Autonomous air taxis and tall, shiny buildings are some of the more popular images associated with the cities of the future, but the reality of urban life is that the truly futuristic cities may well be the ones that look the least futuristic.

Cities today are fighting wars on many fronts, from reducing carbon emissions to creating more equitability for their residents. The cities of the future may be a lot less interesting than The Jetsons promised us, at least from the outside looking in.

THE PROBLEMS CITIES FACE

A year and a half or so into the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s becoming clear that there’s no going back to life as it was in the Before Times. Urban environments have to change rapidly to keep residents safe from communicable diseases, and flexible work options are here to stay for many types of office workers.

Housing is facing an unprecedented affordability crisis that’s pushing many people further away from cities. Climate change is rapidly influencing which neighborhoods will continue to be habitable.

In short, the entire concept of a city is being upended, and it’s all happening much faster than anyone could have anticipated. It once made sense to gather talent together in giant communities, but as technology has advanced, it’s just as easy to connect to a colleague across the planet as it is one across the room.

The questions all working people want answered boil down to one thing: “How is this city’s infrastructure going to protect my family?” A tech worker who asks about citywide wifi is really asking whether they will be able to work from home. A developer looking to build lower-density multifamily properties using accessory dwelling units in single-family residential zoning wants to find affordable alternatives to apartments and their shared indoor spaces.

You can point to Dubai or Hong Kong to see where metros are going in the future, but I think there’s a huge divide between what a normal city’s future trajectory looks like and where those “futuristic” cities have gone. Sure, shiny is great, but if the city can’t withstand climate change and ongoing pandemics, they’re not going to be occupied in the long run.

THE FUTURE OF THE CITY IS THE COMMON PERSON

Take any city in any country at any point in time and look at what made it great. It wasn’t the buildings, the technology, the top 1 percent of the population — it was the common person. The bulk of the city’s occupants are, in essence, the city itself. If those people don’t feel safe, secure, and cared for, they won’t stay, and the city will become a mere husk of its former self (the history of Detroit stands as a prime example).

And it’s not gentrification that keeps people around, either. It’s not a new Starbucks on every corner; it’s not indie small business districts or sky taxis. It’s infrastructure — and the right infrastructure in the right places, at that.

For example, the metamorphosis of Miami is going to look very different from the metamorphosis of St. Louis. Miami is threatened by rising sea levels, which is going to require some very clever engineering to keep large sections of the city habitable. Its battle is becoming much like the battle New Orleans has been fighting for forever, to simply keep heads literally above water.

And as the pandemic rages on, other changes must be made to keep people around. A lot of offices are going to be emptied, either temporarily or permanently, and those that remain will need new ways to keep employees far enough apart for safety.

Remote work is almost certainly a given in our new reality, and with that comes a reduction in commuter traffic, an increase in deliveries, and an increase in demand for outdoor spaces for reasonably safe socialization.

The Millionacres bottom line

The metamorphosis of the metropolis may bring thoughts of grand futuristic (as envisioned in the 1950s) worlds to mind, but the truth is that the city of the future is one that’s not shiny so much as it is sustainable. For cities to survive to see the future, they will have to protect their people, and those people need adequate infrastructure that will address the plethora of issues urban communities are facing today.

Infrastructure that not only protects communities but also helps them in regard to the climate change battle is absolutely necessary, as are tools for reducing density; for instance, new ideas about planning and zoning to help keep people safe from disease. Cities that work for the people who live there are cities that work.

Kristi Waterworth wrote this article for Millionacres, a Motley Fool service. Read the original article at this link: https://bit.ly/3mEq9pJ