Futurologists Vs Planners

After some research into a Futurologist named Ian Pearson, some rather significant differences arose between his forecasts and the Sydney City 2030 plan.

Ian Pearson's city prediction brings into light some critical flaws inherent in the sustainable Sydney 2030 project. The initial and most extreme flaw is the blatant disregard for the importance of cyberspace. The Sydney 2030 vision pays very little attention to the huge influence that cyberspace is having over global cities. No provisions have been accounted for in regard to this. It is becoming increasingly apparent that public space and cyberspace are becoming intertwined. Physical social meeting places as well as essential services such as food and grocery outlets, are increasingly being represented in cyberspace. This is a significant technological development which, according to the quote in my last post, should have a considerable impact on civilisation.

Also, another flaw pointed out by Pearson, is the planners’ dependence on the existing public transport infrastructure. The Sydney 2030 vision clearly depends on an upgrade of public transport in order to make the city more accessible and vehicle free. However, as pointed out by Pearson, the inherent problems of the public transport system, which prevent its use by most people today, are not being addressed. People avoid using buses because they usually avoid direct routes, requiring a long time to get to a destination. They are also unreliable and unpredictable. A new system is required where people get to where they want to go quick and easy. A system where there are arterial bus routes which travel direct to hubs are serviced by smaller, frequent buses which have a much smaller route and can pick up passengers much closer to their home. This can result in a much more reliable and useful bus infrastructure which will encourage its use.

There are also some issues raised by Pearson which coincide with the Sydney 2030 vision. Most prominent is his prediction regarding the increased use of surveillance to monitor the population and relay useful information to the local authorities, primarily to increase safety. Though the Sydney 2030 plan doesn’t go as far as to claim it will have facial recognition systems in place.