Cities of the future that have not yet been built. "My city in the future"

China is creating a car-free city from the ground up, building an urban center around a residential core that can accommodate 80,000 people. Great City should appear in rural areas outside of Chengdu. It will be completely pedestrian and green. You can get from the center to the outer ring of parks on your feet in less than ten minutes. Other nearby city centers will be accessible via public transport. The city will use 48% less energy and 58% less water than other traditional cities of the same size, and will produce 89% less waste.

Masdar: the world's first zero-carbon city

The world's greenest metropolis - free of cars and skyscrapers - is now being built in the desert outside Abu Dhabi. Masdar, the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste city, will run on a public rapid transit system instead of private cars and rely on solar, wind and geothermal energy. Giant “sunflower caps” will provide moving shade during the day, store heat and release it at night.

Shan-Sui City

MAD Architects sees Shan Sui as a city of the future. The concept is based on the worship of mountains and water in China, so the concept consists of large-scale mixed-use buildings with plenty of public spaces where people can gather, socialize and enjoy nature. Dense settlement means that all necessary resources are easily accessible within easy walking distance or public transport. Architects argue that high-density living is much more sustainable as an idea for city building than the current trend "". At the heart of this concept is also easy access to nature, as well as to schools, health care and work.

Ecology and Dubai

Baharash Architecture proposes to incorporate "best practices in green building" into Dubai, focusing on community connections and social interaction against a green backdrop. The structure consists of 550 villas, organic farms, educational facilities and 200,000 square meters of solar panels. The city will independently generate 50% of the required energy and offset carbon emissions through public transport.

Green Gothenburg of the future

Swedish Gothenburg could be even greener, according to Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture. Ultra-dense development will make Gothenburg self-sufficient in terms of energy and food. The rooftops will house windmills to grow food and solar panels to generate electricity. Dense development reduces road traffic, and the river becomes a more significant means of transportation.

Multiplicity by John Warde Architects

“Melbourne is not growing, but growing up and down,” say John Wardle Architects of its Multiplicity concept, which imagines the Australian city a hundred years from now.

“New air and underground routes open up completely new perspectives for the city. Airplanes and urban topography make it possible to harvest food, rainwater and energy from new sources in the future.”

Pedestrian city of San Juan in Puerto Rico

The entire city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, is undergoing a $1.5 billion transformation into a "walkable city" with a new public transportation system. This is the biggest and most controversial change. Cars are prohibited within the city. San Juan has been suffering from population decline for the past 60 years, and officials want to attract new people by charming them with a walkable area in the heart of the city, where pedestrians won't have to worry about cars or inhaling exhaust fumes. The city's beautiful beaches are now inaccessible due to ports and over-reliance on cars.

Reimagining Athens

The winning design of OKRA's ReThink Athens competition transforms the heart of the city into a vibrant, green, pedestrian-friendly center rather than a car-friendly one. Green areas provide shade and shelter and moderate the heat, encouraging more active recreation. New green avenues also provide access to all surrounding areas.

Floating city in Haiti

Haiti is an island nation ravaged by poverty and natural disasters such as earthquakes that have leveled much of Port-au-Prince and left millions homeless. Architect E. Kevin Schopfer envisioned a new floating city for 30,000 residents just offshore with living space supporting agriculture and light industry. The 3-kilometer-diameter complex consists of four blocks in the form of floating modules, interconnected by a linear system of canals. Able to withstand hurricanes and typhoons, the city can be expanded if necessary.

3D city

What if our cities were like our architects were working on a 3D grid? The idea comes from the eVolo 2011 Skyscraper Competition and is called NeoTax. Buildings that grow upward and further. Organized into horizontal and vertical street grids, the buildings are based on a modular system, where each module can be considered as a separate building connected to another at ground level. Roughly speaking, we will all be neighbors and will not uproot green spaces for the sake of construction.

Asian pyramids

Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut is known for his designs that take inspiration from natural forms, such as floating lotus-shaped cities. This time he presented the vertical city of Shenzhen in China, made in the form of cairns, or stone pyramids.

