C I T I E S O F T H E F U T U R E :
A CITIFY MANIFESTO
The city fosters qualities such as independence, community, the managed, the unmanaged, ease in mobility, inspiration and choice. As the city allows for both individualisation and belonging to community, it becomes a multi-faceted platform that presents endless opportunities. The city goes beyond being a place of inhabitation; the physical and intangible qualities it holds enable a symbiotic relationship to take place between citizen and city. The spaces within a city become defined by the people and their activities. The concentration of services, social opportunities and public spaces urges for exploration forming occasions of spontaneity and informality, whilst the managed spaces ease free mobility, access and routine. Finally, the city is one of adaptability: it is not a final design, but an ever-changing platform whose constant incremental adjustments are informed by its society.
Urbanisation is on the rise. By 2050, global population is projected to increase to around 9.8 billion. It is estimated that more than twice as many people in the world will be living in urban setting rather than in rural ones. Therefore the quality of future cities as well as current ones are the determining factors of planetary health and citizen livelihood.
Issues such as health and wellbeing, social cohesion and equality, economy, environment and technology all need to be balanced positively. By giving equal attention to public and private space within the places we inhabit, a balanced co-existence can be achieved of the managed spaces, which enable ease in the everyday, and the spontaneous unmanaged spaces, which enable culture to flourish.
By focusing on design that is based on humanist values of how people live, work, move, eat, play and dispose the city’s basis will be a culture of civic coexistence.
How we Work
We are embedded into an interdisciplinary surrounding. The workplace is one of inspiration and diversity. It is not a singular location but a variety of adaptable spaces that enable movement and change within the workplace. A re-evaluation of the way we work enables opportunities of development and growth. As the city facilitates a variety of workspace, it allows for citizen integration in the city. Optimised and positive moveability enables smooth transition between our everyday obligations.
We are aware of our surroundings. Value of space is not defined by abundance, but by multi-functionality, what it can offer in terms of satisfying primary human needs and most importantly a mentally and physically healthy environment - for user and for the planet. The direct surroundings that we call home optimise the way we live. The domestic sphere dressed with multi functionality becomes a platform that enables the user to integrate into the community - community being an outcome of the way the city is designed. The versatile uses of space expand potentials of activity and communication in the everyday. The city as an optimised network equals to a symbiotic relationship between work and play.
How we Live
The citizen reclaims the street as public space. Based on the urban context different scenarios are tailored to improve walkability and moveability, and easy means of public transport are developed. The city’s liveability is enhanced through the free mobility that becomes second nature. Sustainable transport solutions improve the quality of the journey making it a positive part of the everyday. The cityscape transforms as the streets are reconditioned.
How we Move
The demand for transparency, traceability and sustainability of the food system drives towards the reformation of the way we eat. The city enables for the localisation of food. Options range from the citizen growing their own food through communal greenhouses and community allotments to that of local food markets and an array of restaurants. The production of food changes from being unsustainable and damaging to the environment, to a holistic, eco-friendly approach. Convenience, personalisation and ritual of food are addressed by the city. Carbon footprint and food waste are reduced, whilst health, wellbeing and awareness are improved. The way we consume informs the way we dispose. The process becomes cyclical, making the citizen, as an individual, and the city, as a whole, a circular metabolism.
How we Eat
The city as a circular metabolism equals to the re-evaluation of how we produce so to enable a sustainable way of disposing. The reprocessing industry re-purposes the resources from material disposals whilst organic matter is fully reused for the natural components of the city. The way we dispose becomes an efficient system where the city can benefit from the valuable potentials of waste. From a variety of opportunities; energy, new products, fertilisers and building materials can be reinvented. The city improves the way we dispose so to assist progress.
How we Dispose
The city becomes the citizens' playground. Community thrives through the constant activities and events that the city enables. It motivates exploration; enabling the citizen to express themselves and take ownership of their environment. The city encourages spontaneity through its flexible public spaces and becomes a canvas of endless opportunities. The way we design is for the way the world should be not for the world as it is. Moving away from an unbalanced way of living, the city of the future is one characterised by circularity and cultural prosperity.
How we Play
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