In these tremendous, strange, unforgettable all-alike days of Quarantine to try to cope with the CoronaVirus spread, we are obviously and naturally thinking of what the World will be Next.
As reported, the spread and contagion are stronger within urban environments.
Are we, as a society, thinking differently on how to re define our way of living? Should high-density living areas raise some eyebrows around our society?
Every prediction about 2050 Urbanization might be fully reconsidered
So we would like to propose a reflection point on Urbanization.
Cities have been the main hubs of Innovation, Ideas Sharing, Culture and ultimately Wealth.
Human nature has pushed us to get together in larger and larger agglomerations, the way to Megacities.
This tendency has created major challenges, distortions, gradients.
Let’s list a few:
Concentration of people in limited space (min. legal rental surface in Paris 8m2 or 80ft2 - Loi Carrez)
Increased pollution (e.g air; water; noise; light)
Diminished quality of life (higher stress; decreased living spaces; longer commutes; novel diseases)
De-population of the countryside (less infrastructure investments; aging population etc)
Higher stress in agriculture ("why can't I have MY avocado in NYC in the middle of the winter?" an Eco-friendly designer at an Innovation Festival)
Income disparities (salaries based on location more than talent)
Increased poverty within and around the cities (e.g. US poor cities; poor kids of Silicon Valley)
On top of all of the above, when a Pandemic hits us, cities are the most vulnerable of the human Ecosystems.
Prior to the spread of CoVid-19, we were discussing the future of these Ecosystems: SmartCities, Sustainable Cities; Digital Cities etc etc. The pillar of such debate was the Internet. Particularly the implementation of 5G has been praised as the "cornerstone of digitalization".
Taken all of the above into consideration, within our conversations around the New Sustainability Index, we played around the concept that a "Smart City" should be a "No City"!
Let me elaborate, expanding on The Big Reset approach in the work place by Josh Beresin.
If we had the opportunity of choosing to:
live in a quieter environment,
breath cleaner air,
drink fresher water,
establish deeper human connections,
eat fresh products directly from the producers,
being paid for our talents more than for our "office skills",
working in small team based on trust and respect,
go for a walk to ponder on ideas instead of seeing a "shrink",
seeing the stars at night
be connected to the World from your piece of "nature"
regain the value of our time (the only important commodity)...
wouldn't you do it?
....or would you love to go back to this?
Well, this period of quarantine, remote smart-work (that means that being in an office is not smart!!!) is showing us the opportunity to avoid being in the crowd and regain ownership of ourselves.
Life post-CoVid19 will be different and it is our opportunity to challenge a dis-human model: the Megacity.
Within the framework of Redefining Sustainability, we are, presently, modeling the changes that a "no-city" human ecosystem would entail: from reviving small towns, to fostering local foods and agriculture
Our frame of reference is based on the concepts elaborated in our upcoming book "NEXT, innovating from within" and on the 3 Principles of Value.
If you want to contribute to this shift, contact us.
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