“The goal is to create a positive urban environment with zero carbon emissions and positive energy,” says the architect. In this project, the city should live according to the laws of the jungle, be highly dense and have gardens and vegetable gardens built right in the residential towers. Each tower contains 20 glazed "pebbles" covered with solar panels and wind turbines.

A city free of fear

What is it like to live in a city free of fear? This concept was created for Now+When, an Australian urbanism exhibition in 2010, and focuses on the things people do free from fear, rather than oppressed by it, in modern cities. To achieve this, the city must build gridded streets and spaces that emphasize interconnection and movement. Visible connections connecting different buildings and neighborhoods at all levels of the city would allow citizens to feel more inclusive.

What should the city of the future be like? It must first solve the problems of overcrowding, pollution and development by creating dense vertical structures that are connected at all levels. Residents will be able to move freely from one place to another on foot. Here are twelve conceptual cities, some of which are already under construction. They are based on free movement, which sometimes goes so far that cars are no longer needed.

City without cars

1. China is creating a car-free city from the ground up, building an urban center around a residential core that can accommodate 80,000 people. Great City should appear in rural areas outside of Chengdu. It will be completely pedestrian and green. You can get from the center to the outer ring of parks on your feet in less than ten minutes. Other nearby city centers will be accessible via public transport. The city will use 48% less energy and 58% less water than other traditional cities of the same size, and will produce 89% less waste.

Zero carbon city

2. The world's most environmentally friendly metropolis - without cars and skyscrapers - is now being built in the desert outside Abu Dhabi. Masdar, the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste city, will run on a public rapid transit system instead of private cars and rely on solar, wind and geothermal energy. Giant “sunflower caps” will provide moving shade during the day, store heat and release it at night.

Lawn City

3. MAD Architects sees Shan-Sui as a city of the future. The concept is based on the worship of mountains and water in China, so the concept consists of large-scale mixed-use buildings with plenty of public spaces where people can gather, socialize and enjoy nature. Dense settlement means that all necessary resources are easily accessible within easy walking distance or public transport. Architects argue that high-density living is much more sustainable as a city-building idea than the current trend of “boxes taking over the world.” At the heart of this concept is also easy access to nature, as well as to schools, health care and work.

Green city in the desert

4. Baharash Architecture proposes to incorporate “best green building practices” into Dubai, focusing on community connections and social interaction against a green backdrop. The structure consists of 550 villas, organic farms, educational facilities and 200,000 square meters of solar panels. The city will independently generate 50% of the required energy and offset carbon emissions through public transport.

Green Gothenburg of the future

5. Swedish Gothenburg could be even greener, according to Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture. Ultra-dense development will make Gothenburg self-sufficient in terms of energy and food. The rooftops will house windmills to grow food and solar panels to generate electricity. Dense development reduces road traffic, and the river becomes a more significant means of transportation.

Vertical city

6. “Melbourne is not growing, but growing up and down,” say John Wardle Architects about their Multiplicity concept, which imagines the Australian city a hundred years from now. “New air and underground routes open up completely new perspectives for the city. Airplanes and urban topography make it possible to harvest food, rainwater and energy from new sources in the future.”

Pedestrian city

7. The entire city of San Juan, Puerto Rico is undergoing a $1.5 billion transformation into a "walkable city" with a new public transportation system. This is the biggest and most controversial change. Cars are prohibited within the city. San Juan has been suffering from population decline for the past 60 years, and officials want to attract new people by charming them with a walkable area in the heart of the city, where pedestrians won't have to worry about cars or inhaling exhaust fumes. The city's beautiful beaches are now inaccessible due to ports and over-reliance on cars.

A city with a comfort center

8. The winning design of OKRA's ReThink Athens competition transforms the heart of the city into a vibrant, green, pedestrian-friendly, car-free center. Green areas provide shade and shelter and moderate the heat, encouraging more active recreation. New green avenues also provide access to all surrounding areas.

floating city

9. Haiti is an island nation ravaged by poverty and natural disasters such as earthquakes that have leveled much of Port-au-Prince and left millions homeless. Architect E. Kevin Schopfer envisioned a new floating city for 30,000 residents just offshore with living space supporting agriculture and light industry. The 3-kilometer-diameter complex consists of four blocks in the form of floating modules, interconnected by a linear system of canals. Able to withstand hurricanes and typhoons, the city can be expanded if necessary.

