Ecologically Smart Cities

The inaugural Festival of the Future City, held 17-20 November 2015, was the largest ever of its kind. Born of an 18-month programme of "work that brought together planners, academics, writers, artists, think-tanks, governments and the public to debate and explore sustainable, resilient city futures", the festival culminated in a series of 69 events, featuring 209 speakers and 7,423 audience members.

Many and varied outputs have come from the festival, including further talks, together with articles, collaborations, and confirmation that 2017 will see a similarly ambitious Festival of the Future City. Having delivered three presentations at the inaugural festival, it was a pleasure to contribute an essay to its official commemorative book, as pictured above. 

Fellow authors include Darran Anderson [Imaginary Cities], Rana Dasgupta [Solo, Capital: A Portrait of the Twenty-First Century Dehli], Bradly Garrett [Explore Everything: Place Hacking the City], Melissa Harrison [Hawthorn Times, Rain: Four Walks in English Weather], Leo Hollis [Cities Are Good for You: The Genius of the Metropolis], Eimear McBride [A Girl is a Half-formed Thing], amongst others. 

In 'The Ecologically Smart City' [pages 114-119], I discuss the imperative to create cities inclusive of indigenous, migratory, invasive, and domestic species, and some of the ways in which we can learn from historical precedents. 

Download the book at: http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk