cost $15 million. Each residential building of the floating city will stand on a block of 11 platform modules. A square meter of housing in such a house will cost the buyer 5.4 thousand dollars. The number of residents in the block will be from 225 to 300 people, and $170 million will have to be spent on the construction of each block.

“The floating city will be an autonomous political and social entity, with its own economy and taxes,” note the staff of the Institute of Maritime Settlements. Now they are preparing an appropriate international agreement that will determine the legal status of such urban entities.

It is possible that the first floating city will “drift” near the state, which will sign a corresponding agreement with its official representatives. Currently, the authors of the project are negotiating with a number of Pacific island states.

The engineers of the Japanese company Shimizu are also dealing with the same issue. They are planning to create a floating city with the interesting name “Floating Greenery”. It will be covered with vegetation and will occupy up to 10 artificial islands. A kilometer-long skyscraper located in the central part of the city will simultaneously become a vertical farm for growing plants and housing for tens of thousands of people.

No less interesting is the Ocean Spiral underwater city project. The huge spherical structure will accommodate 5 thousand people and will be completed by 2030. Electricity will be generated using the energy of sea waves. Note that all of the above-mentioned cities will become self-sufficient in terms of energy, food production and waste disposal.

10. Project "Venus"

98-year-old Jacques Fresco has developed an ideal plan for all cities of the future. According to his plan, all structures must first be manufactured in the form of composite modules, and then delivered to the desired location and assembled. This will significantly reduce costs. True, for this it will be necessary to create a mega-factory capable of mass production of individual apartments or even entire houses for several cities at the same time. It is planned that they will be made from lightweight reinforced concrete with a ceramic coating. This material is durable, fire-resistant, resistant to any climatic conditions and requires virtually no maintenance.

Thin-walled structures made from it can be mass-produced; the production of each batch will take a few hours. At the same time, they are not afraid of either storms or earthquakes. Each house is planned to be made autonomous, equipped with its own electric energy generator and heat storage device. Jean Fresco suggests installing solar panels directly into windows and walls. And darkened thermal glass will protect people from bright sun rays on a hot day.

The main feature of the city built according to the plan of the Venus project will be its shape. The streets will be located in concentric circles, so residents will be able to get to the right place in a minimum amount of time.

11. Monolithic cube E-QBO

Some of the futuristic projects we described above are already underway. Interestingly, they all involve building from scratch. The fact is that building a new city is cheaper and easier than improving an existing one, bringing it to meet similar standards. Let us mention a promising development that can simplify the production of electricity in urban environments - the e-QBO cube. The monolithic cube generates energy thanks to photovoltaic panels integrated into its surface.

E-QBO is such an architectural “chameleon” that can harmoniously fit into the cityscape. At the Milan Innovation Cloud international conference dedicated to new technologies in the energy sector, a black cube served as an exhibition pavilion. And during the MADE 2013 exhibition-fair, it became a living room that hosted event participants. The dimensions of e-QBO can vary from a few centimeters to tens of meters. A large cube can easily fit a residential building, and a small one can easily serve, for example, as a bench in a city park.

There is no doubt that many futuristic projects for cities of the future will become a reality in the coming decades. But people should also care about the development of technologies that can make modern megacities self-sufficient, environmentally friendly and more energy efficient. The future is behind them.

Oct 14, 2016 Galinka

According to statistics, 54% of people on our planet live in cities. According to scientists, by the middle of the 21st century there will be 66%. Today, engineers and designers are developing projects for cities of the future in which all resources will be spent as efficiently as possible. Let's find out about the most interesting of them.

Project of a futuristic city of the future - Masdara

Cars will be prohibited within the city, and all tourists will have to park outside Masdar. Local residents will travel using an underground transport network powered by electricity.

This is interesting: The first stage of construction of Masdar will be completed in 2018. After this, 7 thousand people will be able to live in the new houses. Engineers plan to complete the project completely by 2030. After this, the population of Masdar and its surrounding suburbs will reach 100 thousand.

The industrial corridor will stretch for almost 1.5 thousand kilometers!

Today, India is home to over 1.2 billion people, a third of whom will move to cities over the next decade. Since the country is predominantly underdeveloped and the average age of its inhabitants is 27 years, there is a huge need for jobs. Therefore, the Indian government decided to implement the largest infrastructure project in the country's history.

The 1,480-kilometer Delhi-Mumbai “corridor” will allow the country to become the cheapest producer of goods on the planet. During the implementation of this project, engineers will build dozens of modern railway lines along which these goods will be delivered directly from conveyors to ports and airports. Also, 24 environmentally friendly cities with developed infrastructure will be built along the corridor.

This large-scale project is funded not only by the Indian but also by the Japanese government. The country's economy is based on the high-tech industry, and the Japanese want to make India their main manufacturing "factory". According to calculations, $90 billion will be spent on the project.

