The “Smart City” is not so much a concrete plan as it is a nebulous ideal, one that encompasses both environmental sustainability and human happiness in the most efficient way possible. And while it’s a matter of opinion whether a given city is designed well enough to be called “smart” there’s no question the world … Continue reading
Big houses, big lots, big SUVs – you know the drill. Suburbs create pollution, make people drive everywhere, and use up way more space than they need. Can they ever be truly sustainable? Well, I don’t know, but there’s a trend that’s moving in the right direction, and its popularity is growing. Over at the … Continue reading
Imagine you could build the city of the future, from scratch, right now. What would it look like? What would it do? It’s not a hypothetical question. According to this Salon article, software developer Plan IT intends to do exactly that: “Plan IT Valley” will be a new city located in northern Portugal, and is … Continue reading
When’s the last time you made a call by dropping a coin into a public phone? I know I haven’t done it since I was a teenager. And with the cell-phone era in full swing, there’s probably an entire generation of people now who don’t even know what a payphone is. But the phone booth … Continue reading
This may come as a surprise, but the future of transportation has been around for two centuries already. Of course, back when ol’ Baron Karl first put two wheels together and rode them around 1817 Mannheim, he just thought he’d made a kind of a re-usable horse. He certainly had no idea his invention would … Continue reading
This is Future Bites, a clearinghouse for bite-sized morsels of future news. Offered every Monday. To get a mix of Future Bites and future-focused essays delivered to your inbox, click “subscribe” at the right. This week, I offer you the latest in navigation apps. This one can not only route you around traffic jams, it … Continue reading
What’s the future of human civilization? Cosmic Revolutions has looked at a lot of big questions, but this one’s as big as they come. Indeed, everything I’ve posted so far has tried to fill in a piece of the answer. But today, I want to step back, way back, and try to catch a glimpse … Continue reading
What makes your neighborhood, a neighborhood? Some might say simple geography. Others would point to the demographics of the residents, or the particular kinds of homes and businesses you can find there. These factors are all important. But remember, a neighborhood isn’t just a collection of people and buildings. If you and your neighbors didn’t … Continue reading
Ever received an email from your toaster? Neither have I, but in a future featuring the Internet of Things, it could become commonplace. What is the Internet of Things? Like the internet itself, it’s about connections. Way back in the ’70’s, ARPANET connected a handful of university mainframes. The internet it grew into connected individual … Continue reading
Three times a week, I go to the gym on my way home from work. And three times a week, I ask myself the same question: isn’t this a waste? I don’t mean the exercise. A longer lifespan, plus reduced risk of Alzheimer‘s and cancer, is all the justification I need. No, I’m talking about … Continue reading
Cosmic Revolutions 