The missing dimension, i.e. People!

I live in a region where we have very opposite cities. Some parts of the world have this issue. I live in the Amazon region, where the main municipalities have all the characteristics of a developed city (traffic, pollution, basic sanitation issues, etc.) and at the same time we have riverside communities that live like in the XIX century. Therefore, when we are talking about cities of the future we must be aware of this discrepancies. The Sustainable Development Goals from UN to 2030 are the best example. We have goals to 17 different areas and mostly of the cities have just the basic (or even worse). We know that there are a lot of work to be done to the goals be accomplished. And we can not focus just on the biggest cities in the world. We must remember of the less developed or isolated ones.

Ilan Kelman Thank you very much for your comment! No, we did not set "time" boundaries for lecturers, that come from different scientific fields. Most of them think about the near future or are looking at the past to understand events that are near.

I agree with you, sci-fi entertainment is fruitful in an attempt to understand "boundaries and paths of our imagination" about the future. I have looked at sci-fi entertainment to see how our imagination predicts future scenarios in relation to technology - and, I think that human imagination (with reason, an essential human ability) is completely dominated by the essence of technology...

So, can the possibilities of cities of far future impact the way we understand cities of today? Interesting topic :)

Ali Cheshmehzangi Thank you for your comment! Well, we did invite experts from Town government and we do suppose that they will share their experience with demands from the concrete people in the city...

Alessandro Bezerra Trindade Thank you for your comment! Yes, this is a very good point.

In the case of my country, there are developed cities, but also "underdeveloped" cities that are on islands. There are pros and cons of both examples, but the question could be: can you have advantages without disadvantages in one city? Can developed cities have "nature at hand", or cities on islands the same functioning organization or health care as on land? Thank you for making me think in this direction also :)

Better planning for the inborn generation

Greetings (Shalom, shalom): No discipline, no idea, ought be discarded lightly. That said, let us avoid being too futuristic to the extent we MUST FIRST FIX what we broke. As with colonial or "settler" imperialism, the "refused and criminals" were transported to America and Oceania. That delayed prison, debt, agricultural reform. We must be responsible for the pollution of water and land, where we grow food, in the first instance. THEN, I strongly urge you brother, sister … READ Dr. Vandana Shiva and her books. The Monsanto s, ADMs, even nice MicroSoft, and BIG AGRICULTURE have taken us prisoner: we are being sold as slaves to the bio-pirates, to eat their food and grow their seeds. Why more than .5 million farmers in India have killed themselves for indebtedness to the Food Giants of the West. GREED and corporate profits have to be tamed of we have even a snowball's chance of beginning these great ideas you have so carefully brought to the fore. Shalom!

Well, that's good to now. But in most cases, reps from town governments may not engage with the local people. It is safer that we as the planners or designers to enable healthy public participation.

Yes, Ali. That is so vital … did you know the Western Conglomerates prevented Mahatma Gandhi's ashram from spinning their own cotton at the Historic Center? Such hubris … ingratitude, because the third world FED the West, when the depended on oats and animal foods not so long ago. Now they steal our plants & foods, too! Vandana Shiva protected Gandhi's ashram by doing what you said - rallying the local populations. You gotta read her work, or watch some videos … but make up your own mind. There is more going on than Bill Gates' smile and donations will let on. shalom, shalom (Israel is an ally. Forget failed ME politics).

One of the most important factors to ensure world peace is for city governments to prioritize good planning for the future, including conducting many scientific studies and investigations to determine short-term objectives and long-range goals.

@Ilan Kelman Thank you for the links, some very interesting ideas there.

In cities worldwide, water is the connecting challenge, the number one global risk and the opportunity for transformative and sustainable impact and comprehensive cultural change.

Article How water challenges can shape tomorrow's cities

Energy: cities post-petroleum, considering first the end of cheap (conventional) oil and then the impossibility of oil extraction due to higher costs, beyond 2050. The problem is not "climate change", it is energy transition: there are several problems with energy alterantives, as costs, intermittency and disponibility. Cities of the future must be energy feasible. However, cities requiere institutions to define and implement the urban-energy policies.