Gift from the King of Saudi Arabia to his people

King Abdullah Economic City is located 100 kilometers north of Jeddah (the second city in Saudi Arabia by population). Its construction will cost $100 billion. The size of the city is comparable to Washington.

It will connect Mecca and Medina through a high-tech railway network. Another important stage of the project is the construction near the Industrial Valley metropolis. Its center will be a large petrochemical plant.

The city's largest educational institution, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, began construction back in 2009. Abdullah himself donated $20 billion for its construction. Once construction is completed, the university will be second in size only to Harvard and Yale.

This city is the legacy that the King of Saudi Arabia will leave to the people. After construction is completed, 2 million residents will receive modern housing. 900 thousand new jobs will also be created.

Koreans expect Songdo to become a business hub in Northeast Asia

Songdo will consist of 40% park areas, some of which will be smaller copies of New York's Central Park, Venice canals, etc.

This is interesting: The garbage system that will be implemented in Songdo deserves special mention. Waste will be sucked directly from the bins and transported through underground pipes directly to the processing site.

Another interesting idea is the use of a powerful information network that will unite all household devices and service systems using wireless communication technology. This will allow engineers to perfectly coordinate and “synchronize” life in the city.

6. Skyscraper cities

Skyscraper Burj Khalifa in the UAE

Therefore, in some countries, projects for the construction of futuristic skyscrapers, which to some extent will become full-fledged cities, are being seriously discussed. They will house parks, shops, offices, entertainment areas, restaurants, etc. That is, people will be able to lead a full life without leaving the high-rise city.

In Kuwait, the construction of the Mubarak al-Kabir building is underway (its height will reach 100 meters), and in Azerbaijan - the Azerbaijan skyscraper (1049 meters). The first project will be completed in 2016, the second in 2019. Such buildings are, of course, not full-fledged high-rise cities, but simply the right step in this direction.

This is interesting: The Dubai City Tower skyscraper will break all imaginable records in the near future. Its height will exceed 2400 meters! Construction will be completed in 2025.

This is what Mexican will look like

Geothermal energy will be used to meet the household needs of people in these “earthscrapers”.

Projects of autonomous Arctic cities

Kotelny Island is an inhospitable place. The average air temperature here in January is -30°C, in July – about +1°C. Piercing northern winds blow from the sea all year round.

This is interesting: French scientists went even further and proposed creating a floating settlement in the Arctic, designed for 800 people. According to their plans, the city should move after the icebergs, being fully provided with fresh water. And solar panels will allow you to generate all the energy necessary for the needs of the population.

The first floating cities will appear in the near future!

The problems of global warming, rising sea levels and a lack of useful resources have prompted Chinese engineers to think that the time has come to build cities on water. They developed a metropolis project with an area of 10 square kilometers, which will consist of hexagonal modules united into one by a network of underwater streets and roads.

The engineers of the Japanese company Shimizu do not lag behind their colleagues from the Middle Kingdom. They are planning to create a floating city with the interesting name “Floating Greenery”. It will be covered with vegetation and will occupy up to 10 artificial islands. A kilometer-long skyscraper located in the central part of the city will simultaneously become a vertical farm for growing plants and housing for tens of thousands of people.

Note that all of the above-mentioned cities will become self-sufficient in terms of energy, food production and waste disposal.

The layout of an ideal city, designed by Jacques Fresco

Each house is planned to be made autonomous, equipped with its own electric energy generator and heat storage device. Jean Fresco suggests installing solar panels directly into windows and walls. And darkened thermal glass will protect people from bright sun rays on a hot day.

This is interesting: The main feature of the city built according to the plan of the Venus project will be its shape. The streets will be located in concentric circles, so residents will be able to get to the right place in a minimum amount of time.

The e-QBO cube can solve the energy problems of modern cities

Let us mention a promising development that can simplify the production of electricity in urban environments - the e-QBO cube. The monolithic cube generates energy thanks to photovoltaic panels integrated into its surface.

Dimensionse- QBOs can vary from a few centimeters to tens of meters. A large cube can easily fit a residential building, and a small one can easily serve, for example, as a bench in a city park.

We are accustomed to living in a world of constantly changing technologies. Nowadays you won’t surprise anyone with glass skyscrapers and giant shopping centers. Some architectural styles are suddenly replaced by others. But let's look into the future for a second and imagine what the cities of the future might look like in a few decades? An underwater city, an underground metropolis or a city without a single car. Sounds like science fiction, doesn't it? But projects of such futuristic concepts already exist and some of them have even begun to be implemented.

