What will our cities be like in around 50 years' time? Science fiction has never been short of ideas on this subject and the latest vision is offered by Steven Spielberg's new film, Minority Report, which opens this week. Contrary to the commonly held view that inner city life is destined for continued decline, Spielberg's film, set in Washington DC in 2054, predicts that increasing numbers of people will move back into cities. Urban living will, it envisages, offer not only a focal point for entertainment and employment but also refuge from rising sea levels. Unusually in the movie world, this vision is based on expert opinion. Before filming Spielberg assembled a team of gurus to come up with ideas on what architecture, design, technology and transport will be like in the city of the not-too-distant future. They predicted that developments in nanotechnology will mean vehicles and even buildings are manufactured on demand, while hydrogen, solar power and nuclear fusion will become the main energy sources. As people migrate towards them, cities will become increasingly dense, and the buildings taller.
展开▼
