The document envisions the city of the future through observations of current trends being extrapolated. Some observations include: 1) Tall high-rising buildings dominate the skyline and appear dark and daunting. People are less social and interact through screens instead of in person. 2) Vehicular traffic has moved above ground due to congestion, and retail stores have become self-service with no employees. Playgrounds are empty as children prefer virtual interactions. 3) While technology developments were envisioned in a book from the author's childhood, not all predictions came true and the pace of change is difficult to foresee fully. Developments need balance and not be premature to avoid negative impacts. 4)

1. L. How do you envision the city of the future?
I look outside my window and what do I see,
Tall, high-rising buildings looking back at me,
There used to be few, now they’re left, right and centre,
Sometimes dark and daunting, they look scary to enter.
I walk down the street and what do I see,
No-one is smiling or looking at me,
Their eyes are all hidden behind a small screen,
The empathy in them can rarely be seen.
I gaze up to the sky and what do I see,
The cars and the buses are flying over me,
Congestion on the roads, it became too much,
So they built a new system “from above”, as such.
I enter one of the few stores left and what do I see,
There is nobody working there, it’s all up to me,
To pick up my items and scan them myself,
No one to help me if I can’t reach the high shelf.
I pass by a playground and what do I see,
There are no children playing or shouting with glee,
Instead, they are inside with their multiple devices,
This vision of mine, I’m afraid, it really is a crisis.
The city of the future is an interesting thought,
I read a book about it once that my mother had bought,
I was only 10 at the time and it had made me cry,
All I could think about was just one big, “WHY?”
Fourteen years later and half the predictions came true,
The other ones much less so but perhaps they are due,
The future then was 2020 and now it is nearly here,
Are we meant to feel nervous or are we meant to cheer?
Technology is developing much faster than we predicted,
This is exciting for many but the opinions are conflicted,
We all want smarter cities but what exactly does this mean,
I somehow think it’s more than just everything being clean.
The truth is that it’s hard to predict too far ahead,
Instead it’s important to remain in good stead,
We need more innovation of that I am sure,
But we don’t want inventions to be too premature.

2. So I will conclude my vision by saying one thing,
Nobody can truly know what the future will bring,
One thing remains certain though, I shall leave you with this,
If we all show love for our planet we can live in bliss!