The City of the Future

Ponca City, We Love You writes "One century ago, many Americans still had not seen a movie or ridden in an automobile. The New York World greeted its readers on January 1, 1908 with a stirring rumination about the past and future of America: 'We may have gyroscopic trains as broad as houses swinging at 200 miles an hour up steep grades and around dizzying curves,' the newspaper said. 'We may have aeroplanes winging the once inconquerable air. The tides that ebb and flow to waste may take the place of our spent coal and flash their strength by wire to every point of need.' Today the NY Times asked ten knowledgeable New Yorkers to imagine New York City a century from today. Their visions include archaeological excavations at the Fresh Kills landfill, the waterfront at Third Avenue and Seventh Avenue, a dome over Central Park, and a virtual reality grid superimposed over the city."

Comments

Re:Energy crisis

[RobinH]

Most probably the population of Earth will be greatly reduced due to the shortage of energy. That means hundreds of millions people will die unless something miraculous happens.

This seems quite counter-intuitive. Look at all countries on the Earth and compare two variables: birth rate vs. energy consumption. I think you'll find that population growth has little need for energy, as long as you can produce enough food. Food is all solar powered, and we keep improving food production technologies. When food stops keeping up with population growth, the population will stop growing. I would assume at that point that condoms and vasectomies will be cheaper than food.

Do not forget that our civilization depends on cheap energy and energy will be much more expensive in the future.

I think you're confusing civilization, population, and brute force work. I think a future energy shortage will only affect things that take more energy: transportation, commuting, living and working in the more extreme temperature environments on Earth. As energy prices rise, you'll see the growth of energy efficient activities like working from home, telepresence, a shift in population to more temperate areas, etc. People adapt. Society adapts. Civilization adapts.