Urban Focus: What is the City of The Future?
What should the city of the future look like, and what are its economic benefits?
Urbanism is the study of city design and planning. It became especially relevant in the nineteenth century during the Industrial Revolution when large numbers of people moved from the countryside into the cities. Today, 4.4 billion people live in cities, and they are now places that overwhelmingly determine modern society. That then leads to the question: what should the city of the future look like, and what are its economic benefits?
One of urbanism’s main pillars is transportation. In the American system, transportation shifted from mass transit to passenger cars. This trailed the explosion in American consumerism and the construction of the interstate highway system in the 1950s. Urban planners envisioned low-density cities consisting of separately standing houses accommodating one family. They envisioned suburbanism as the future of urbanism. This “city of the future” erased the need for shared public spaces and the use of public transport. Such cities are built for cars, not people. An example of this is Los Angeles.
Los Angeles was built for spread, not for height. Its land area is approximately 472 square miles, but its population is under 4,000,000. The city was built around the cars, and its 7500 miles of road make its 109 miles of metro rail seem insignificant. Simply put, it is not convenient to use the Los Angeles subway. Therefore, people use cars. With a family, that can mean two or three cars. According to recent research, the average Los Angeles citizen would spend around 36$ daily for transportation. What this causes is that more roads are needed for more cars, leaving less space for everything else. In practice, this has transformed the city into a space used not for its citizens but for their transportation.
New York is an example of this urban vision. Because New York was built before the 1950s, it already had a strong public transportation system. At 248 miles in length, the New York City subway is the largest metro system of any city in the U.S. In practice, this means that New Yorkers do not need cars. They can get around the city without them. With such a functional system, New Yorkers can purchase a $132 30-day unlimited MetroCard, amounting to only $4.40 a day in transportation costs. Additionally, New York City has some of the most beautiful public community spaces. Examples of these are Bryant Park and Highline Park. These spaces are integral to creating the sense of community that characterizes New York City and makes it livable.
The city is putting more effort into furthering its livability with its congestion pricing campaign, set to begin in the spring of 2024. According to a draft report obtained by CBS News, the city will charge drivers a $15 toll to enter the “congestion zone” below 60th Street. The intended effect is to reduce car traffic in lower Manhattan and to increase ridership on the city’s public transportation system. Although this will increase the cost of commuting for drivers, it will reduce congestion and pollution. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has stated that with congestion pricing, New York will be a “model for the nation” and provide “public transportation at a very affordable cost for those families that are in need.”
Any idea of a “city of the future” is ultimately defined by the present. Recently, that has meant a push away from the post-war future of low-density, suburban cities. Public transportation plays an essential role in that push and does so because transportation is a substantial cost in everyone’s budget. Seemingly, cities like New York taht are moving toward higher densities and more extensive public transportation systems, are the “cities of the future.”