The City Of The Future

How would you design the city of the future?

If I were to design the city of the future obviously I would like it to be bereft of the ills of the existing one which are :

Traffic Congestion

Pollution

Lawlessness

Red Tapism

Dirtiness

Unnecessary Construction

Lack of Civic Sense

Lack of Awareness of Sustaining a Green Environment

Spitting habits

Minimal Use of Public Toilets

Continued Use of non-Biodegradable Products

Marginal Use of Alternate Source of Energy

It may appear from the above listing how we are living in such a place where there are so many issues in need of urgent rectification!

Taking a clue from the above, it goes without saying that idea of a future city should incorporate all the parameters which are conspicuous by their absence now.

However, a city is just not a planned urbanscape. It has a personality of its own given the culture dominating the mindset of its living , breathing populace.

A city becomes noisy unlivable hellhole given the attitude of the people. More than designing the landscape, we need overhauling of the psyche of the people so that they

Care more for the surrounds

Wish to sustain the goodness and goodwill of the dwellers

Believe in maintaining positivity , helpfulness and genuineness of intent

Develop a sense of community and innovate programs involving all

Respect the elderly and care for them

Put a premium on safety and empowerment of women

Support good governance and closely monitor whether they are fulfilling their electoral mandates

Emphasize, through various peaceful and organized means, on people’s participation in administrative issues for their time bound resolution

Build platforms where civil society can play an active role in matters of public interest and procurement processes where public money is involved

Bring to power those whose functioning has indicated maximum accountability

Demand a judicial process which hastens bringing to books the wrongdoers who act against the betterment of society.

Public opinion is a very powerful instrument in not only building but retaining the standards of a megapolis. It is the public opinion builders, who can, through various forums, generate a collective will for sustaining healthy and quality life. In doing so, it is important to understand that equity is the basis of an envy-free coexistence. The genesis of majority of crimes is socio-economic disparity which has to be minimised, if not eradicated, from all arenas of public life, in order to develop free thinking minds with a deeply rooted sense of belonging and respect for the history and heritage of mankind, be it of any era.

Again, when we talk of future city we tend to restrict our projection within the limits of a particular geographical boundary. In the age of globalization can we possibly demarcate the ethos of a populace to four corners of city limit?

Today all cities are not even cosmopolitan but multinational in nature. For peaceful cohabitation, therefore, we not only have to preserve what is ours but also at the same time understand what is theirs by giving up on othering and embracing a broader horizon of brotherhood.

It is only then, by breaking the divisive walls, built purposely by certain narrow, fundamental motivated elements , can we consider a future habitat worthy of dreaming.