Ember Babiak

Urban design in the Symbiocene will incorporate things like biomimicry, looking to the natural world to inspire the systems that provide ventilation, the circulation and treatment of water (which will be treated with plants), the movement of goods and people. And will provide for the needs not only of humans, but of our more-than-human kin, the presence of whom does much for our psychic health. So there will be green bridges to allow them to cross our roads, water sources they can access safely, green spaces for habitat.

Cities in the Symbiocene will be walkable, but you won’t need to be able to walk to enjoy them. Accessibility will be a high value; stairs will be a rare sight, replaced with graceful, curving ramps.

Food will be grown hydroponically in high-rises, maintained by supervised robots. Energy production, both solar and wind, will be incorporated in the design of every building. The roofs of buildings will be planted with plants that will process the rain and capture carbon.

Public transportation will be plentiful, safe, beautiful, and free. The design of everything from lampposts to barricades will appeal to the eye. The natural world is beautiful, and so should the spaces we inhabit be. We are part of nature, and we need to remember this and live like it.