3D city

10. What if our cities were like our architects were working on a 3D grid? The idea comes from the eVolo 2011 Skyscraper Competition and is called NeoTax. Buildings that grow upward and further. Organized into horizontal and vertical street grids, the buildings are based on a modular system, where each module can be considered as a separate building connected to another at ground level. Roughly speaking, we will all be neighbors and will not uproot green spaces for the sake of construction.

City of "pebbles"

11. Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut is known for his designs that take inspiration from natural forms, such as floating lotus-shaped cities. This time he presented the vertical city of Shenzhen in China, made in the form of cairns, or stone pyramids. “The goal is to create a positive urban environment with zero carbon emissions and positive energy,” says the architect. In this project, the city should live according to the laws of the jungle, be highly dense and have gardens and vegetable gardens built right in the residential towers. Each tower contains 20 glazed "pebbles" covered with solar panels and wind turbines.

A city free of fear

12. What is it like to live in a city free of fear? This concept was created for Now+When, an Australian urbanism exhibition in 2010, and focuses on the things people do free from fear, rather than oppressed by it, in modern cities. To achieve this, the city must build gridded streets and spaces that emphasize interconnection and movement. Visible connections connecting different buildings and neighborhoods at all levels of the city would allow citizens to feel more inclusive.

At the same time, many of these projects seem to be illustrations for as-yet-unwritten science fiction novels. Economically and technically, they are at least on the verge of feasibility. Their main drawback is that they very often contradict human requirements for the living environment, turning it into some kind of warehouses for people.

The current state of most large cities in the world and the projects described above show that the compact and concentrated development of multimillion-dollar metropolises is unacceptable for human society. The picture of the city of the future, developed on the same basis, was insightfully drawn by Anatole France back in 1908. The writer’s warning voice sounded in the description given at the beginning of the 8th book of “Penguin Islands,” entitled “Future Times. - A Story Without End”: “The houses all seemed not high enough, they were constantly being built up, built thirty, forty floors, in which there were offices, shops, banks, and boards of various companies. And, tearing the soil deeper and deeper, they dug tunnels and brought out basements.

Fifteen million people worked in a gigantic city under the light of floodlights that did not go out day or night. No daylight penetrated at all through the smoke rising from the factory chimneys that surrounded the city. Sometimes only the red disk of the sun could be seen without rays, gliding across a black horizon cut by iron bridges, from which fell a continuous rain of soot and coal dust. It was the most industrial, richest city in the world. Its structure seemed perfect. There was no trace left of the old aristocratic or democratic forms of government; everything in it was subordinated to the interests of the trusts” 33.

However, despite the unattractiveness of such a picture, it is obviously unrealistic to assume that large cities will disappear completely. In any case, one cannot count on eliminating them in the coming decades. On the contrary, we have to increasingly take into account the fact that, due to the extremely high growth of population and the ongoing process of concentration, new large cities will appear. It is necessary to take into account the understandable desire to intensively use every hectare of expensive urban land for new development.

This raises a whole series of questions. Does the process of further growth of large cities represent an insurmountable pattern, or is there a need and opportunity to manage this process, striving to limit the concentration of settlement? Is it necessary to promote maximum population concentration by creating a completely artificial environment, or, on the contrary, is it necessary to strive to reduce density in large cities, increasingly using greenery and other natural components in them? Are transport and technical problems a consequence of increasing population concentration, or can the question of the basic preconditions for the existence of large cities be resolved? If possible, then at what cost - by spending colossal financial resources or by reducing the quality of the human environment? The entire world theory and practice of urban planning is looking for answers to these pressing questions. We have already become acquainted with a number of concrete and theoretical projects, the authors of which want to solve complex issues of reconstruction and further development of modern large cities, trying to overcome their serious shortcomings. However, we have also seen that often in new projects individual unfavorable aspects of a big city are so intensified that they reach their absurdity.

