Dreaming of time travel? Today, you don't need Delorian for this! Now there are cities that embody the wildest dreams of the future, impressive with technological advancement and architectural masterpieces. Looking at them, it is almost impossible to believe that these places are real. Do you want to know where to go to see revolutionary innovations and architectural wonders? We will help you with this!
Masdar
The Emirates today boast not only of its hydrocarbon production, but also of its abundance of amazing futuristic environmental know-how. For example, take Masdar City: it seems to have been created to show how an innovative city can function without dependence on "black gold".
The basic source of electricity here is sunlight and renewable energy sources. Wastewater and waste are carefully processed here, and the limousines familiar to the Arabs have been replaced by miniature electric cars. Masdar City is intended to be the first of its kind to be a completely eco-friendly city powered solely by renewable energy; it is intended to become a model for numerous projects around the world, the construction of which will begin after the completion of Masdar City in 2025.
Songdo
Transient urbanization makes it necessary to look for scenarios for the development of the urban environment; One of the prospects may be the concept of a "smart city", saturated to the limit with modern technologies and innovations.
South Korean Songdo brought this idea to life: the city was built from scratch, today it occupies 6 "squares". Now there are about 80 thousand inhabitants in Songdo, but in the future it is planned to increase the population to a quarter of a million people.
The project has already cost more than $40 billion, making it one of the most expensive in history, but its ambitious goals justify the costs: the city aims to become the smartest in the world. Hundreds of thousands of sensors are installed here, which collect, analyze and systematize information about the traffic situation and traffic, the condition of buildings and structures, electricity demand, utility costs and many other factors.
Eden, UK
The Cornish Eden, named after the garden from which Adam and Eve were banished, is an innovative playground built near the city of St. Austel, a mecca for ecotourists, health enthusiasts and music fans.
In fact, Eden is an impressive botanical garden covering about 22,000 m² of area, a place where nature and art come together to create an atmosphere for learning and relaxation. It is also a research complex engaged in the study and conservation of nature.
The main feature of Eden is the geodesic domes, under which a constant climate is maintained, allowing to recreate different ecosystems and grow plants from different parts of the world. Also these domes have become an improvised stage for the large-scale festival of contemporary music Eden Sessions, attracting musicians and audiences from all over Europe.
Dubai, UAE
When it comes to the cities of the future, Dubai is the epicenter of the world's most futuristic projects and a prime example of high-tech urbanization. They not only follow the principle of "faster, higher, stronger", but also strive for superiority in everything: from size and environmental friendliness to the price category.
The craving of Arab sheikhs for luxury and the desire to show the whole world prosperity have made this city a place open to the most original and non-standard solutions. In total, we are talking about hundreds of projects. While some are still nothing more than ambitious projects, others are already towering in the middle of the desert, striking the imagination of tourists.
For example, in Dubai, a project of an ecological city powered by the sun is being implemented - Aladdin City, which will demonstrate the possibilities of using renewable energy in an urban context.
Hammarby Sjöstad, Sweden
In the second half of the 90s, the Stockholm authorities decided to transform the old industrial zone into an innovative eco-quarter. It was given the ambitious task of demonstrating how people can live in harmony with nature. Today, Hammarby Sjöstad is a living example of how to minimize the impact on the environment and make the most of the opportunities available. Although the construction of this area has not yet been completed, one and a half dozen thousand people have already moved here.
Hammarby has applied advanced environmental principles such as organic recycling and the use of waste pyrolysis for residential heating. The energy system of the district is based on the use of biogas and silicon batteries. Citizens have access to public electric transport, which significantly reduces the level of emissions of harmful substances. Filtration and recirculation systems have also been installed in the area, allowing water to be reused.
Meyrin, Switzerland
With the advent of the Large Hadron Collider in the suburb of Geneva, Meyrin, many urban legends have emerged. Some feared that this would lead to disaster, others believed that a new era of scientific discovery would begin. However, nothing out of the ordinary happened, and the town of Meyrin has forever gone down in history as the home of a "large and terrifying" scientific facility which expands our understanding of the physics of the universe.
Every week, dozens of excursions are conducted at the LHC, for free. This allows curious travelers to get in touch with cutting-edge scientific research and better understand how one of the world's most complex experimental setups works. However, due to the high demand for visits, pre-registration is required: queues can last for six months.
Singapore, Singapore
The capital of the city-state of the same name strives to comply with modern eco-trends: one of the most impressive projects in this direction is the Gardens near the Bay Park. In 2013, this facility was recognized as the best engineering structure in the world. Its main feature is 18 giant baobabs made of high-quality steel. These man-made trees, ranging from 25 to 50 meters high, are equipped with spectacular illumination powered by solar panels. A rainwater harvesting system is used to irrigate real plants in the adjacent park. Cafes and restaurants are located in the crowns of steel baobabs, and in winter, an impressive fair is held in the park, attracting tourists from all over the world.
Tucson, USA
The dream that humanity will one day leave the earth's cradle and find planets suitable for colonization outside the solar system has long excited the minds of enthusiasts and is the subject of scientific research.
In the Arizona city of Tucson in 1991, a unique closed bio-ecological system "Biosphere-2" was created specifically for this idea, which is a miniature copy of our terrestrial biosphere, placed in a reliable cocoon of metal structures and glass.
In the past, it was a platform for experimental research. It was assumed that 8 volunteers should live in this space for several years in order to find out what possible difficulties people will face during long space flights, and even more so after moving to another planet.
The study passed with dozens of complications, its results were recognized as frankly unsuccessful, but now those who want to try their luck and test their nerves can try the experiment on themselves - however, in a shortened one-and-a-half-hour version.
Osaka, Japan
The second largest city in Japan, the ancient capital of Osaka, today is full of incredible objects that can serve as a backdrop for another Star Wars franchise.
Suffice it to mention the Maritime Museum in the form of a dome, built right on the sea surface using a special technology - this is the largest such object in the world.
There was also a place to implement the idea of building a high-speed road right through the skyscraper - the Gate Tower project. Well, fans of architecture in the style of futurism will undoubtedly like the building of the Umeida Sky Building, which is a condominium of a pair of towers connected by the Floating Gardens observatory.
Open Space
The review wouldn't be complete if we didn't mention Spaceport America, built with the money of eccentric billionaire Richard Branson. This very real, full-fledged hub for space communications has not yet carried out scheduled flights, although there have already been test flights, and regular tourist flights to space are planned in the future. Nevertheless, today it is possible to book an interactive tour of the fully equipped space terminal for flights to low Earth orbit.
