CIENCIA (Soñar el Futuro) Ciudades
¿Cómo serán las ciudades del futuro? En todo el mundo, hombres y mujeres están imaginando herramientas innovadoras para optimizar los flujos urbanos y diseñar ciudades que sean sostenibles, independientes y agradables. Las apuestas son enormes: en 2050 habrá cerca de seis mil millones de habitantes de ciudades, es decir, el 60% de la población mundial. Veremos como en Singapur, los arquitectos Richard Hassell y Wong Mun Summ, fundadores de la agencia WoHa, realizan proyectos que combinan verticalidad, densidad urbana, naturaleza y calidad de vida.
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TVTranscript
00:00How will the cities of the future be?
00:19We have been fantasizing about the cities of the future for a long time,
00:22so we imagined them in 1920.
00:29At the end of the 20th century, we imagined them somewhat different.
00:33I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I think the cities of the future will not be very different from those of the past.
00:39As humans, we will always need horizontal floors.
00:42We will need facades in buildings to protect us from the outside,
00:46windows to look out, all those elements will continue to be present.
00:50So physically, the cities will not change much.
00:53What will change in 2050 is that we will be 6 billion living in cities, 70% of humanity.
01:04That means that we will not only have to densify the cities that already exist and expand them,
01:09but we will also have to create new ones.
01:13How will they provide shelter to all these cities,
01:16without the stress, pollution and exclusion of the most disadvantaged being unbearable?
01:21How will they manage to expand without destroying the planet?
01:27To face these challenges, an urban revolution is needed.
01:31Visionaries join a 2.0 city, smarter, more participatory and greener.
01:41We can create a city with a large density of nature,
01:44perhaps even more than before there were cities.
01:48I'm trying to predict how a design for a city or a neighborhood would actually work.
01:59If you had the guarantee that you would arrive at your destination on time,
02:03would you still be interested in having a car?
02:06I think driving is a waste of time.
02:09To me, cities and buildings breathe, they are living organisms.
02:18These dreamers follow in the footsteps of all those who have developed cities before them.
02:23About 12,000 years ago, our ancestors began to settle in small groups
02:28and put all their ingenuity to the service of agriculture and livestock.
02:32Around 6,000 BC, it was already possible to build a city.
02:36Around 6,000 BC, a real technological revolution was taking place.
02:41Agricultural innovations, highly efficient irrigation systems,
02:44the manufacture of ceramics and bricks.
02:46Man has never stopped inventing ways to make life easier.
02:50As a result, we moved from the countryside to the city.
02:53Thus, in Mesopotamia, in the 4th century BC, our lifestyle changed radically.
02:58Empires flourished, centered in their cities-state.
03:02Very soon it was necessary to plan this urban explosion.
03:05In the 5th century BC, in Athens,
03:07Hippodrome of Miletus conceived a more functional, more geometric city.
03:11In the 1st century, the largest city in the world was Rome,
03:14with almost a million inhabitants.
03:16The large cities multiplied.
03:18In the 8th century, Xian in China and in the 9th century, Bagdad,
03:22surpassed ancient Rome.
03:24In the Middle Ages, we got into the walls of fortified cities.
03:28We were a bit cramped, but at least we were safe.
03:31During the Renaissance, proportion, harmony and symmetry
03:34were combined to redesign a more open city.
03:37Later, the Industrial Revolution accelerated urbanism.
03:41In the 19th century, cities flourished around mines, ports and factories,
03:45which attracted a new workforce.
03:48The large cities continued to grow and had to rationalize space.
03:52In Paris, Haussmann opened large roads in 1853
03:55and Ildefons Zerdá did the same in Barcelona in 1859.
04:00London inaugurated the first metro line in the world in 1863,
04:04a good example of the English genius.
04:06The invention revolutionized our relationship with distance.
04:09This meant that the city could expand,
04:12and by the beginning of the 20th century,
04:14it was approaching 7 million inhabitants.
04:16As that number increased,
04:18we began to dream of building vertically to accommodate everyone.
04:21As a result, urban density skyrocketed,
04:24and man looked higher and higher.
04:26In 1920, New York, with its skyscrapers,
04:29added more citizens than London.
04:31Later, in 1955, it was Tokyo,
04:34with more than 15 million inhabitants,
04:36who overthrew the Great Apple.
04:38At the beginning of the 21st century,
04:40the number of megalopolises was approaching 30,
04:42and it does not seem that it will stay there.
04:44The destination of more than 90% of urban immigration
04:47will be near the equator,
04:49in the tropical and subtropical regions,
04:51and that is where most new cities will be created.
04:54Having people moving to the cities,
04:56in principle, is good news.
04:58All indicators of literacy,
05:00access to health,
05:02infant mortality,
05:04are all better in the cities than inside them.
05:07The issue is that the scale,
05:09the speed,
05:11and the scarcity of resources
05:13with which we will have to respond to the phenomenon
05:15of migration to the cities,
05:17has no precedent in the history of humanity.
05:22The cities of 2050 will be the home
05:24of more than 6 billion people.
05:26How will we all be accommodated?
05:28Is the solution verticality?
05:30Of course, it is not what we dream of.
05:32From Le Corbusier's Buasá plan,
05:34which proposed to raze a part of Paris
05:36and replace it with threatening buildings,
05:38to the terrifying visions of cinema.
05:56We relate verticality
05:58with inhumanity and the absence of life.
06:05However, the vertical city of the future
06:07could surprise us,
06:09and even nature may have a place in it.
06:15In Singapore, a small island
06:17with 6 million inhabitants,
06:19two prominent architects
06:21are combining nature, density,
06:23and quality of life.
06:25We can create a city
06:27with a large density of nature,
06:29perhaps even more than before there were cities.
06:47One thing I like about Singapore
06:49is that nature arises everywhere,
06:51and it doesn't matter if you try to control it,
06:53because it always wins.
06:55Fig trees are huge,
06:57and you can find one
06:59that is touching the roof of your house.
07:01We find it very beautiful and very romantic,
07:03this idea that nature
07:05can so easily reclaim
07:07its rights over the city.
07:09That is why our projects
07:11propose a city full of life
07:13and covered with nature.
07:17Verticality is the only solution.
07:19We believe that the level of the ground
07:21can be doubled in height,
07:23and that nature
07:25can also have its place there.
07:37I think the solution for cities
07:39is not to keep growing horizontally
07:41and occupying territory,
07:43but to be more compact,
07:45and the only way
07:47to achieve this
07:49is by going up.
07:51Our dream is to combine
07:53verticality with dense and beautiful landscapes.
07:55We believe that it is possible
07:57to combine urban density
07:59and verticality
08:01with beautiful gardens,
08:03parks and even forests
08:05at the top of the buildings.
08:09For our first project,
08:11we simply planted some palm trees
08:13on the roof of a building.
08:15That's how it all started.
08:17Some people say
08:19that we have gone a little out of hand.
08:29Then,
08:31for the Pickering Royal Park,
08:33we managed to put the building
08:35on a vegetal surface equivalent
08:37to 200% of the surface of the ground.
08:39In fact,
08:41we have completely reproduced
08:43the park in front of the building
08:45on a vegetal surface,
08:47in the building itself.
08:49When you get a vegetal surface
08:51of 200% in a building,
08:53I think the result is something very different.
08:55It is no longer just crystal,
08:57steel and cement,
08:59it is also made of nature.
09:01One of the best achievements
09:03that we have had
09:05was from one of the people
09:07who live there.
09:09He told us that one morning,
09:11when he woke up,
09:13we brought biodiversity
09:15back to the city.
09:17That confirms
09:19that we are going in the right direction.
09:23After getting
09:25a vegetal surface of 200%,
09:27we wondered
09:29how far we could go.
09:31For our project
09:33Singapore Oasis,
09:35we have more than 1000%,
09:37that is, more than 10 times
09:39the construction surface.
09:41This is incredible,
09:43because it means that in the city
09:45of the future, more dense and modern,
09:47there may be more than 10 times
09:49the nature that there would be
09:51if the city were not.
09:57We want to completely change
09:59the concept of city.
10:01The Singapore 2050 project
10:03is a very optimistic vision
10:05of the future,
10:07although we will have to face
10:09that the new construction projects
10:11on the coast serve in a way
10:13as a barrier of protection.
10:15For our self-sufficient city project,
10:17we wanted to rethink the city
10:19instead of adapting one of the 20th century.
10:21The city will produce the food,
10:23the energy and the water we need.
10:25The solar panels require a lot of sunlight,
10:27so they will form the top layer.
10:29Just below,
10:31we can grow vegetables.
10:33The city will no longer be on one side
10:35and the countryside on the other.
10:37In Singapore,
10:39the space is very small.
10:41This makes it an ideal research field
10:43to create the Asian megalopolis
10:45of the future
10:47and find a way
10:49to increase urban density
10:51and improve our quality of life.
10:57The Skyville project
10:59is very important to me
11:01because they are social housing.
11:03It is a real leap
11:05into the future.
11:07When you are on the ground floor,
11:09you have a very beautiful park
11:11like in European
11:13and North American cities.
11:15But when you take the elevator
11:17and you go to a higher floor,
11:19you arrive at another ground floor,
11:21another park
11:23where you see children running
11:25and playing there
11:27and parents sitting
11:29looking at the landscape.
11:31And if you take the elevator again
11:33and you go to a higher floor,
11:35you arrive at a lower third floor
11:37with a third park.
11:39You can do that up to four times.
11:41On the last floor,
11:43there is a large open park
11:45for everyone.
11:47If it were a private complex
11:49for the richest,
11:51we would see private terraces at the top,
11:53but everything is public there.
