This isn't Your Parents' City of the Future

Planning for the challenges facing tomorrow's cities will require a "re-think" of the way we build as a species.

2 minute read

July 15, 2005, 7:00 AM PDT

By Michael Dudley


"The Next Cities...can grow, they can breath, and they can be ecologically sound, just as trees, forests, and gardens are. They can use energy, expel waste, and reproduce in ways that nature intended without destroying everything else around them.

"'In biology, growth is good. If we could do something where growth is good, that would be a way of thinking of a good operating system for design,' [William McDonough] says. The images he shows of what he plans look like gardens of Eden. 'We lay the city out so everyone can move in parks without crossing traffic, the buildings have daylight lighting, the university is at the centre, and with hi-tech connectivity.' The buildings and all around it work like biological, growing beings, photosynthesising and producing and re-using their own energy. Waste is energy in Mr McDonough's Next City vision; methane is used to cook food. A quarter of the city's cooking will be done with gas from sewerage.

"'The energy systems will be solar energy. China will be largest solar manufacturer in the world,'" says McDonough. To top the Next City in McDonough's thinking, the soil will be moved onto the roofs. The city will be inhabited by species and the top of the city will be green. His approach to city design may be the stuff of some people's eco-science fiction novel. But it shows that cities can change - humans can change the way they do things."

Thanks to Michael Dudley

Thursday, July 14, 2005 in BBC News

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of "Apartment for rent" sign in red text on black background in front of blurred building

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program

Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

April 21, 2025 - Housing Wire

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 23, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Millbrae BART station.

HSR Reaches Key Settlement in Northern California City

The state’s high-speed rail authority reached an agreement with Millbrae, a key city on the train’s proposed route to San Francisco.

April 24 - San Diego Post

Spiral ramp on exterior of parking garage in downtown Spokane, Washington.

Washington State Legislature Passes Parking Reform Bill

A bill that would limit parking requirements for new developments is headed to the governor’s desk.

April 24 - OPB

Missouri state capitol dome in Jefferson City, MO.

Missouri Law Would Ban Protections for Housing Voucher Users

A state law seeks to overturn source-of-income discrimination bans passed by several Missouri cities.

April 24 - Missouri Independent