The World’s Greatest Eco-City Visualizations
In order to build a new world, we first need to imagine it. Here is a window into the future of cities by the world’s leading visionary eco-architects and artists.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by seeing negative things about the world. But doom and gloom are boring. It’s even unhelpful. In order to make it over the obstacle of building the world of our dreams requires epic creative thought. Fear, doom, and stress shut down the brain’s capacity for big creative thought and complex problem-solving, which I explore in my book, How to Save the World. I’m so excited and inspired by the process of imaging a new world, that I put together a list of the world’s most epic eco-city artists and architects.
Why are these artworks important, as futurist and investor Bucky Fuller said,
“You can never change things by fighting the existing the reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete”
Scroll down and get inspired for the future.
Vincent Callebaut, Paris
Callebaut is the master of eco-city visualizations.
Jessica Perlstein, San Francisco
Luc Schuiten, Brussels
Why is it critical to cover cities in vegetation for the environment?
It’s not just about looking amazing. Green cities posses critical engineering assets.
- Plants keep urban temperature down.
- Plants reduce AC load, reducing peak load on the electricity grid.
- Plants reduce runoff from rainfall that stresses the sewer system.
- Plants filter pollution out of rainfall before it gets to rivers and lakes.
- Plants filter air pollution.
- Plants can cool electric cars down so batteries last longer.
Why is it critical for the health of people?
- Plants reduce stress and increase people’s concentration.
- Plants can save lives from heat stroke during heat waves.
- Plants make you feel less pain.
- Plants reduce crime.
- Plants are good for children.
National Park City, London.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan proposed the challenge — how does London become a designated National Park City — and WATG, London-based landscape team, headed by Demet Karaoglu, accepted the challenge. In addressing the Mayor’s challenge, the team worked with Daniel Raven-Ellison, Guerrilla Geographer and Creative Explorer leading London’s campaign to become the world’s first National Park City.
Star Trek
California Academy of Sciences, San Franciso
Patric Blanc, Paris
Beiruit
Hong Kong Ruins by Jonasdero
Stefano Boeri, Milan
https://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/
Stefano is the designer of the “vertical forest.”
Forest City, China
Tianjin Eco-City, China
Tianjin Eco-City is a fascinating, 30 square kilometer development designed as a model for future developing Chinese cities.
ANNO 2070
A video game, available on Steam https://store.steampowered.com/app/48240/Anno_2070/
Gondola Tram along a green way
Biodome
Nesting buildings into the earth is one of the best ways to temperature control because the earth is a natural thermal stabilizer. Great to see the futuristic fun of the geodome put together with thermal insulation of the earth.
Bjarke Ingels, Denmark
Ingels figured out how to make an industrial powerplant in Sweden into an urban gemstone of beautiful design. This geodesic shell brings color gently into the colorless winter landscape, without having to redesign the whole plant itself. It’s genius.
I did one too
Why imagination and creativity matters
The brain on doom and gloom isn’t good. Negative emotions dramatically reduce the brain's ability to do complex problem-solving. When you imagine something you want to create, you activate what’s called the positive constructed imagination. It’s a different mental process to what’s called the neurotic imagination which involves worrying and ruminating over problems — such as becoming stressed over climate change.
I teach a style of imagination called “the environmental design imagination” in my book How to Save the World.
List of eco-city designers and architects
- Ken Yeang, Penang, Malaysia
- Vincent Callebaut, Paris, France
- Stefano Boeri, Milan, Italy
- Luc Schuiten, Brussels
Get the book “How to Save the World”
Do you want to change the world? Don’t keep living without this book. How to Save the World takes you through a 10-step process where you will learn powerful techniques, grounded in academic case studies, drawn from behavioral psychology, data science, storytelling, and game design. This optimistic and novel approach to saving the world will change your life and fill you with inspiration to make saving the world into your life’s greatest creative adventure. Get your copy here.
“An urgent and useful guide for anyone who seeks to make a difference. It will change your work for the better.” — Seth Godin, Author, This is Marketing
“Katie’s approach to doing valuable and impactful work is very well thought out and put together.” — Valentina Ferenac, Sustainability Strategist
About the Author
Katie Patrick is an Australian-American environmental engineer and designer. She is the author of How to Save the World — How to make changing the world the greatest game on earth, and host of the environmental psychology podcast, How to Save the World. Her company, Hello World Labs, helps cities and NGOs apply data-driven, game design, and behavior-change techniques to solve environmental problems. Sign up to katiepatrick.com for more free downloads on how you can turn into a world-changing superhero and connect with our community of world-changers.