11:55Anyone can go up
11:57and enjoy the views
11:59of all of Singapore
12:01We can even have a family barbecue.
12:03I think the city of the future
12:05is that,
12:07a large urban density
12:09and interconnected skyscrapers
12:11to create an area
12:13where people can meet.
12:21To live better
12:23in the cities of 2050,
12:25one thing has to change drastically,
12:27the conception of urbanism.
12:29So far, the task of planning
12:31the cities has been reserved
12:33to a few specialists.
12:35The cities of the 20th century
12:37created a huge administrative machine
12:39with separate and very different
12:41departments.
12:43The transport department did not know
12:45what the housing department did
12:47and the housing department did not know
12:49what the parks and gardens department did.
12:59We already know the result,
13:01divided cities
13:03in which each neighborhood
13:05has a single function,
13:07housing, offices, industry.
13:09To connect them all,
13:11we have trusted the car.
13:13Endless networks of roads
13:15have been built
13:17and they have ended up totally saturated.
13:19At present, we live in contaminated
13:21and cluttered cities.
13:23We are stressed
13:25and our quality of life is being affected.
13:27To break with this inefficient model,
13:29we have to give priority
13:31to people when we design cities
13:33and the best way to do that
13:35is to involve citizens
13:37in urban planning.
13:39A firefighter,
13:41a teacher and a poet
13:43have a lot to say
13:45about cities
13:47and all their advice is relevant.
13:49At MIT,
13:51the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
13:53Ken Larson and his team
13:55are giving life to participatory urbanism.
13:57Their new tools
13:59offer us a global vision of the city
14:01in all its complexity
14:03and allow the dream of every urbanist
14:05to be able to see a city in operation
14:07before it is built.
14:09I think good urbanists
14:11would like to have better means
14:13to respond to the most important problems
14:15of cities.
14:25Our work consists, above all,
14:27in finding better alternatives
14:29to traditional urbanism.
14:31We use algorithms
14:33to make simulations
14:35and predict human behaviors,
14:37traffic jams, etc.
14:39In my opinion,
14:41three are the right mix
14:43of density,
14:45diversity
14:47and urban planning.
14:49The first one
14:51is urban planning
14:53density, diversity
14:55and proximity.
14:57Nowadays, when we look at
14:59urban planning plans,
15:01there is almost no way
15:03to know how they will actually work.
15:05We are beginning
15:07to develop tools
15:09that allow us to study
15:11the different aspects of a city.
15:13CityScope is a model
15:15made up of modular blocks
15:17that can be reorganized.
15:19That makes it
15:21more realistic.
15:31This allows us
15:33to study traffic,
15:35energy consumption
15:37and many other aspects.
15:43I'm honestly a little tired
15:45of visualizing information.
15:47I'm much more interested
15:49in predicting
15:51how a certain design
15:53for a city or district
15:55will work.
15:57To do that,
15:59just move the different blocks.
16:01The simulation is updated
16:03in real time
16:05to be able to predict
16:07the movement of vehicles,
16:09social interactions,
16:11energy consumption.
16:13We have a number
16:15of different CityScope platforms.
16:17The simplest
16:19allows us to visualize
16:21walking access to parks.
16:23This is not good
16:25because it's all red
16:27and you can't walk
16:29to the parks.
16:31You have to fix it.
16:33Make it between the two.
16:35Sure, so the green is the parks.
16:37The green is the parks, yes.
16:39Maybe putting one here.
16:41Yes, and here the same.
16:43Another one here?
16:45Yes.
16:47Try it.
16:49Much better.
16:51If you move this,
16:53it should be all green.
16:55Now the parks
16:57are accessible on foot
16:59and also the jobs.
17:01You can walk from work
17:03to home.
17:05The neighborhood is much better balanced.
17:07We use Legos
17:09because everyone knows
17:11how to play with Legos.
17:13We don't want a very fragile
17:15or very complex tool.
17:17I don't care whether you are
17:19a mayor of a city
17:21or a kid,
17:23they can come and play.
17:25It's magical.
17:33Well, we have CityScope
17:35in various cities.
17:37We have one in Beijing
17:39and another in Hamburg.
17:41I think the latter
17:43is being used more
17:45because it is intended
17:47to help the community
17:49find the best places
17:51for the 20,000 refugees
17:53who have come to the city.
17:55When a group of people
17:57meet face to face,
17:59they work together
18:01on a model
18:03and try different options,
18:05which will completely
18:07change the dynamics.
18:09A problematic situation
18:11that is a source of conflicts
18:13becomes something else
18:15that is very positive.
18:17There are all kinds
18:19of possibilities
18:21that collectively
18:23will help us increase
18:25the density
18:27and minimize the negative impact.
18:29We have to look back
18:31a few decades
18:33and we have to look forward.
18:35I think that the cities
18:37of the future
18:39will be formed
18:41by compact neighborhoods
18:43united by an effective
18:45public transport system
18:47that will encourage
18:49social interactions
18:51and creativity.