"Great City", China

Several years ago, the Chinese government approved the implementation of the ambitious project “The Great City” - a single-industry town in which there will be no ground transport at all. The construction of the “Great City” has a very clear goal - to solve China's pressing problems, such as infrastructure congestion and environmental pollution. “The Great City” is a project of an environmentally friendly city with an area of 2 thousand square kilometers and a population of 80 thousand people, built in rural China. According to calculations, the city will consume 48% less electricity and the amount of waste released into the atmosphere will be 89% lower compared to cities of similar size.

Such impressive results can be achieved through unusual city design. Residential buildings will be located in the very center of the “Great City”, and other buildings will be located around them. Thus, any resident will be able to reach any point in the city in less than 15 minutes on foot or by bicycle. More than half of the city's area will be occupied by special eco-parks that will process waste and generate electricity. However, there will still be transport in the city, albeit underground. With its help, residents will be able to move around the city itself and travel to other localities in China.

"Floating Greens", Japan

As we know, Asia is the most populous region in the world. Therefore, the standard solution in most Asian cities is to build tall skyscrapers that can accommodate many people. However, this option is not entirely suitable for Japan due to frequent occurrences of earthquakes and tsunamis. The Japanese decided to get out of this situation in a very unusual way - to build a city in the open ocean, in which the influence of seismic phenomena would be minimal. This is how a project called “Floating Greens” was born - six islands like water lilies, with central towers, stretching 1000 meters into the air. Each floating island will be rigidly fixed to the ocean floor

In total, 30 thousand people will be able to live on the islands. Each of the floating oases is interconnected by a transport system, creating a full-fledged city that has everything necessary for a comfortable life. Each tower is divided into three main levels: the first will contain residential premises, the second will contain industrial premises, farms, etc., and the third will contain offices, shops and other public commercial buildings. The main area of the islands will be occupied by forests, lakes and rural buildings.

"Desert Rose", UAE

“Desert Rose” is a project of an environmentally friendly city located in the heart of the desert of the United Arab Emirates. “Desert Rose” is a small satellite city with an area of 14 thousand hectares, which is located ten kilometers from Dubai and is connected to it by an overground metro line. The city will use only environmentally friendly transport, and electricity is planned to be generated using solar panels with a total capacity of 200 megawatts, which will be located on the roofs of buildings. The city will also build walkways with air conditioning for walking in hot weather.

The project includes 550 residential villas, educational institutions, a hospital, shopping centers and organic farms. Construction of the city began in 2016 and will take place in four stages over 10 years. At first, the city will be able to accommodate about 160 thousand residents.

"Cloud Dweller", China

As part of an international architectural competition for the development of the technological capital of China, the city of Shenzhen, the Urban Future Organization's project, called "Cloud Resident", won. The presented project completely changes the view of modern city design. "Cloud Dweller" is the world's first cloud city, located in the center of Shenzhen, which has already marked the future business center of the world.

The project consists of three interconnected towers 600 meters high. The buildings will be connected to each other using a special technology, so that it will seem as if the towers are floating in the air. The buildings will contain residential premises, IT clusters, industrial and public areas, as well as green terraces. The city will be able to be completely self-sufficient in environmentally friendly electricity. The windows of the “Cloud Dweller” are planned to face Hong Kong. This decision was not made by chance. Thus, local authorities want to demonstrate new technological capabilities to Hong Kong, which uses an old financial management model.

Earthscraper, Mexico

And if some countries plan to live in the clouds, then the Mexicans decided to go underground. The new project, simply called “Earthscraper,” is a concept for a city consisting of just one building, which will go three hundred meters underground. The Earthscraper is shaped like a 65-story inverted pyramid with an area of 7,618 square meters. Construction will take place in the very center of Mexico City. The roof of the building will be a transparent glass panel measuring 240 by 240 meters, which will also serve as a public square where local residents can walk. It will be possible to move around the building using special high-speed elevators. Thanks to geothermal energy sources, the city will be able to become completely independent in energy terms.

"Ocean Spiral", Japan

The Japanese never cease to amaze humanity with unusual technological ideas. Thus, in 2014, Shimizu Corporation presented the Ocean Spiral project - the world's first underwater city. However, as company president Hideo Imamura said, this is a very real goal, and not a pipe dream. According to him, already in 2035 the first underwater inhabitants will be able to settle in the city. According to the project management, the concept will help protect people during earthquakes and tsunamis. The project budget will be more than $25 billion.

The structure will have the shape of a giant spiral, going under water to a depth of 12 kilometers. At the top of the spiral, next to the surface of the water, there will be a sphere with a diameter of 500 meters, in the center of which stretches a giant skyscraper. The building will house a research center, residential modules, a shopping and entertainment center, public buildings, offices, etc. In total, about 5,000 people will be able to live in the main area. From the main sphere, special movable modules will move down the spiral structure. At the bottom of the ocean, at the base of the structure, a mining factory will be located. It is also planned to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen to maintain life, and to use the difference in pressure and temperature to generate electricity.

