2014: "The cities of the future will be adaptive"

Forecast: The trend towards urbanization in the world continues unabated. The reason for the continued increase in the attractiveness of cities, however, has changed over time. It is no longer primarily the search for fast money, which drove farmers to the cities over the centuries: Those who move to the city today are mostly looking for identity, freedom, and the opportunist to actively shape their lives. This is the reason why the city of the future will primarily be a place of freedom. Yet while the freedom of urban dwellers has historically been attained through the ownership of various objects, in many cases today, freedom is found through non-ownership. Therefore the adaptive city of tomorrow will act as a peer-to-peer platform. Using a foundation of intelligent data analysis, sharing will become possible for all conceivable areas of life: Washing clothes. Shopping. Carrying bags. Cooking. Walking the dog. Parking. Housework. Home improvement. Repairs. Gardening. Childcare. Clothing. Toys. The office space. Learning. Investing. Risk coverage ... And things will get even more specific than that — also sharable: model trains, games, rocking horses, bobby cars, legos, children's car seats, wine glasses, ice cream makers, ice skates, rubber rafts, tents, golf clubs, backpacks, hacksaws, screwdrivers, drills ...

Status today: Numerous smart city and urban technology initiatives are already lending life to the trend. Reports about new pilot projects in the field appear almost daily in the press. The projects themselves come from all of the major cities spread across the world. It will likely take until 2024, however, until the trend reaches full form.

Source: Trend Analysis: The Adaptive City of the Future