Urban populations grow rapidly, straining city resources. Governments partner with private sector organizations to develop strategies to support the expanding populations.
Progressive Megacities
In this scenario, extreme mass urbanization drives the government's direct action, through technology and city planning, toward development of progressive megacities. City services are augmented with technology to enable services to be personalized to individuals. Cars are completely replaced with ubiquitous, autonomous public transit; car infrastructure is repurposed for housing and green space. Numerous construction advances lead to automated building processes and stronger materials.
Policy & Funding
on Progressive Megacities
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10 years from now
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25 years from now
Through public-private partnerships (PPPs), megacities finance and build autonomous transit systems and new nuclear fusion power plants.
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50 years from now
Megacities with resilient systems and infrastructure will become hubs for millions of people, requiring larger local governments and funding streams.
Smart Cities
on Progressive Megacities
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10 years from now
Large-scale smart city projects are undertaken to address the needs of growing population to manage scarce resources and maximize efficiencies of city services.
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25 years from now
Smart city technology is more pervasive, although still focused on impersonal efficiency initiatives to help stretch and preserve city resources.
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50 years from now
Smart city technology is abundant and personalized. Apps and services cater to the needs of each citizen individually.
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10 years from now
Flooding is minimized in cities with defensive infrastructure. Advances in high-tech construction and materials enable resilient structures to be built quickly. Alternative energy research is a focus. Autonomous vehicle technology advances rapidly.
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25 years from now
Rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns wreak havoc with agriculture and water supply, although flooding is minimized through advances in construction that enable megacities to build resilient housing and infrastructure. The world sees revolutionary breakthroughs in nuclear fusion in laboratories.
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50 years from now
Nuclear fusion infrastructure is built out, powering megacities cheaply and efficiently. Construction advances allow for cheap, fast, and automated building processes; city infrastructure can quickly adapt to needs of population.
Implications for Civil Engineers
Civil engineers will weave technology into all facets of traditional infrastructure while advancing designs that are possible only with automated construction.
Road safety will increase with dedicated autonomous vehicle infrastructure that will separate pedestrians and vehicle networks. However, fully-connected infrastructure systems will also increase the potential for external cyberattacks, necessitating the hardening of digital infrastructure.
High-tech construction represents significant opportunities for civil engineers; however, automation poses challenges. Civil engineering firms will need to reimagine the best use of their human resources for planning and executing projects where the actual construction process itself may be handled by robots.
Civil engineers will need to help develop smart utilities to serve these megacities, supporting an overburdened electric grid and distributing the newly-abundant energy to its citizens and businesses.
Designing and marketing these physical and digital networks will require a full-systems integration approach, spanning disciplines both within and outside of traditional civil engineering.