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Even though my crystal ball is cracked and wrong 70% of the time, I can't help imagining what the future will look/be like.
Every so often an invention comes along that completely changes the face of the built environment, often in unforeseen ways such as the invention of the blast furnace, which made it possible to produce large quantities of steel cheaply and in turn made skyscrapers possible.
Another big one would be the invention of the automobile, or even the invention of new materials like plastics.
What technologies do you see coming that will become a "game changer" for the design of future cities?
As I noted in a thread recently, I think self-driving cars will cause major changes to the built environment - mainly through the increased segregation of parking into areas removed from people. The technology will probably mature within the next 10-20 years.
I also wonder if "augmented reality" will end up having huge uses in construction and design. Imagine if the next generation of Google glasses can superimpose a building design onto a real-world site in accurate scale. Construction would become much easier, as you'd be able to see exactly where a given building item (stud, conduit, whatever) can go. Presumably, this will further decrease construction costs, allowing for easier revitalization.
There's also the ever-vaulted 3D printing technology. Right now, most make small models out of plastic nurdles or powder, but if the technology keeps improving, I wonder if we'll see the "printing" of houses within our lifespan.
I think Nanotechnology will be the next " Carnegie blast furnace", making it possible to build things that are simply impossible today, such as surfaces that can "heal" damage or change color on demand, not to mention being able to push constructions literally to new heights.
The internet itself could completely alter the face of human existence too... I can imagine the net evolving into an ever-expanding never-ending series of virtual worlds where anything is possible... direct neural interface will even make it possible to plug directly into it a la "The Matrix".
If you were given the choice of a 9 to 5 job, a house with a white picket fence and a mailbox overloaded with bills for decades on end or a pod with an intravenous feeding tube and the ability to be a virtual "god" in a universe of your own making, which would you choose?
It's not just Sci Fi... it's actually in the cards a hundred years or so down the road!
Come to California and the "game changing" technologies will be related to water use--how we clean it (or re-clean it), store it, and distribute it. We already don't have enough of the stuff for how we want to use it, so who knows how we'll deal with a larger population throughout, especially in the growing Inland Empire.
As I noted in a thread recently, I think self-driving cars will cause major changes to the built environment - mainly through the increased segregation of parking into areas removed from people. The technology will probably mature within the next 10-20 years.
I think self-driving cars could potentially lead to the end of majority private vehicle ownership in general.
Consider how much time our cars sit in the garage vs how often we use them, then consider how much we pay for them...
Now what if you could make a phone call to a car rental company and order a car for the day... one that self-drives to your door step, lets you do your thing and then self-drives back to the rental lot when you're done, all for much cheaper than it would cost you to to own one?! Not only that, but if they were permanently self-driving, the rental companies would save huge amounts of money currently being paid to deal with abuse from vehicle renters, accidents and so forth.
The home garage could go extinct, and so would taxi drivers! For city dwellers, parking would no longer be a problem either. Can't find a parking stall at your favorite store? Set the car to drive around the block until you're done... or just send it back to the lot and order a new one when you're done.
Naturally, people would tend to avoid renting a car if they didn't have to no matter how cheap they were, creating a greater demand for walkable New Urbanist stye developments too...
I think these guys might help shape the future. It's a long youtube video (16 minutes), but definitely worth watching. Spoilers: it's quad-rotor robots, that communicate and work together. What scientists can do with these is just absolutely amazing!
Nanotechnology is definitely going to be a big player. Other building technologies: OLED paint. The concept is there, and we might see it in a few years -- imagine painting a wall, or any surface, and that surface becoming a screen. On top of being able to change the color of your room with the touch of a button, you can have a TV or computer screen follow you around the house. "Smart houses" are going to get more popular, and smarter. Buildings that open doors for you, and turn on lights for you. Fridges that remind you when you're low on milk.
Driverless cars will definitely have an impact. Go to work, get dropped off at the door, and the car goes to a storage box somewhere. There's automated parking structures in Japan and the UK already, I'm sure they'll become more common (cars are parked MUCH closer together, in enclosed, human-free environments. It takes up less room, and guarantees security).
Passive buildings will become commonplace. Look up information on German "Passivhäuser" (passive houses). Basically, they're built well-insulated, well sealed, and without a heater or A/C. Instead, a "heat pump" swaps inside air for fresh outside air every hour or so. The new air is heated a bit by the old air going out, and the rest of the heat comes from ambient sources (running appliances, human bodies). A passive house with solar arrays and wind turbines would be producing energy. Cities and what's left of suburbs will all produce their own energy, with power to spare for agricultural operations.
Speaking of agriculture, modern greenhouse technologies, and advancements in irrigation and UV systems will allow us to move farming indoors. Food will be genetically altered to grow bigger and healthier, with less rot. Hydroponic farms can be built on multiple levels, so entire skyscrapers can be built for food production.
Another thing to consider: Hydrogen-3... Newt Gingrich isn't insane for wanting a "moon colony" by 2020. The hydrogen on the moon could be harvested, and brought back to Earth. This is a potentially multi-billion, or even trillion dollar industry. The amount of hydrogen up there could potentially solve the energy crisis, and completely negate the need for fossil fuels. Without combustion engines and coal-burning power plants, humans will be producing very few greenhouse gasses, leading to a healthier atmosphere, and a healthier environment...
...That's all I feel like writing for now, but you guys get the idea.
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