Introduction Have you ever wondered what it was like to live in a city 100 years ago How about 1,000 What about 50 years in the future I once lived in London England a city that is almost 2,000 years old It has narrow cobblestone streets markets that have sold food for hundreds of years and glass skyscrapers that tower high above the city As I wandered the streets I wondered Were the streets once shared with horses or goats Was the water safe to drink Where did people put their garbage Could you go play at a park with your friends Did people feel safe walking around If you had to go to the bathroom was there one available In other words what does a city need to become a good place to live for everyone 1
What makes you happy about where you live What would you like to change about it IMAGES BY TANG MI NG T UN G GET TY IMAGES 2 Researchers have found that there are qualities in a city that make people feel happy living there They include feeling safe being able to travel about easily for their daily activities having green space nearby so they can enjoy nature and being part of a community People also need to feel welcome And they need clean air to breathe safe water to drink and healthy food readily available For the last 9,000 years we humans have been putting our heads together to build our cities to suit our needs but there have been ups and downs along the way Today’s cities deal with many of the same issues as cities of the past as well as new ones Cities produce at least 60 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and they face big challenges from the effects of the climate crisis like hurricanes and heat waves The ancient city of Shibam Yemen was designed so that everyone could easily walk to their daily activities Can cities today create more compact neighborhoods that mean less travel and more time to play In the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlán in today’s Mexico residents grew crops using waste products from the city Is zero waste possible for today’s cities We’ll explore how cities have changed through time and how we can best design city life for the future using ideas from the past When better services or sustainable ideas are put into place in cities such as solar panels rooftop farms or more buses and bike lanes it can make life better for a huge number of people That’s good news because by 2050 an estimated 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities Let’s go discover what might make a more sustainable and welcoming city for today and tomorrow
People relax by Cheonggyecheon Stream in Seoul Hidden under concrete for many years the stream was restored in 2005 These days on average it attracts 64,000 visitors daily RICHA R D S HARR OC KS GET TY I MAGE S
