The cities of the future will be greener and more sustainable

Indeed, although ecological design is not the norm if we are talking about cities, it is true that interesting proposals for urban furniture and landscaping projects that are committed to a greener and more livable environment are making their way .

The most innovative urban furniture proposals are a preview of the ecological cities of the future. Among many other possibilities, the most widely used resource is the generation of photovoltaic energy for recharging mobile devices, public lighting or any other public utility.

They are usually avant-garde designs, which include solar panels embedded in tree-shaped structures or directly forming panels that can become transparent, as in the case of Solbooth, a Hakan Gürsu project, whose objective is to provide a practical citizen communication service. and tourist information. In turn, its ecological phone booth seeks its integration into the landscape and its power supply with renewable energy. The idea was awarded at the prestigious Design Award 2012 with the silver award in the Street Furniture Design category.

The increase in urban green areas is another fundamental element that science recommends for citizen well-being. Not only is a reduction in the level of air pollution achieved, but also a wonderful psychological effect is achieved which, on the other hand, is necessary for people’s mental balance.

There are numerous studies that encourage public authorities to design and redesign cities in this sense, either by increasing local gardens or by converting rooftops into green areas, where they can grow algae, have a garden or an urban garden. By the way, we would contribute to combat the effects of climate change.

Contact with nature, in this way, is considered essential for cities to be livable, another way to improve the quality of life by resorting to accessible green landscapes as a meeting point for a healthy, more humane and friendly society.

This same ecological impulse supposes a sustainable development of the city since, for example, a lighting that feeds on renewable energy sources, a more developed bike lane, the proliferation of vertical urban farms or a network of electroline stations will undoubtedly translate into a smaller footprint. carbon.

In this way, a greener city will be a more sustainable city, although they are rather complementary concepts. While ecological helps a more natural life, which encourages people’s sense of belonging to their environment, sustainable refers to an intelligent use of natural resources, in order to contribute to the health of the planet. In turn, and this is key, this sustainability must be profitable in the medium or long term so that public administrations decide to bet on them as the center of their policies.

But, is a city with zero emissions, self-sufficient and with an ecological value that helps to a comfortable and respectful life with nature? In theory, it is possible, especially considering the new technologies that could help respect the environment to translate into advantages for a greener urban life.

Many designers have tried to imagine what futuristic eco-cities would look like. They have done it through projects on paper, that is, by proposing simple conceptual ideas that are wonderful although they do not cease to be between the artistic and the utopian.

However, they also have their value and could even serve as inspiration when building new cities. Some works are focused on the design of unusual eco-friendly buildings that will soon become a reality, such as the spectacular tree-shaped buildings.

The winning project of the Taiwan Tower Conceptual contest, -a tree-shaped tower of almost one thousand meters-, and a block of flats baptized as The White Tree, which will be a reality in 2015 in Monspellier (France), seek to be sustainable like any other another ecological home, through the choice of materials and operation, while adopting shapes that imitate natural elements, in this case leaves and trees, respectively.

Others are in the experimental phase, but could completely revolutionize the construction industry, such as the KamerMaker project, capable of making houses printed with organic material in 3D, and which will soon see its first house entirely built from bioplastics made with rapeseed.

Set to dream, Staszek Marek submitted an amazing city without roads for the NVIDIA Digital Architecture and Landscape Competition in 2008.

Reggata Jakarta is a concept between the imaginary and reality, as the construction of its eleven mammoth buildings has already begun in the Indonesian capital, designed to live sustainably but without giving up luxury.

Regardless of the fact that this same approach is open to criticism, it cannot be denied that the design masterfully recreates the marine theme, although allusion is made to the masts of large ships and not so much to the ecosystems of the oceans. Of course, buildings allow a self-sufficient energy supply and the recycling of waste is solved through technology.

If you want to read more articles similar to The cities of the future will be greener and more sustainable , we recommend that you enter our Sustainability and Sustainable Development category .