18:53Living in them
18:55will be much more pleasant.
19:03The tool of Ken Larson
19:05will allow us to create
19:07together new dense
19:09and multifunctional neighborhoods
19:11in which work,
19:13entertainment
19:15and housing
19:17will be very close.
19:19In 2050,
19:21the quality of life
19:23will depend on public spaces
19:25where we can walk
19:27and go by bike.
19:29We will rediscover
19:31a city
19:33that offers us
19:35an advance of this ideal.
19:37Copenhagen has made
19:39the well-being of its inhabitants
19:41a priority,
19:43for example,
19:45by decontaminating its port
19:47and turning it into
19:49a summer bathroom area.
19:51But how can they make
19:53the most populated cities
19:55happy to their inhabitants?
19:57How is the happiness
19:59of the inhabitants?
20:01A researcher
20:03from the University College
20:05of London has invented
20:07a system to record
20:09our emotions in the city.
20:11We don't always
20:13take the most direct
20:15way to go from A to B.
20:17We all have preferences,
20:19streets we like to pass
20:21whenever we can.
20:23We all have a sentimental
20:25relationship with the city.
20:27The key for me
20:29is to understand
20:31the impact I have
20:33as an architect
20:35and designer.
20:37If you have millions
20:39of people walking
20:41through streets
20:43that tire them
20:45and frustrate them,
20:47then we have the proof
20:49that we have to change something.
20:51In my experiment,
20:53I try to make
20:55how people feel
20:57in the city.
20:59How do they feel
21:01in this street
21:03and in this other street?
21:05How do they feel?
21:07I mean their emotional state.
21:09Are they happy?
21:11Are they unhappy?
21:13Are they frustrated?
21:15Nervous?
21:17Or are they calm?
21:19To capture people's emotions,
21:21we are using this helmet
21:23and a portable electroencephalogram,
21:25a device that measures
21:27the electrical activity
21:29of the brain,
21:31and we have combined it
21:33with a GPS
21:35to have them located.
21:37We will be following you
21:39at close range,
21:4110 meters behind you.
21:43If you have any questions
21:45or you feel lost,
21:47ask us.
21:49Otherwise,
21:51you receive a message
21:53from a friend
21:55that says,
21:57we will be there in 15 minutes.
21:59And you walk 15 minutes
22:01and most of us
22:03don't stop to think
22:05what streets we will take
22:07or why we will take those streets.
22:09It is an almost automatic process,
22:11unconscious.
22:13The sensors of the helmet
22:15open a window
22:17to that unconscious process
22:19where certain emotional states occur.
22:21You cross a crossroad
22:23and you get stressed
22:25because you have to pay attention.
22:27Sometimes you don't have to pay attention
22:29because it is a less dangerous crossroad.
22:31In this way,
22:33you can establish a relationship
22:35between a street with a lot of traffic,
22:37a polluted street,
22:39and a noisy street
22:41and the emotions of someone
22:43who walks there every day.
22:45One of the experiments we did
22:47was to measure the emotional capacity
22:49of a blind person
22:51who walks through the city
22:53and compare it
22:55with that of a person
22:57without vision problems.
22:59Will there be differences?
23:01What we can do now
23:03is to map all those emotions.
23:05We can put together two maps,
23:07one with the emotions of a person who sees
23:09and another with those of a person who does not see.
23:11When we compare them,
23:13we better understand
23:15that the goal is to develop
23:17some empathy.
23:19We were surprised to see
23:21what makes a public space good.
23:23We usually assume
23:25that a pedestrian street
23:27is good for everyone,
23:29but is it really?
23:31What we discovered
23:33is that visually impaired people
23:35perceive it differently.
23:37There are more people,
23:39the sidewalks are different,
23:41there are fewer reference points.
23:43They need to be reviewed.
23:45Thanks to this data,
23:47we can propose a debate,
23:49design the cities thinking about everyone,
23:51make them more accessible.
23:53My dream for 2050
23:55is a city
23:57where no one feels excluded,
23:59where everyone has their place,
24:01whether young or old,
24:03multicultural and multiethnic.
24:05The cities of the future
24:07have to bring together
24:09the best of today's cities.
24:11For example,
24:13some are conducive to walking,
24:15others to cycling.
24:17Now we need to know
24:19how to reproduce that model
24:21all over the world.
24:29In the future,
24:31will this pleasant city
24:33be reserved for the most fortunate?
24:35Currently, almost 900 million people
24:37live in slums.
24:39The city of 2050
24:41would be a divided world
24:43in cities for the rich
24:45and slums for the poor.
24:47The best places to enjoy life
24:49should be in the most vulnerable neighborhoods.
24:51There is a redistributive capacity
24:53of public space
24:55that we should be able to use
24:57to see and operate
24:59in the city as a shortcut to liquidity.
25:01Surrounded by a team of urbanists,
25:03Scott Lloyd dreams of transforming
25:05the slums of South Africa
25:07into affordable places to live.
