Ideal City And New Urbanism

Discussions and reasoning about the fate and future appearance of cities, with rare exceptions, take place in two planes — “bright future” and “dystopia”. This is especially evident in that part of such reasoning that spills out to the masses through cinema, literature, computer games.

Cities of the “bright future” are:

— “human scale”,

— interaction with nature, “integration” into landscapes;

— a healthy lifestyle, brought to the absolute.

Dystopias and apocalyptic images of the future are the opposite:

— monster cities, directed upward and/or burrowing downwards;

— overpopulation;

— feral mutant people living “a short but fun life” — chasing each other and rats (their main source of food) in these huge, dirty, horrible cities and the same vile surroundings…

Heaven and hell. In the first case, the priority is spiritual development in a favorable environment, in the second — meaningless survival from all points of view.

At the same time, we look at urban trends and prevailing development practices. These are trends, not experiments of enthusiasts and religious sects. People are flocking to megalopolises, which, despite the development of public and personal transport, are becoming denser and taller. Is dystopia really our future?

Of course not. Spatial development and especially the dynamics of changes in the structure of settlements are extremely inertial. The current type of settlement has been formed for more than three hundred years within the framework of global industrialization and scientific and technological progress. Only yesterday, by historical standards, it was economically and socially justified. Therefore, “garden cities”, eco-cities and the like were shattered by economic and social expediency. It is not the subject of this article to analyze what has changed, although everything has changed… But the inertia of the industrial period of urban development will dominate for at least a couple more decades. Does this mean that humanity will further rush to the other — anti-industrial — extreme? Of course not.

I see the following tasks for a practical urbanist in the approaching new reality:

1. Support for various types of settlements:

— Highly urbanized, dense centers (like those satirically depicted in “The Fifth Element”) for those looking for a career drive, concentration of services and cultural events;

— Compact “garden cities” and eco-settlements integrated into nature, for connoisseurs of peace and ecology.

— “Smart villages” with high-tech infrastructure, but rural way of life and values.

— Comfortable suburbs and mid-sized cities that balance accessibility and nature.

Other types of settlements are possible (university campus cities, tech company lab cities, etc.). The number of such niches will only increase over time and it is important to approach this process without prejudice — There is no ideal city, but there are many niches for different life strategies and communities.

2. Since more and more people will change the type (and geography) of settlement during their lives, it is necessary to create a conscious surplus of housing and adaptable infrastructure in locations of different types. This is:

— Support for mobility that allows people to easily move, following changes in career, family, values, health.

— Maximum prevention (mitigation) of lack of accessibility in popular types of settlements and degradation of unpopular ones. Creation of institutional and material buffers, flexible planning solutions for crises (migration, economic, environmental) and changing demand.

3. Diversity is meaningless without access. The development of physical (transport) and digital (communications, services) infrastructure should ensure seamless life in any type of settlement. A resident of any type of settlement should ultimately have equal (through telemedicine, online education, fast transport accessibility) access to key services and opportunities, as a resident of the center.

Incidentally, this conclusion is intuitively or consciously reflected in the concept of core settlements and urban municipal districts — a modern city does not have clear boundaries, the time has come to design not isolated settlements, but nodes in a single network, where connectivity (physical and digital) is one of the key parameters of quality.

4. The possibility of personal development requires the integration of many factors that go beyond just “closeness to nature” (although it is important):

— Family and community. The environment should support family and intergenerational ties (safe courtyards, accessible institutions for children and the elderly, common spaces, etc.), offering flexible housing formats. — Scientific and technological progress. Integration of innovations for comfort, sustainability (renewable energy sources, smart grids, etc.) and creation of environments for idea generation (coworking spaces, technology parks, educational spaces — even in small towns).

— Human-oriented digital technologies. Digitalization as a tool for accessibility of services (education, medicine, culture), security, remote work/study, and not a factor of alienation.

— Healthcare and healthy lifestyle. Developed network of medical institutions (from telemedicine to high-tech centers) and health infrastructure (all formats of a comfortable urban environment, sports, healthy food).

— Education and culture. Guaranteed access to quality education (online + offline) and cultural

benefits (libraries, museums, clubs — physical and virtual) in all territories.

5. Rethinking the concept of sustainability. The trinity of “ecology-society-economy” (key to the UN Sustainable Development Goals) should be supplemented by the principle of “personal development” as the highest goal. Sustainability is a means, not an end in itself. The key indicators of success of any type of settlement are not only GDP or carbon footprint, but also indices of happiness, opportunities for self-realization, social connectivity, and health of residents.

If we reduce these five points to a compact definition for the profession of an urbanist of the new era, then it is as follows:

An urbanist is a specialist not only in the field of analysis, design, research and development of the urban environment. In new conditions, he becomes a designer of opportunities and a technologist stimulating social and spatial mobility.