COMMUNISATION OF URBAN PLANNING

2016: A large public stimulus package is announced in support of develop- ing urban habitats. It is aimed at improving public space, basic transporta- tion and energy infrastructure, especially in neighbourhoods built in the second half of the 20th century. The rationale behind it is to enable the creation of local service economies through the creation of more attractive public spaces and employing people to do construction work.

Here in Nijmegen children grow up participating in communal activities from a young age as part of the local social environment. Learning by doing is empha- sised.

Micro-producers of food are organised in co-ops that allow them to trade food on a very local basis. These networks become hugely popular in everyday life.

2025: A new Europe-wide network of “villages in towns” is estab- lished. Members of the network establish urban farming coopera- tives in their neighbourhoods and start negotiating with municipali- ties, real-estate owners and inhab- itants for access to under-used land for farming purposes.

2028: “Villages in towns” start to develop local nutri- tion cycles through collecting organic waste and helping inhabitants build their own dry-toilets. The idea of town villages spreads fast and soon shapes the geography of many European towns and cities.

I am really looking forward to the BBQ night next week. I like it when co-housing communities decide to cook and eat together on a regular basis. This builds community

My monthly output of soil is enough to support my own farming needs. I get my soil through my super-efficient dry toilet and compost.

I share a 140m2 apartment with my parents, my friend Chris- tina and her parents and my mother’s long-time friend Jan. 20 years ago the same apart- ment was home to an elderly couple. Apparently their design for using the space wasn’t as clever as ours. My parents built me my own room last month. It took us one weekend.

2030: The most successful modifi- cations of the new Public-Private- People-model (PPP) gain plenty of attention at a time when most of the regions of Europe are hampered by rocketing energy and food prices and occasional shortages.

2035: In many cities and towns local PPP-councils have fo- cused their efforts on establishing accessible public spaces for every neighbourhood and village.

Unfortunately we had a series of conflicts between different neighbourhoods here in Madrid, over how to share land that was freed up from car use.

2037: Funds are collected from individuals, local enter- prises and municipalities to form plazas, inner court- yards, meeting spaces and neighbourhood assembly halls where people can join their neighbours, start plan- ning for local energy and food production, and learn how to form timebanks, peer-to-peer services and other types of sharing systems. Reorganising public space also helps reduce the need for individual space.

Former council blocks oper- ate like self-sufficient villages. Parking lots have been turned into agricultural fields, new infill provides modern, well- designed flats and new types of communal space.

2040: ‘Sharing the village’, a collaboratively created manual on planning local energy, food production and smart sharing of neigh- bourhood indoor and outdoor spaces, gains immense popularity all over Europe.

I’ve heard that they just started to slash and burn land to create better farming possi- bilities here in Finland. That’s an old and local tradition, but it’s now done by applying new technology.

People who are ill can quarantine themselves from their wider community in flu hostels, thus reducing their impact on community’s resources.

2044: Most of the villages in Europe have trained one or two of their inhabitants to be their “sharing architects”. They take care of developing a village’s buildings and spaces to serve the needs of the new era.

My grandparents are still active members of society and their efforts in taking care of community well- being are very much valued. They take care of children in the street park outside our building.