Photo: ©Junge Tüftler*innen
#FuturiumSchool: Challenge of the Week – Prototyping
Shaping your own city of the future
What might your city of the future look like? Today, many people move to cities to work or to study. Cities are attractive because everything is available and easily accessible: shopping, recreation, hospitals, schools, universities and public transport.
Photo: ©Junge Tüftler*innen
In 1950, only about 30% of the world’s population lived in cities but, by 2015, the proportion had increased to 53%. According to current forecasts, by 2050, more than 83% of all people will be living in cities. As a result, the number of people living in the countryside is becoming smaller and smaller. This phenomenon is called “urbanisation”.
It’s very likely that you, too, will spend most of your life in a city. Even today, urban dwellers are struggling with major challenges such as poverty, housing shortages and air pollution. In order to make sure that, in the future, people can lead healthy and contented lives in cities, it’s important we start thinking today about how we want to shape the cities of tomorrow.
Challenge
Your task is to build a city of the future – and your kitchen table would be an ideal place to start! Imagine your living environment were free of cars... How would you use this newly reclaimed space? How could an unused space in your neighbourhood (gaps between houses, riverbanks or abandoned lots) become your feel-good place?
Your ideas can be as wild and crazy as you want! And if you like, send a photo of your city model to bildung@futurium.de. We’re looking forward to your ideas!
Material for your design
• aluminum foil
• cardboard
• Lego bricks
• balloons
• wool
• clothes pegs
• modelling clay
• paper
• tape
Future Boxes
Do you want to learn more about the cities of the future? The “Cities” Future Box (in German) can be downloaded as a digital version free of charge or ordered here. Under the CC-BY-SA license it can be edited and further developed.