Eight Cities of the Future That Are Timeless

by JOHN GREGERSON | Oct 12, 2015

No one really knows what the "City of the Future" will look like, but WIRED Magazine this fall offers an entertaining glimpse of several possibilities. Introduced with a nifty rotating graphic, the online feature cites eight metro areas around the world whose forward thinking it contends is spawning spaces and places that are “more environmentally sound, more fun, and more beautiful.”

The selected cities – led by Los Angeles, primarily for replacing its old streetlights with “moonlight-hued, light-emitting diodes” and providing posher accommodations at LAX – are eclectic and far flung (see Medillin, as in the Andes). Of course, as with any good listicle, their inclusion is also debatable, even if many of the cited civic achievements are not.

For instance, Eindhoven in the Netherlands made the list for its $8-million Hovenring, a suspended bicycle path roundabout that is part of a network of thoroughfares which allow cyclists to circumvent increasingly frustrating and dangerous roadways. Think cable-stay bridge, in this instance a 1,000-ton steel deck strewn in LEDs and suspended by 24 cables from a central, 230-ft-high pylon.

From a pneumatic trash disposal system in Mecca to the helpful mapping of a chaotic mini-bus network in Nairobi, Wired charts a fascinating future full of optimism, innovation and inspiration.

For more, including discussions of San Francisco, Shanghai, and Dubai, click here.