The City is based on liberating structures that are not only visible in the City’s built environment but also within the relationships between people, organisations and institutions.

At the heart of the City is a sprawling park. This landscape is a hive of activity. Crafted between the trees is sheltered learning space. A University Professor is delivering a talk on the opportunities and threats of artificial intelligence. The learners are working together with the Professor to decide how they share and use this knowledge. Nearby, people have gathered in the outdoor community cinema space watching an animated fictional film about an Autistic child who goes on an adventure to a new City. By the side of the river, a bandstand is housing musical performances from newcomers to the City - the sounds filter through the surroundings.

From the park, nature flows through the City - connecting and running through the districts that create the City’s ecosystem. Elsewhere, on a piece of wasteland, politicians and civil service staff are sat in a circle on seats fashioned from the tyres and breeze blocks that have been dumped on the land. They are discussing what to do with the land. Some residents feel it needs to be used for new, affordable, well-insulated housing with solar panels and heat pumps. Others feel it should be a communal allotment for the existing residents. An architect is listening and drawing sketches of these ideas. They are working out ways to combine them. Further down the pathway, a playground has been built using recycled materials. Each piece of equipment needs at least two children to participate in it to make it work; it has been designed to foster collaboration through play.
In a prominent square in the City is the City Hall. Large bi-folding doors open its ground floor space to the public, seamlessly connecting the pavement into its interior. Within this space are various seating areas and information displays about what is happening in the city and how people can be involved. The information is in text and audio, with technology translating into a variety of languages used by the City’s population. Civil service professionals are talking 1-2-1 with residents in the space, using the information in the space and portable digital tools to help them navigate the various processes and services that will help them address the challenges they are facing. Appointments are not needed in this space and the opening hours extend beyond usual office hours.

In the square outside a demonstration led by young people is taking place. They are protesting against surveillance methods proposed by the City’s administration. Speakers have been invited to use the public platform stage in the square to present their perspectives. Above, the windows of the City Hall are open so the ideas and concerns can flow into the building. A number of politicians have come out from the City Hall and are talking with the young people who are a part of the demonstration. Shoppers stop to listen to the talks as they go about their daily business, and some decide to sit down and talk to other residents. Nearby, a water fountain and public lavatories provide the means for people to stay a little longer than they’d imagined.

Across the river, a woman using a wheelchair takes the lift down to the metro station. As she is buying her travel ticket, she is offered a reduced fair for participating in a short survey about plans for revising the metro service. Outside, a digital display is showcasing recent actions taken by the local administration based on engagement with residents and local news from different communities. The display uses minimal text, communicating largely through visuals. There is an option to scan an icon to hear the updates as audio descriptions or as a fuller text report in a variety of languages. Similar displays, voting mechanisms and incentives are incorporated throughout the City’s public transport system.

In a corner of the City are a set of unused industrial buildings, reminders of the City’s past. Within them a group of residents are experimenting with how they can be repurposed or temporarily used to meet the needs of the City’s people. In one building, a temporary art gallery has been set up with work from independent artists. Outside, on a picnic table with parasol, a human library activity is taking place exploring migration. It is disrupted momentarily by a resident who feels the activity is excluding them and their stories. A Convenor intervenes and talks to the person about this. As you look at the industrial buildings, you realise that they gradually move from the ad-hoc into more longer-term usages. A formerly ‘pop-up’ clothes swap shop now has a permanent residence, a community café that uses locally produced food is open at regular times and an education space has been decorated by local residents. Gradually, the buildings are coming back to life and people are working together to find solutions.

This vision for the future is not out of reach. The ideas in it are already starting to happen around us. We need to mainstream them and embed them into our cities. The future is now.