The Future City Competition is a national, project-based learning experience where students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade

imagine, design, and build cities of the future. Students work as a team with an educator and engineer mentor to plan

cities using SimCity™ software; research and write solutions to an engineering problem; build tabletop scale models

with recycled materials; and present their ideas before judges at Regional Competitions.

CURRENT CITIES FUTURE CITIES

Economically

Globalisation creates instability- good bits and bad bits

Fragile city economies

Waves of underemployed and lowly skilled

Socially

Inequality and poverty: Divided cities

Infrastructure (roads, rail, sewers) can’t keep up

Environmentally

Sprawling cities with little green space

Heavily polluted, wasteful and energy poor

Culturally

Lack cohesion between and within communities

Poor investment

PROPOSED SOLUTION

Economically

Advanced but mixed industry sectors

An economy that fits the ‘pulse of place’ Mixed skilled workforce

Socially

Socially and economically equal with poverty eradicated

Good infrastructure

High levels of public expenditure

Environmentally

Sustainable

Clean and renewably resourced

Culturally

Home to diverse and cohesive populations

WHAT DID THE FUTURE CITY SAY ABOUT GLOBAL CHALLENGES?

Poverty and inequality

Ageing

Energy, Workforce

Climate change, Waste and pollution

Economic Crisis, Overcrowding

Consumption, Urbanisation, Food and famine, Crime

Nationalism and identity, Globalisation

Migration, Natural Disasters, Ecology, Transport

THE IMMEDIATE CHALLENGES

Economical

Sluggish growth or no growth.

22million people unemployed in the EU (10%)

Social

Some 73m people in the EU are ‘poor’ and 2/3rds live in six countries

increases in voter apathy and societal mistrust

Public sectors cuts in services and funding

Environment

Reached peak oil- Energy prices are increasing

Global temperatures to increase by 1.8 to 4.0 degrees by 2100.

Cultural

Increased climate change induced migration

More debate over whose culture

SHAPE OF FUTURE CITY

Economic and environmental instabilities

We need to shape an economic destiny of cities – which is resilient which can shape works within environmental limits..

ERA OF DEVELOPING GOOD CITIES

As a geography’ – an area or locality which and identity

As a sociological concept – an intersection of points in a network of social relations

As an economic concept – a market place

www.smartcities.com

www.futurecities.com

The Times Of India

Hindustan Times