25:09His project, Empower Shack,
25:11also depends on the participation
25:13of the inhabitants.
25:15Slum neighborhoods
25:17and improvised settlements
25:19symbolize the failure of the government,
25:21politics and the integration
25:23of the population
25:25into the country's economy.
25:27That's exactly what interests us.
25:29Our goal is to solve these problems.
25:31In the future,
25:33it is in the countries of the south
25:35where all demographic growth
25:37will occur.
25:39In 2050, more than half
25:41of the world's urban population
25:43will live in improvised settlements.
25:45This will determine
25:47the way people
25:49will live in cities.
25:55Our mission as urbanists
25:57and designers
25:59is to reconnect
26:01the different elements
26:03that make up the city.
26:05Kailitsa is the second largest
26:07segregated district in South Africa.
26:09Residents have built
26:11their own houses.
26:13They are generally made
26:15of zinc, wood and cardboard.
26:19When you get here for the first time
26:21from Cape Town,
26:23it's like a whip.
26:29People live under
26:31the permanent threat of fires.
26:35Floods
26:37are also a threat.
26:39Not to mention the physical violence.
26:41There is almost no space
26:43between the houses.
26:4540 or 50 centimeters
26:47at most.
26:49These narrow paths
26:51that lead to sewage
26:53and water supply points
26:55are really dangerous.
26:57There are attacks and rapes.
27:03We are transforming
27:05the city in this area.
27:07Residents
27:09are actively involved
27:11in the project.
27:13From the very beginning
27:15we ask them for ideas
27:17on how to modernize
27:19their community.
27:21Every three or four months
27:23we organize a workshop
27:25with local residents.
27:27Who is this person?
27:29Do you want to live with her?
27:31Do you want to live with this person?
27:33In this way you know
27:35who your neighbors are,
27:37who you are sharing space with.
27:43We take into account
27:45their observations,
27:47their discontent and their ideas
27:49and we try to integrate them
27:51in the design process.
27:55There are certain uses
27:57in public spaces
27:59that we, as Europeans,
28:01are not familiar with.
28:03We constantly learn,
28:05we re-learn to be architects,
28:07to be urban planners.
28:09We are striving to be
28:11as transparent as possible
28:13in our way of working.
28:15With the hope that those
28:17who are involved in the long term
28:19will be able to serve as representatives
28:21when the project changes scale
28:23It is a house
28:25of very basic structure
28:27that is affordable for them
28:29and in which they can
28:31make improvements later.
28:33We have designed
28:35a two-story housing prototype
28:37because moving from one
28:39to two floors
28:41we gain 50% of the
28:43ground surface for streets,
28:45infrastructures
28:47and public spaces
28:49that allow a much more
28:51sociable development.
28:53One of the most important
28:55tasks of urban planners
28:57is to design a network
28:59of streets with accessible
29:01parks and public spaces.
29:03People get together
29:05in those public places
29:07and that increases the diversity
29:09and the level of tolerance
29:11in the neighborhood.
29:13That's where we have to be
29:15very accurate.
29:17The rest can be adjusted later.
29:19The modernization phase
29:21consists of demolishing the rubble
29:23and replacing it with our
29:25two-story prototypes.
29:27Our prototype
29:29is a very light construction
29:31with a wooden structure
29:33fully covered with wavy sheet
29:35that is used in warehouses.
29:37We chose these materials
29:39to be able to build quickly
29:41because legally
29:43we do not have the right
29:45to build on this land.
29:49The construction
29:51of the prototype is very simple.
29:53We wanted to show
29:55how easy it was to make
29:57this improvement.
29:59In the meantime,
30:01the neighbors have painted
30:03the facade with stripes
30:05of all colors and sizes
30:07and this is how the house
30:09has become part of the whole community.
30:11It has become really a symbol
30:13of the potential
30:15of urban development in the region.
30:19What we were most interested in
30:21in this project
30:23was to create neighborhoods
30:25that had their own identity
30:27and then to be able
30:29to multiply them.
30:31At this moment
30:33we are working
30:35on a pilot site
30:37similar to this
30:39that will accommodate
30:4116,000 homes.
30:43It is a very large area
30:45of the city.
30:47We have an open program
30:49and we hope that there will be
30:51initiatives that can benefit
30:53from our experience.
30:55If our project can be copied
30:57and used in other places
30:59and in other environments,
31:01we will consider it a success.
31:07And the key will be
31:09to understand that people
31:11are part of the solution
31:13and not part of the problem.
31:15In 2050 we will be
31:17connected to our cities.
31:19Smarter cities
31:21whose transformation has already begun.
31:23Omnipresent,
31:25networks of sensors similar
31:27to millions of neurons
31:29will allow the city to react,
31:31adapt to our needs
31:33in real time.
31:35Imagine a smart public
31:37light that turns on and off
31:39only depending on our movements.