Taken together, they clearly demonstrate the enormous difficulties standing in the way of solving the problems of a big city - expedient cooperation

connections between housing and work, ensuring accessibility to greenery, recreation areas and nature in general, developing efficient transport means and systems. It is in large cities that specific social and hygienic problems arise, and the creation of favorable living conditions for people sometimes turns out to be not only difficult, but also expensive.

At the same time, the creation of a favorable environment for society as a whole and for the individual, for the full development of his physical and spiritual strengths remains the primary problem of the modern and future big city.

A common feature of most modern projects is an attempt to overcome the spontaneous development and chaotic growth of large cities. Many concepts take into account the importance of the planned development of the urban organism. It is clear that most often this applies to projects in which new cities will be created from scratch. The situation with resolving the problems of reconstruction of existing cities is much more complicated, and it is not surprising that the least satisfactory results are those of the latest transformations that are observed in the largest cities. It is in this area that there are significant differences in the understanding of the most appropriate structure, which is studied ranging from traditional centric plans up to division along various compositional and operational axes. There are different approaches to the interpretation of the microstructure of individual elements of the city, and to the maximum permissible sizes of urban strata. Over time, more and more attention in theoretical concepts is paid to communication networks, in the development of which an obvious advantage is given to mass modes of transport.

Due to the enormous complexity of the problems, and sometimes the complete inability to solve them, some experts completely deny the possibility of the continued existence of cities. However, if we do not take into account the extremes, it should be recognized that a large number of modern plans contain full-fledged, vital ideas and outline specific ways for their implementation. It goes without saying that the implementation of these plans is possible only under conditions of a progressive social system.

Footnotes to Chapter V

Dozens of books, thousands of articles and special developments are devoted to the problems of large cities and their individual components. In this chapter, the material is limited to consideration of the development and current state of theoretical concepts of the big city as a whole.

According to statistics, 54% of people on our planet live in cities, and according to scientists’ forecasts, by the middle of the 21st century there will already be 66% of urban residents... What could they be like - the cities of the future, in which the majority of the world’s population will live.

The first thoughts that come to mind are about flying cars, hoverboards from “Back to the Future” and tall skyscrapers... But still, the main problem today is to develop various projects for cities of the future, in which all resources will be spent as efficiently as possible, since the population of our planet is growing every day year.

1. Masdar, UAE

Masdar is a project of a future eco-city located in the emirate of Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates, being built 17 kilometers southeast of the country's capital, near Abu Dhabi International Airport.

The environmental situation in the United Arab Emirates is far from ideal. This is due to the fact that hundreds of oil production plants have been opened in the country. At the same time, the presence of large reserves of “black gold” makes the UAE one of the richest states. Here are the most fashionable hotels, the world's tallest skyscraper, and artificial archipelagos. And recently, local sheikhs decided to create the first city on the planet without harmful waste and carbon dioxide emissions - Masdar.

Masdar will be supplied with electricity from 88 thousand solar panels located on the outskirts of the city. This decision is due to the fact that clear weather in the region occurs 355-360 days a year. All light switches in Masdar are equipped with motion sensors - this will help minimize electricity consumption. The city will be surrounded by walls, and its foundation will be raised by 7.5 meters.

The architects designed Masdar so that the buildings would heat up as little as possible, and the pavement would be constantly in the shade. The streets will be laid taking into account the prevailing wind direction and the position of the sun in the sky. This will lower the temperature near the ground by about 20 degrees. Cars will be prohibited within the city, and all tourists will have to park outside Masdar. Local residents will travel using an underground transport network powered by electricity. The first stage of construction of Masdar will be completed in 2018; 7 thousand people will be able to live in the new houses. The engineers plan to complete the project completely by 2030, after which the population of Masdar and its surrounding suburbs will reach 100 thousand.

2. King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia

King Abdullah Economic City is located 100 kilometers north of Jeddah (the second city in Saudi Arabia by population). Its construction will cost $100 billion, and the size of the city will be comparable to Washington. It will connect Mecca and Medina through a high-tech railway network. Another important stage of the project is the construction of the Industrial Valley near the metropolis, its center will be a large petrochemical plant.