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What is the city of the future, and what should it be like? Science fiction writers, designers, and engineers think about these questions. Moreover, they often seek answers to these questions in close cooperation with each other.

As a result, there are outlined fundamental points that become an integral part of any modern project of the city of the future. This is a concern for the environment and ease of movement, saving space and the desire for vertical construction.

We propose to get acquainted with 10 projects of cities of the future. Some of the presented conceptual projects are only in the development stage, while others are already under construction in order to give comfort to their residents and capture the imagination of their guests in a few years.

City without cars

The Chinese government has undertaken to build a city in which it will be possible to live without cars, having approved the Great City settlement project. The “Great City” is being built from scratch not far from Chengdu. The city will be designed for 80 thousand inhabitants, and any movement around it can be done on foot or by bicycle without any difficulties.

Its unique design will help you quickly get to anywhere in the city - the residential center will be located in the very center of Great City, and roads, office and administrative buildings will be around it. Thus, to get from the center to the outer ring of parks on foot, you will need to spend no more than 10 minutes.

According to the project, the Chinese city of the future will consume 58% less water and 48% less electricity. At the same time, the amount of waste in it will be 89% lower than in cities of a similar size.

Zero carbon city

If the Chinese Great City is a city without cars, then Masdar in the UAE is a city without cars and without skyscrapers.

Masdar is already being built from scratch in the middle of the desert near Abu Dhabi. The main feature of the city will be its complete independence from traditional energy sources. Instead of oil, gas and coal, Masdar will receive energy from the sun, wind and geothermal sources. This will make it the first zero-carbon city.

In this city of the future, a special place will be given to high-speed public transport, gigantic “sunflowers” will cover the streets from the heat of the day, and the energy they accumulate will be used only at night.

Green city in the desert

Dubai is another city from the UAE that can become the green city of the future. Specialists from Baharash Architecture created a project in which they used the world's leading achievements in eco-construction.

Their project includes 550 comfortable villas, educational institutions and organic farms, the energy for which will be generated by 200 square kilometers of solar panels.

Solar panels could supply the city with half of its needs, and the use of environmentally friendly public transport would offset the rest of its carbon emissions.

"Green" city with dense buildings

The Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture bureau believes that ultra-dense development is one of the hallmarks of the city of the future.

Bureau specialists propose to transform the second largest Swedish city of Gothenburg into a city of the future. According to their plans, ultra-dense development and the use of roofs to accommodate vegetable gardens, solar panels and windmills will fully satisfy all the residents' needs for food and energy.

In addition, such development will significantly reduce traffic and help make the city river the main transport artery.

Vertical city

John Wardle Architects have suggested what Australian Melbourne might look like in 100 years. Their Multiplicity project demonstrates a huge metropolis growing not in breadth, but down and up.

To move around the Melbourne of the future, underground and air routes will be used, and a common transparent “roof” will be created over the entire city, which will be used to grow food, collect water and solar energy.

Pedestrian city

The Puerto Rican city of San Juan is another city that has decided to go completely car-free. But unlike Great City and Masdar, San Juan is not being created from scratch, but is being rebuilt.

City officials, concerned about the rapid decline in the number of residents, are investing $1.5 billion in the redevelopment. The main task is to abandon cars and create beautiful pedestrian areas. The authorities of San Juan expect that an environmentally friendly city with excellent opportunities for a relaxing holiday will attract both tourists and future residents.

A city with a comfort center

The winner of the competition was a project that proposes to abandon motor transport and fill the center of Athens with green areas to create more comfortable conditions for walking. A small redevelopment will allow you to easily travel on foot from the center to neighboring areas.

Lawn City

Shan-Sui is another Chinese city of the future in our review. The creation of his project is carried out by the MAD Architects studio, and the idea itself is based on the veneration of the water element and mountains in China.

Shan Sui is a city with a large number of multifunctional skyscrapers. In each of them, residents and guests will have access to dozens of public spaces with pieces of wildlife for quiet relaxation and contemplation.

3D city

One of the most original projects of the eVolo 2011 Skyscraper Competition was the NeoTax project. Its essence is to build houses not only upwards, but also to the sides above the trees. Simply put, houses in the city of the future will occupy only a small area on the ground, but in the air at the 10-20th floor level they will grow in all directions.

In this way, it will be possible to preserve green spaces, and the buildings themselves, through the construction of additional modules, will offer people a much larger area for living and working.

City of pebbles

Drawing his ideas from natural forms, Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut proposed a city of the future project for the Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Each building, according to Callebo's idea, will look like a pyramid of sea pebbles stacked on top of each other. The architect emphasizes that such a design will fill the city with positive energy and will make it possible to equip gardens and vegetable gardens directly in the residential towers.

In addition, the “pyramids of pebbles” will have wind generators and solar panels, and the high density of apartments and houses will reduce the role of vehicles.