31:41As simple as effective.
31:45But what happens
31:47with all the personal information
31:49collected by these cities?
31:51Are we going to lose control of our lives?
31:53When you collect information,
31:55privacy problems always arise
31:57and it is important to take it into account.
31:59What is happening in cities
32:01is little compared to what is happening
32:03in our lives.
32:05Every time we enter a social network,
32:07we post something, we send an email,
32:09we pay with a credit card
32:11or we use a mobile phone,
32:13it is something very important that must be discussed.
32:15The connected city or smart city
32:17is nothing more than a technological tool
32:19but well used
32:21can improve our lives.
32:23At MIT in Boston,
32:25a researcher dreams of using these new technologies
32:27to protect us from pollution.
32:29As a scientist,
32:31I try to understand cities
32:33and the use we give them
32:35to make them more durable,
32:37efficient and pleasant.
32:43What is the world's health organization?
32:53According to the World Health Organization,
32:557 million people
32:57die prematurely every year
32:59due to air pollution.
33:03Every day, when we go to work,
33:05to school,
33:07when we do our daily activities,
33:09we are exposed to this pollution.
33:13I want to take advantage of
33:15the low cost of sensors
33:17and advances in data analysis
33:19and I want to be creative
33:21and gather all that information
33:23to help my friends,
33:25my family and the people who live in the cities
33:27to reduce their daily exposure
33:29to pollution.
33:33I am directing a project called
33:35Airscape Singapore
33:37for which we have collected information
33:39about air quality and climate
33:41thanks to small and cheap sensors
33:43with which we have equipped
33:45residents of a very busy
33:47part of Singapore.
33:53The smartphones they carry
33:55leave digital traces
33:57and allow them to follow their movements.
33:59When they carry the sensors on their phones,
34:01all that information they collect
34:03is mapped and visualized
34:05in a web application.
34:07It is an interactive application
34:09where people have their profile
34:11and can see the means of transport
34:13they have chosen,
34:15if they have been walking,
34:17cycling or running,
34:19what route they have followed,
34:21what impact this has had on their exposure
34:23to pollution and the amount of pollutants
34:25they have inhaled.
34:27In this way, if I have to move
34:29from A to B through the city,
34:31the application will calculate
34:33the shortest and least polluted route.
34:37Our world is increasingly connected.
34:39We are connected to objects
34:41that communicate with each other
34:43and that now also communicate
34:45with the cities.
34:47The cities of the future
34:49will record information
34:51of all kinds
34:53about what is good or bad
34:55for our health.
34:57We are working
34:59with the city of Cambridge
35:01to install sensors
35:03in the air
35:05because there are streetlights
35:07all over the city.
35:09These devices will allow
35:11to analyze the intersections
35:13to make them safer,
35:15less congested,
35:17less polluted
35:19and less harmful
35:21to health.
35:23We have already installed
35:25an air quality control system
35:27at the intersection of Bassar Street
35:29with Massachusetts Avenue
35:31right next to the MIT.
35:33If the level of air pollution
35:35is too high,
35:37if there are many pedestrians,
35:39it will take control of the traffic lights
35:41to reduce the number of vehicles
35:43and their emissions.
35:47So we have put the human being,
35:49the pedestrian and the cyclist
35:51at the center of our considerations
35:53in front of the cars.
35:57Ultimately, our cities
35:59will be able to reduce
36:01the air pollution.
36:09I dream of a very quiet
36:11and peaceful city,
36:13a city that has
36:15no pollution
36:17or congestion,
36:19where I can walk
36:21without danger at any time of day
36:23and if I ever have children,
36:25that they are also safe.
36:27I dream of a city
36:29where I can see the stars
36:31at night.
36:39To achieve in 2050
36:41the dream of a city
36:43quiet and free of pollution,
36:45we will have to get rid
36:47of a vestige of the past.
36:49Think about how different
36:51our cities would be
36:53if we took away
36:558 cars out of 10.
36:57It is time to say goodbye.
36:59In the connected city,
37:01we will use a network
37:03of smart vehicles
37:05to move around.
37:11According to our research,
37:13a fleet of autonomous vehicles
37:15could theoretically
37:17meet the mobility needs
37:19of cities like Paris,
37:21New York or Singapore
37:23with 20% of the vehicles
37:25that there are now.
37:27In Singapore,
37:29a researcher is already testing
37:31his fleet of smart vehicles.
37:33His dream is to give us more free time
37:35thanks to more efficient
37:37urban movements.
37:39Man does many things
37:41that he should not do.
37:43I organize them into 5 categories.
37:45Dangerous things,
37:47difficult things,
37:49degrading things,
37:51unworthy things,
37:53and so on.
38:07Singapore is a megalopolis
38:09whose population does not stop increasing.
38:11And although it seems incredible,
38:13we want it to develop even more.
38:15So with the number of vehicles
38:17and streets,
38:19it cannot increase indefinitely.
