1. L. How do you
envision the
city of the
future?
Dávid Borsós
IE Global MBA+ Application

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. Summary
•
Green areas / Parks
•
Residental areas
•
Vehicle parking
•
Commercial areas
•
Public buildings
•
Farming areas
•
Local power plants

13. 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