The largest educational institution in the city, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, began to be built back in 2009; Abdullah himself donated $20 billion for its construction. Once construction is completed, the university will be second in size only to Harvard and Yale. This city is the legacy that the King of Saudi Arabia will leave to the people. After completion of construction, 2 million residents will receive modern housing, and 900 thousand new jobs will be created.

3. Songdo International Business District, South Korea

Korean engineers are developing the Songdo International Business District project. It will occupy an area of 607 hectares and will be located close to Incheon Airport (65 kilometers from the capital, Seoul). Songdo will consist of 40% park areas, some of which will be smaller copies of New York's Central Park, the canals of Venice, and so on.

The garbage system that will be implemented in Songdo deserves special mention. Waste will be sucked directly from the bins and transported through underground pipes directly to the processing site. Another interesting idea is the use of a powerful information network that will unite all household devices and service systems using wireless communication technology. This will allow engineers to perfectly coordinate and “synchronize” life in the city.

By the end of 2016, 60 thousand Koreans will be able to live in Songdo, and 300 thousand new jobs will be created. Of the project's estimated cost of $30 billion, one-third has already gone toward the construction of 120 buildings. South Korean authorities expect that after completion of construction, Songdo will become the main business center of the northeastern region of Asia.

4. Skyscraper cities, UAE, Kuwait, Azerbaijan

Skyscrapers such as the 828-meter Burj Khalifa (Dubai) are an example of the efficient use of space in cities that lack free land for expansion. They are where the majority of high-rise buildings are built. The main advantage of this approach is the rational use of limited resources (fuel, water, electricity, and so on). Therefore, in some countries, projects for the construction of futuristic skyscrapers, which to some extent will become full-fledged cities, are being seriously discussed. They will house parks, shops, offices, entertainment areas, restaurants, and so on, that is, people will be able to lead a full life without leaving the high-rise city.

In Kuwait, the construction of the Mubarak al-Kabir building is underway (its height will reach 1000 meters), and in Azerbaijan - the Azerbaijan skyscraper (1049 meters). The first project will be completed in 2016, the second in 2019. Such buildings are, of course, not full-fledged high-rise cities, but simply the right step in this direction. But in the near future, the Dubai City Tower skyscraper will break all conceivable records; its height will exceed 2400 meters, construction will be completed in 2025.

The Americans were thinking about a similar project back in the early nineties. In San Francisco, it was planned to build a 500-story skyscraper, the Ultima Tower, 3,200 meters high. It was supposed to be home to 1 million people. Japan, several years ago, abandoned the construction of the two-kilometer Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid skyscraper.

5. Earthscraper in Mexico

Mexicans surprised the whole world by announcing the construction of an underground skyscraper. It’s funny that it will be called Earthscraper, which means “earthscraper”. Architects and engineers expect to build a 65-story building in the shape of an upside-down pyramid with a base area of 7,600 square meters in the center of Mexico City. The “roof” of the skyscraper going deep into the earth will be a durable glass panel measuring 240 by 240 meters. It will also serve as a public square where concerts and military parades are planned to be held.

2 years ago, American designer Matthew Fromboluti presented a project for a similar underground building. He proposes to build it near Bisbee, Arizona. The Above Below Earthscraper could be built inside the abandoned Lavender Pit Mine, which is 275 meters deep. Geothermal energy will be used to meet the household needs of people in these “earthscrapers”.

6. Polar miracle city of Umka, Russia

Meanwhile, in Russia, a project for the autonomous city of Umka, named after the polar bear cub from the Soviet cartoon of the same name, is being discussed. It will be located on Kotelny Island, which belongs to the Novosibirsk archipelago. From here to the North Pole is only 1600 kilometers. Kotelny Island is an inhospitable place. The average air temperature here in January is -30°C, in July – about +1°C. Piercing northern winds blow from the sea all year round.

The city of Umka will resemble the International Space Station, enlarged tens of times. Up to 6 thousand people can live in it. The city will be self-sufficient and isolated from the outside world. Umka is a large-scale experiment that, among other things, will help scientists improve designs for future space colonies.