38:21We are moving towards a model
38:23in which the car will be less present,
38:25in which we can move easily
38:27without having a vehicle.
38:29Singapore is very advanced
38:31when it comes to technologies
38:33that improve quality of life.
38:35The government has invested a lot
38:37in research.
38:39If you could get a fleet
38:41of vehicles that,
38:43in less than 5 minutes,
38:45were available anywhere
38:47and would take you to your destination in time,
38:49would you still want to have a car?
38:51Perhaps not.
38:53So yesterday,
38:55during the test,
38:57you did not collect information?
38:59We are working on an autonomous vehicle
39:01to facilitate door-to-door mobility.
39:03We do not want to use expensive
39:05and complex sensors.
39:07We buy our computers
39:09in the same small store
39:11where you buy accessories for games.
39:13We always seek to reduce costs.
39:15We call it
39:17frugal engineering.
39:19I grew up in the Philippines.
39:21There, the standard of living
39:23is a little lower,
39:25but I think that is a point
39:27in favor of autonomous vehicles.
39:29Frugal engineering offers
39:31many applications,
39:33especially in developing countries.
39:35We compensate the shortage
39:37of cheap sensors
39:39with software intelligence
39:41and design.
39:43That's our real philosophy.
39:45Let's say that there is already
39:47a fleet of vehicles in operation
39:49without a driver in the city
39:51and you want to go to the train station.
39:53How do you ask for a car?
39:55We have developed a very simple
39:57web application.
39:59We indicate where we are
40:01and where we want to go
40:03and she finds us a car
40:05in less than 5 minutes.
40:07It is similar to applications
40:09to ask for a taxi,
40:11only as the car does not have a driver,
40:13the car arrives and you get in.
40:17To unlock it,
40:19you have to enter the password
40:21you have received.
40:23If it is correct, the car starts.
40:27As the vehicle is connected,
40:29you can access the Internet
40:31and enjoy the journey as you wish.
40:33You do not have to waste time driving.
40:35In the future, when we feel
40:37more secure with the system,
40:39it will not be necessary to drive.
40:41And the concept
40:43can continue to evolve.
40:47Imagine small limousines
40:49with sofas in which
40:51we can relax, do things,
40:53watch a movie.
41:01A computer never gets tired,
41:03it does not get nervous.
41:05If someone overtakes him,
41:07he does not care.
41:09The driver is always the same,
41:11so there are no accidents.
41:13In addition, it will drive
41:15in the profile that minimizes
41:17fuel consumption.
41:19Sounds good, right?
41:27For pedestrian areas,
41:29we will have little cars.
41:31For example, when a class is over
41:33and you want to go to the city,
41:35you can take a little car
41:37and go to the station.
41:41When I get to the transbordo point,
41:43the driverless car
41:45will already be there waiting for me.
41:47I get out of the little car,
41:49get in the car and go to the station.
41:51You have a selection.
41:53You can choose between
41:55various types of vehicles.
41:57The car, the little car,
41:59the scooter, all that
42:01already exists in an autonomous version.
42:03They work perfectly.
42:05We will adapt the concept
42:07to the buses,
42:09to have a fleet of vehicles
42:11strategically distributed
42:13throughout Singapore.
42:15As the city is connected,
42:17we will know where there is
42:19more demand for transport
42:21and thus guarantee
42:23a maximum waiting time
42:25of 5 minutes.
42:27That does not mean
42:29that everyone has to use it,
42:31but if you want the most
42:33the duration of the journey.
42:35If people get used to that system,
42:37the number of vehicles
42:39on the streets will be considerably reduced.
42:41We will go much faster
42:43from point A to point B
42:45because there will be fewer cars.
42:47Roads and infrastructure
42:49will be used more efficiently
42:51and cars will not be
42:53standing there doing nothing,
42:55taking up space.
42:57During the journey you will be able
42:59to answer emails and it will be
43:01convenient for family and friends.
43:07All technologies
43:09can be used differently
43:11and connected cities are not an exception.
43:13We can use them to control
43:15the population or to help it
43:17participate in decisions.
43:19In my opinion, we would have to
43:21opt for the second option.
43:23Connected or not,
43:25our cities exploit
43:27the resources of the planet
43:29to develop.
43:31No matter what we need,
43:33we consume energy and we consume so much
43:35that the environmental balance
43:37is currently in danger.
43:39It is a real puzzle
43:41because the more we are,
43:43the less the Earth can satisfy
43:45our needs.
43:47There is a permanent competition
43:49between the city and the territories
43:51that it appropriates to expand.
43:53In the future, to ensure our survival,
43:55cities will reduce their environmental footprint,
43:57reinvent local production methods
43:59in the city.
44:01This is already a reality in the case of food
44:03with the appearance of urban farms.
44:09It is perfectly possible to feed
44:11all the inhabitants of New York,
44:13growing inside the city
44:15and within a radius of 150 km.
