Discussion Board Cities of the Future. You will need to post 4 features that you would like to see in cities of the future and explain why you feel that this would make the city better.
You will need to post 4 features that you would like to see in cities of the future and explain why you feel that this would make the city better.
Minimum Requirements
During the final week of class everyone must make one post to the discussion board, students must post at a minimum of 800 words. Expressing an opinion is not enough. You will be evaluated on the consistency and quality of your posts to discussion board. I will primarily be looking for how well you support your comments. I expect you to work to make meaning of the material of the course. I will look for depth of engagement, as well as level of critical thinking and inquiry. Success hinges on keeping up with readings and referring to them as much as possible when you do respond.
Required Course Materials:
· Read the following
1) Chapters 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, and 13 in the Cities of the World textbook (attached)
2) https://www.fastcompany.com/90755954/the-surprising-ways-technology-can-increase-green-space-in-cities
3) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-12-23/the-best-city-time-lapse-videos-of-2011
4) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/natural-hazards-new-york-city-vs-the-sea/
5) https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/a-look-into-brazils-makeover-of-rios-slums-165624916/
6) https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/world/asia/hundreds-dead-in-flooding-in-india-and-pakistan.html?_r=0
7) https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2017/jun/07/boxed-life-inside-hong-kong-coffin-cubicles-cage-homes-in-pictures
· Watch the following:
1) https://www.ted.com/talks/parag_khanna_how_megacities_are_changing_the_map_of_the_world?referrer=playlist-our_future_in_cities&language=en
2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogj4rCoXDLk
3) https://www.ted.com/talks/toni_griffin_a_new_vision_for_rebuilding_detroit?language=en
4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGm1X2l-144
5) https://www.ted.com/talks/eduardo_paes_the_4_commandments_of_cities?referrer=playlist-south_america&autoplay=true
6) https://youtu.be/h6XcfbuyhUo
7) https://youtu.be/SJE5nKXw_i4
8) https://www.ted.com/talks/nnenna_fakoya_smith_if_african_cities_could_speak_what_would_they_say
9) https://www.ted.com/talks/james_george_introducing_the_future_of_african_cities
10) https://www.ted.com/talks/diebedo_francis_kere_how_to_build_with_clay_and_community?language=en
11) https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ntpb7
a. Transcript: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/mar/15/china.china
12) https://www.ted.com/talks/janette_sadik_khan_new_york_s_streets_not_so_mean_any_more?referrer=playlist-our_future_in_cities
13) https://www.ted.com/talks/rahul_mehrotra_the_architectural_wonder_of_impermanent_cities
14) https://www.ted.com/talks/shigeru_ban_emergency_shelters_made_from_paper
15) https://www.ted.com/talks/roy_bahat_and_bryn_freedman_how_do_we_find_dignity_at_work
16) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4r0S5qoIXc
Parks, small woodlands, and even simple patches of grass not only keep a city attractive, but also help people find a sense of bliss in an otherwise bustling urban environment. With new technologies, we can plan and monitor these urban “green spaces” better than ever before.
That cities need green spaces is therefore not a particularly contentious issue. It is, however, an open question as to how much green space a city ought to have. Even here, science can provide some guidelines, as research points to at least 9 square meters of green space per individual, with an ideal value of 50 square meters per capita in a city (for comparison, an average UK car parking space takes up about 12 square meters).
The big question is therefore what kind of green space do we want? A well-kept but human-made park? Or something more natural and unkempt, such as groves, meadows or field-like areas? As we discuss in our forthcoming book, Designing Smart and Resilient Cities for a Post-Pandemic World: Metropandemic Revolution, this is largely contingent on the geographic preconditions of the city in question. The World Health Organization recommends a diversity of different kinds of green areas if possible, yet it’s an inescapable fact that some cities are blessed with lush vegetation while others are not.
While it is known that greenery has positive effects on mankind at large, it is more difficult to prove the exact causal relationship in exactly how green areas affect our health. In this regard, digital technology can be an essential tool for urban planners to determine where green landscape redesign is best employed.
One concept that is seeing particularly rapid development is “smart urban forests,” which refers to using tree monitors, 3D-imagery, and other internet of things-linked technologies to help manage the forest. This “internet of nature” could monitor soil health, measure air pollution, or ensure urban forests are adequately hydrated.
Future technology could also enable the use of open data platforms and more public engagement. Planners could collect various perspectives from the general population using an app, for instance, while also using digital technology to map and boost urban biodiversity and to ensure that green areas are placed where they will achieve maximum efficiency.
One example of this is the Treepedia research initiative, which was launched in 2016 by MIT’s Senseable City Lab. Treepedia aspires to raise awareness of urban forests by the use of digital vision techniques based on Google Street View images.
Treepedia focuses on pedestrian street trees found in multiple cities around the world, as opposed to parks. The main reason is that pedestrians are more likely to see street trees without planning to, whereas most people in parks made an active choice to be there. Using an open-source library, Treepedia means the public can calculate the quantities of tree coverage for their own city or region.
If urban planners become more aware of the potential of digital technology, then urban green spaces should have a bright future. However, designing the optimal green space that we want for our cities may also call for a deeper future collaboration between urban planners and engineers.