Futureproof City
The Futureproof City creates adaptability and resiliency in the face of the unknown challenges resulting from technological change, population explosion, global pandemic, and environmental crisis. A paradigm shift is urgently required in the means of conceiving, delivering, and managing city development to create better places to live. This book brings to the fore many new solutions currently being proposed and piloted globally, identifying ten key areas affecting the physical fabric of our cities where governments, planners, investors, and the individuals responsible for shaping lives can refocus their understanding, priorities, and funding in order to more effectively utilise the limited financial, natural, and time resources available. It will be key reading for every policy maker and professional working in sustainability, development, technology, health and welfare, investment, and risk issues in cities today.
Barry D. Wilson was born in London and has lived and worked across four continents in a career spanning over 30 years as a multi-skilled, design and construction professional and mediator. He received award from the China International Urbanization Development Strategy Research Committee for his contribution to Chinas urbanisation transformation in 2012 and was awarded the Reed Mallik Medal from the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2019. He is a Fellow of both the Hong Kong Institutes of Urban Design and Landscape Architecture and is Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Hong Kong.
First published 2022
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2022 Barry D. Wilson
The right of Barry D. Wilson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wilson, Barry D., author.
Title: Futureproof city : ten immediate paths to urban resilience / Barry D.
Wilson.
Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2022. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021012254 (print) | LCCN 2021012255 (ebook) | ISBN
9780367631963 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367631956 (paperback) | ISBN
9781003112488 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sustainable urban development. | City planning
Environmental aspects. | Urban policy.
Classification: LCC HT241 .W55 2022 (print) | LCC HT241 (ebook) | DDC
307.1/416dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021012254
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021012255
ISBN: 978-0-367-63196-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-63195-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-11248-8 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003112488
Typeset in Dente and Avenir
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
1 Putting Wellness First: Re-evaluating Human Priorities in the Context of Health and Happiness
2 Reconsider, Rethink, Redirect: Envisioning and Collaborating to Plan Resilient Living Places
3 Right Development in the Right Place: Mitigating the Challenges of Climate Impact through Land Management
4 Frames of Blue and Green: Adopting Green and Blue Infrastructure as the Fundamental Network to Plan Cities
5 Placing for Age: Adapting Urban Development for Diversity and Inclusivity
6 Think Fast, Think Smart: Incorporating Opportunities in the Digital Revolution
7 Empowering the Future: Transitioning to the Stored Energy Economy
8 Unleashing Urban Potential: Repurposing Streets to Peoples Needs
9 Prosperity through Density: Accommodating Burgeoning Urban Populations
10 Both Safe and Dependable: Providing New Means to Quality Shelter for All
Conclusion: Towards a New Mindset: Meeting the Needs of the Coming Urban Revolution
- 1 Putting Wellness First: Re-evaluating Human Priorities in the Context of Health and Happiness
- 2 Reconsider, Rethink, Redirect: Envisioning and Collaborating to Plan Resilient Living Places
- 3 Right Development in the Right Place: Mitigating the Challenges of Climate Impact through Land Management
- 4 Frames of Blue and Green: Adopting Green and Blue Infrastructure as the Fundamental Network to Plan Cities
- 5 Placing for Age: Adapting Urban Development for Diversity and Inclusivity
- 6 Think Fast, Think Smart: Incorporating Opportunities in the Digital Revolution
- 7 Empowering the Future: Transitioning to the Stored Energy Economy
- 8 Unleashing Urban Potential: Repurposing Streets to Peoples Needs
- 9 Prosperity through Density: Accommodating Burgeoning Urban Populations
- 10 Both Safe and Dependable: Providing New Means to Quality Shelter for All
- Conclusion: Towards a New Mindset: Meeting the Needs of the Coming Urban Revolution
Guide
Our cities and lifestyles have been shaped by whats gone before. In the midst of what is now a climate emergency, as the impossible must become possible, we urgently need to relinquish outdated planning-as-usual models, envision the world in which we want to live, and then urgently take step to change it and shape it for the better. Time is against us.
I am looking out of the window of my home. What do I see? Not so much in the distance since the air is thick with smog. Down on the street someone has thrown their trash into the small stream. It smells a bit and there are no fish, its a dead river, so people continue dumping their waste. I can see a rusty old shopping trolley just emerging from the blackness. Some of my neighbours grow vegetables on the river bank, but I wonder whether they are safe to eat. I dont trust the tap water.
This is a memory I have. Its of growing up in the UK in the 1970s. Frequently I get asked to say what it is like overseas, is it better there, how do they solve things? How can we make our cities in China like those overseas? I remember that we had dirty streets, polluted rivers, acid rain and choking chimneys, accidents were common. We had all the same problems 40 years ago as we have today in China. I remember all the old, industrial buildings where we used to play, being demolished, whole city centres being torn up under the planners hand, those tight, twisting streets of ancient memories disappearing forever and being replaced with huge, modern, impersonal, blocks of car parking, barriers and highways. Longstanding, friendly communities were torn apart and scattered far out of town; all in the name of supposed progress. We all want to live in a greener, cleaner, safer world. I think this is a common vision. Its a vision shared in the United Nations Sustainable Development goals. Its a vision generally held by your governments, by your colleagues, by you. We want to live and work in cities that puts health and wellness first. In lively, safe environments, in caring communities, where stress is minimised. What might those cities look like? Would they have cars clogging the streets? Could you walk your kids safely? Are you able to see into the distance from your window? Do you know your neighbours? Can you drink clean water straight from the tap? Might the buildings create energy rather than consuming it? Are there green streets, clean streets, clean air, soil, and water?