44:17Our cities
44:19will also generate their own energy,
44:21recycling waste, for example.
44:23The CO2 emitted by a factory
44:25will feed algae walls
44:27that will heat our homes
44:29through photosynthesis.
44:31In Hamburg, the inhabitants
44:33of an innovative building,
44:35the B&Q, are already benefiting
44:37from this natural and free heating.
44:39And the raw materials
44:41that our cities need,
44:43can we someday manufacture them on site?
44:45And why not invent construction materials
44:47that are less polluting
44:49and consume less energy
44:51than cement and steel?
44:53I think we have to think
44:55about completely new materials,
44:57living materials of biological origin
44:59that are used in urban design,
45:01especially in cities.
45:03In New York, an architect dreams
45:05of making the city of the future
45:07without polluting or consuming energy,
45:09replacing cement
45:11with living matter.
45:13If we think about the city in the future,
45:15I think we will be able
45:17to build a city
45:19that will not be polluted
45:21and that will not be polluted.
45:23If we think about the city
45:25as a living organism,
45:27we will open the field
45:29of possibilities
45:31and we will be able
45:33to achieve extraordinary things.
45:35For me, cities and buildings breathe.
45:37They are living organisms.
45:39They have always been.
45:41They grow, consume energy,
45:43generate waste,
45:45they change,
45:47they adapt,
45:49sometimes they degrade.
45:51They are living organisms.
45:53They have always been.
45:55They grow, consume energy,
45:57generate waste,
45:59they change,
46:01they adapt,
46:03sometimes they degrade.
46:05Cities consume huge amounts
46:07of resources.
46:09A standard building,
46:11made of steel, cement and glass,
46:13generally uses
46:15raw materials of great value
46:17that are extracted from the earth.
46:21We had an idea,
46:23mainly to use raw materials
46:25without much value,
46:27to convert them into brick,
46:29almost without energy,
46:31to generate large amounts,
46:33as we do now,
46:35and still be able
46:37to build a building.
46:39Hi-Fi is a structure
46:4113 meters high,
46:43made of 10,000 biodegradable bricks.
46:45These bricks
46:47are not manufactured,
46:49but rather cultivated
46:51with a living organism
46:53called mycelium.
46:55Mycelium grows in the forest
46:57and binds loose pieces of wood.
47:01Recently,
47:03the Ecovative factory
47:05began to industrialize
47:07this natural organic process.
47:09They have achieved,
47:11in the controlled environment
47:13of the factory,
47:15what happens naturally in the forest
47:17to make packaging products.
47:19From the Ecovative factory,
47:21we proposed to convert
47:23that material
47:25into a building material.
47:27To make this new type of brick,
47:29we start with agricultural waste.
47:31We combine it with mycelium
47:33and we don't touch it
47:35for five days
47:37without adding energy
47:39or sunlight.
47:41The mycelium grows
47:43and merges
47:45and then we take out
47:47that solid object
47:49from the mold
47:51and we dry it,
47:53which kills the mycelium.
47:55So we get a solid object
47:57that has been created
47:59with a much smaller
48:01environmental footprint
48:03than the traditional brick.
48:05We have never built
48:07a four-story building
48:09in this way.
48:15We had to call specialists
48:17to test this material
48:19and its possibilities.
48:21Hi-Fi was built
48:23in the courtyard
48:25of MoMA PS1,
48:27the Museum of Modern Art
48:29in New York City,
48:31not on a laboratory table
48:33or on an empty lot,
48:35but in a public place.
48:41Visitors
48:43could interact
48:45with the structure,
48:47touch it, feel it,
48:49feel it from the inside.
48:51It was a very beautiful experience.
48:53It allowed us to test
48:55a new concept,
48:57that of living architecture.
48:59At the end of the summer,
49:01we dismantled the structure
49:03and brought the bricks
49:05to a composting facility.
49:07For us,
49:09it was proof
49:11that you can build
49:13a building with natural materials
49:15and destroy it later
49:17without contamination.
49:19Now we can start
49:21to reinvent
49:23what a building is.
49:25If we keep the mycelium alive,
49:27the walls of the buildings
49:29could do incredible things.
49:31They could repair themselves,
49:33for example,
49:35change color
49:37when they come in contact
49:39with certain contaminating agents,
49:41or even emit a substance
49:43capable of protecting
49:45the walls of the building.
49:47In the future,
49:49the buildings will communicate
49:51with each other.
49:53By bringing
49:55the environment
49:57and the living materials,
49:59we can create
50:01better cities.
50:05So,
50:07what will the cities of the future be like?
50:09It is not easy to imagine their shape,
50:11but is that what matters?
50:13When we have managed
50:15to make our cities greener,
50:17our means of transport more efficient,
50:19when our neighborhoods
50:21are able to supply us
50:23everything we need,
50:25maybe our urban revolution will have succeeded
50:27and we will be able
50:29to give our children
50:31the city we dream of.
50:43www.globalonenessproject.org