Tutorial Activity: Future Scenarios

In a group of four, we discussed the many opportunities and constraints associated with each of the scenarios put forth for the four themes of Urban, Suburban, Regional and Virtual. The results are in a brainstorming format as follows:

Urban - Car Free CBD in 2020

• CBD lacks infrastructure (Public Transport capabilities) at the moment, therefore this would come into consideration
• Buses, trains, trams, taxis, bus-trams, and private cars would occupy City
• Would allow for change of speed limit, pedestrian oriented City
• Would need Diversion paths (pedestrian) which encourages pop-up retail, elevated walk-ways and increased surface area of built-form and porosity of City
• Less cars = less lanes needed = free up space in streets = opportunities for recreational areas, communtiy gardens etc in excess lanes
• What would happen to exisiting parking spaces? Could use as transport hubs, markets, flexible spaces or fun areas

All in all, we believed that the Congestion Charge would free-up space in the City for recreational areas and a more pedestrian friendly built environment.

Suburban - Change of Physical Retail

• Pop-up shops (has novelty of markets) and would be less rent
• Travelling circus kind of retail approach where certain retailers will be in your neighbourhood at certain times of year, and you know when they're coming so you wait and its a bit event
• What was once taken up by one shop, could now have 3 or 4 in the one building which means; more variety, less rent, storage out of CBD
• Consumeables? perhaps a kind of IKEA appraoch where you go in and try already made dishes, find what you like, go to a terminal and select dish, and it prints out the recipe and out pops a package with all the ingredients. You could shop on budget or on quantity, and this would require less floor space, which would mean more room 'out-back' for packaging service. Would most definitely have a sustainable method of packaging also, either re-usable or bio-degradable. This idea would stop food wastage and land-fill.
• A restaurant and supermarket combination in the one building

Regional - Self-sufficient community

• Own food, water and energy sources

This was as far as we got with this topic, as it raised more questions than answers we could give. It is such a huge topic that involves; governmental, political, environmental, societal, economical and technological factors that we couldn't address it appropriately in such a short space of time.

Virual - use to solve issues of previous themes

• Use internet to create user profiles, and tailor specific advertising and products to each individual (think this already happens)
• Servers used for computers everywhere can produce more money for a company than a person can per m2, therefore why not harness the heat energy from these servers?
• There is a need to design buildings and frameworks for servers, as they currently are not designed for and therefore do not run at peak efficiency
• We could re-model the Carbon Tax to crack the aforementioned 'individual profiles' and online purchasing information and Tax individuals according to the Carbon Footprint of each individual's purchases.
• Possibilities of teleportation (need to brainstorm further what it would mean for the built environment)