Isue 294 Self Contained city March 18, 2014

It is possible to create a city that is self sustaining. With technology a city that runs itself without the need for outside resources can make a city greener and possibly even healthier to live in. So how can it be done?

Food Towers: For one, the city will have to bring the farm within the city limits. To do this, food towers or more accurately converted buildings will be used to grow all the food for the city. These towers will use technology called hydroponics to feed and water all the plants within the tower using a series of tubes and nutrient rich water. For other food like mushrooms and other plant like organisms (or even wines and beers) temperature controlled basements or sections of food towers would be needed. As to the meat, special towers or buildings would be used for livestock where the animals would be fed and slaughtered. We could get wool and other fibers from animals in these same facilities along with milk and eggs, only eating the animals after they become too old to produce. Also, their poo can be used as fertilizer for the other plant life in the city itself. (Of course this is only if the city values its meaty meals over going vegan). By the way, towers, or even aquariums can be used to supply fish as a form of urban fish farm.

Infrastructure: Cars would need to become irrelevant in the city which will eliminate the need for roads. However, how will goods be made or even shipped to their intended location. For one, a public transportation system would need to be developed to transport the goods underground to the different businesses in the city. Basically, a freight train system for the city's exclusive use and a series of elevators at each building bringing the cargo to each appropriate floor would be needed. A separate transit system would be required for people which would be better suited above ground to bring people to different buildings roofs or midsections to go inside rather than at the ground floor. This insures the ugly freight remains hidden, while the people can enjoy the cities sights from on high.

Goods: Some goods like toys, paper and the like will still be needed. So how do these products get to your home? The most logical method would be a 3d printer. Those same freight cars will also be taking your garbage to a recycling center to be processed back into their base materials. These materials can then be turned into "inks" for use in 3d printers. What's more, our human waste and plant matter can also be broken down not just into fertilizers but "inks" as well. So you can buy the blue print for your child's toy online and have the materials shipped to your home. After the materials arrive, the home owner simply has to put the ink in the 3d printer and press start.

Jobs: Working from an in home office is going to be essential. Many of the future skilled jobs will revolve around using the Internet. So, things like computer programming, advertising and the like will all be able to be done at home. Specific jobs will require face to face meetings which mean that renting a board room for the day or office space for a particular project will become more mainstream. This has the benefits of reducing costs for a business, but harms social interaction. Restaurants will not be affected really as they will still require many of the customers to have that dine in experience to get their yummy food.

Exceptions: While it is possible to do all this, certain things will still need to come from outside. Those things are people and commerce. Cities are a center piece of trade and without people from other places coming to buy and sell their wares, money can become concentrated into a few peoples hands. This can be detrimental and cause a cities collapse as city life becomes unaffordable for everyone else. So visitors are a must in order to generate new and lasting revenue.

Conclusion: A self sustaining city which uses its waste and is planned out efficiently can be self sustaining in everything but generating new wealth. This concept is not fully my own as it has been discussed countless times by those seeking a greener society, or for people who are predicting the future of cities as a whole. So as we age, expect new cities to pop up along with new technology that will make our lives more convenient while at the same time perhaps a little more mundane.