The Digital Civilizations Interviews

Tension

By 2015, tension ran high throughout the world, although you wouldn’t notice it if you lived in Amsterdam, Sidney or NYC. These cities, as well as other metropolises in the developed and event, sometimes, the developing world (Delhi, Sao Paulo…), were thriving. They were the centres of corporate power, they networked with the world to move goods, people and money, and they were the places whence new ideas came and were tested. Technology infused cities, allowing them and their entrepreneurs to invent innovative services, new public spaces, original art forms and new kinds of real-virtual relationships – while closely monitoring all spaces for security.

Since these cities’ activity was mostly based on services, they could easily afford to become environmentally conscious. Cars remained the dominant means of trans¬portation, but urban cars became smaller and smarter. New means of public trans¬portation, like shared cars, on-demand minibuses, corporate pickups, emerged. Even the major restrictions on international travel that followed the London Olym¬pics bombing did not hurt major cities very much. These metropolises already for¬med a tight network, using many means of communication. Corporations were learning to use teleconferencing and virtual spaces much more and could always reserve a seat in small, on-demand, highly exclusive business travel airlines when they really needed it.