7. Floating Village, France

French architect Jacques Rougerie developed the concept of a huge floating city “City of Mériens”, the outlines of which bear a striking resemblance to a giant Manta ray (sea devil). The scientist is known for his love for the sea and everything marine, cannot imagine his life without it and dreams of founding a city where, together with like-minded people, the same “belonging to the sea” people, he will study the unknown ocean.

The water metropolis will be about 900 meters long and about 500 meters wide, and will be inhabited by about 7,000 international researchers - students, professors and scientists of all stripes. The city will accommodate many classrooms, lecture halls, laboratories, living rooms and special halls for sports and recreation. The floating settlement will be completely autonomous, self-sufficient and absolutely harmless to the environment. The City of Mériens is planned to be powered exclusively by renewable marine energy and produce no waste or emissions.

9. Floating Cities, San Francisco

The San Francisco-based Maritime Villages Institute is preparing to build the world's first floating city. The authors of the project promise that “a new type of human habitat in the sea” could appear by 2020. Research center specialists have been developing the idea of a floating city since the mid-2000s. There is currently a campaign going online to raise funds for an innovative project. According to the plan of the Institute of Maritime Settlements, the future city will consist of square modules with an area of 50 square meters each.
The construction of one such “residential complex” will cost $15 million. Each residential building of the floating city will stand on a block of 11 platform modules. A square meter of housing in such a house will cost the buyer 5.4 thousand dollars. The number of residents in the block will be from 225 to 300 people, and $170 million will have to be spent on the construction of each block.

“The floating city will be an autonomous political and social entity, with its own economy and taxes,” note the staff of the Institute of Maritime Settlements. Now they are preparing an appropriate international agreement that will determine the legal status of such urban entities.

It is possible that the first floating city will “drift” near the state, which will sign a corresponding agreement with its official representatives. Currently, the authors of the project are negotiating with a number of Pacific island states.

The engineers of the Japanese company Shimizu are also dealing with the same issue. They are planning to create a floating city with the interesting name “Floating Greenery”. It will be covered with vegetation and will occupy up to 10 artificial islands. A kilometer-long skyscraper located in the central part of the city will simultaneously become a vertical farm for growing plants and housing for tens of thousands of people.

No less interesting is the Ocean Spiral underwater city project. The huge spherical structure will accommodate 5 thousand people and will be completed by 2030. Electricity will be generated using the energy of sea waves. Note that all of the above-mentioned cities will become self-sufficient in terms of energy, food production and waste disposal.

10. Project "Venus"

98-year-old Jacques Fresco has developed an ideal plan for all cities of the future. According to his plan, all structures must first be manufactured in the form of composite modules, and then delivered to the desired location and assembled. This will significantly reduce costs. True, for this it will be necessary to create a mega-factory capable of mass production of individual apartments or even entire houses for several cities at the same time. It is planned that they will be made from lightweight reinforced concrete with a ceramic coating. This material is durable, fire-resistant, resistant to any climatic conditions and requires virtually no maintenance.

Thin-walled structures made from it can be mass-produced; the production of each batch will take a few hours. At the same time, they are not afraid of either storms or earthquakes. Each house is planned to be made autonomous, equipped with its own electrical energy generator and heat storage device. Jean Fresco suggests installing solar panels directly into windows and walls. And darkened thermal glass will protect people from bright sun rays on a hot day.

The main feature of the city built according to the plan of the Venus project will be its shape. The streets will be located in concentric circles, so residents will be able to get to the right place in a minimum amount of time.

11. Monolithic cube E-QBO

Some of the futuristic projects we described above are already underway. Interestingly, they all involve building from scratch. The fact is that building a new city is cheaper and easier than improving an existing one, bringing it to meet similar standards. Let us mention a promising development that can simplify the production of electricity in urban environments - the e-QBO cube. The monolithic cube generates energy thanks to photovoltaic panels integrated into its surface.

E-QBO is such an architectural “chameleon” that can harmoniously fit into the cityscape. At the Milan Innovation Cloud international conference dedicated to new technologies in the energy sector, a black cube served as an exhibition pavilion. And during the MADE 2013 exhibition-fair, it became a living room that hosted event participants. The dimensions of e-QBO can vary from a few centimeters to tens of meters. A large cube can easily fit a residential building, and a small one can easily serve, for example, as a bench in a city park.

There is no doubt that many futuristic projects for cities of the future will become a reality in the coming decades. But people should also care about the development of technologies that can make modern megacities self-sufficient, environmentally friendly and more energy efficient. The future is behind them.

Oct 14, 2016 Galinka

According to the UN, by 2050 two thirds of the world's population will be concentrated in large cities. It's time to think about moving to one of the economic and cultural centers of the world! The portal "ZagraNitsa" names the 25 most comfortable cities on Earth for living, promising and open to innovation.

Whatever one may say, globalization will sooner or later take its toll, according to United Nations analysts. Very soon, large metropolitan areas will become home to two-thirds of the planet's population. Recently, the international consulting company AT Kearney presented the TOP 25 most promising cities in the world. Experts took into account economic indicators, openness to innovation, the quality of city management and the comfort of residents.

Vancouver

The capital of British Columbia, Canada, is experiencing a boom in foreign investment. Foreigners are investing in real estate, as well as the city's infrastructure, which cannot but affect the prospects of Vancouver.

Photo: Shutterstock 24

Copenhagen

One of the most open cities in Europe to innovation, the quality of life (but also real estate prices!) is ahead of many competitors.

Photo: Shutterstock 23

Taipei

Taiwan's capital has significantly improved its business climate in recent years, making it an excellent option for investors.

Photo: Shutterstock 22

Brussels

One of the centers of world diplomacy, politics, and business negotiations. The prospects of such a site are difficult to overestimate.

Photo: Shutterstock 21

Los Angeles

The poor environmental situation and crime level explain the relatively low rating of California's largest city.

Photo: Shutterstock 20

Dallas

A clear city plan, innovation, and collaboration with Google are making Dallas one of the cities of the future.

Photo: Shutterstock

Tokyo

The capital of Japan has one of the highest percentages of educated population - and this is the best indicator of prospects.

Photo: Shutterstock 18

Toronto

Experts predict the city to become one of the largest IT hubs in the region. In addition, local authorities pay great attention to environmental protection.

Photo: Shutterstock 17

Singapore

One of the financial centers of the world is inferior to many competitors in environmental friendliness, as well as comfort of life.

Photo: Shutterstock 16

Geneva

Perhaps the best city for a calm and measured life. Among the disadvantages are high prices for everything, including housing.

Photo: Shutterstock 15

Melbourne

The city is a leader in the amount of foreign investment in the economy, and local authorities do not skimp on investing this money in innovative projects.

Photo: Shutterstock 14

Berlin

One of the cultural and economic centers of Europe with excellent ecology.

Photo: Shutterstock 13

Paris

Its advantages are a high percentage of educated young population, the development of scientific research and technology, compactness and high living comfort.

Photo: Shutterstock 12

Sydney

In recent years, Sydney has become a magnet for overseas investors. Foreigners are not deterred even by the additional property tax for non-residents.

Photo: Shutterstock 11

Chicago

Along with Boston, San Francisco and New York, Chicago is part of the Global Elite, a group of the best cities in the world. There is an excellent business climate and an emphasis on infrastructure development.

Photo: Shutterstock 10

Zurich

Ease of doing business, incredibly high standard of living, wonderful ecology - Zurich offers all this.

Photo: Shutterstock

Munich

In terms of the number of patents per capita, Munich is on par with world leaders - Houston and Shenzhen.

Photo: Shutterstock 8

Amsterdam

Friendly to innovation and startups, the city has made significant progress in recent years in solving its main problem - poor ecology.

Photo: Shutterstock 7

Stockholm

One of the most democratic and open cities on the planet to private entrepreneurship.

Photo: Shutterstock 6

Atlanta

Now all key areas of the city’s development have achieved high levels: attracting investment, innovation, and the standard of living of the population.