Future cities: Urban planners get creative | DW Documentary

This segment explores visionary ideas about future cities, emphasizing the importance of integrating cities with nature to avoid environmental destruction. It discusses the innovative reuse of existing structures, such as the transformation of two concrete towers from a former graphite production factory in East Germany into an architectural pilgrimage site. German architect Arno Brandlhuber's renovation emphasizes energy conservation in construction, suggesting that renovation can save significant amounts of the total energy input compared to new constructions. The narrative also highlights the potential of using local, natural materials like wood and clay for construction to reduce carbon footprints and promote sustainability. The example of Toyota and Panasonic constructing 'living laboratories' to predict future residential needs showcases how data from residents can inform product development, emphasizing smart living solutions like energy generation, keyless access, and car-sharing.

This paragraph details advancements in smart city designs and sustainable living, featuring projects like Future Living Berlin and Toyota's Woven City. It outlines the integration of smart technologies in residential areas, including app-controlled access and car-sharing facilities, aiming to enhance urban living. The construction of Woven City at the base of Mount Fuji serves as a living laboratory to develop technologies for pollution reduction, traffic management, and safety improvements through AI and digital simulations. It mentions Panasonic's role in building lifestyle-focused, sustainable smart towns and the potential for urban infrastructure, like lanterns, to serve multifunctional purposes, including as charging stations and traffic management tools.

Focusing on Valldaura Labs in Spain, this section discusses integrating agriculture, industry, and sustainable urban design to create CO2-neutral cities. Led by Vicente Guallart, the project exemplifies how cities can evolve to absorb CO2 through energy-generating buildings and localized food production, aiming for self-sufficiency. It highlights the importance of using local materials, like timber from adjacent forests, and the concept of 'provenance' in construction to ensure environmental sustainability. The narrative also touches on the significance of energy provenance and the potential for cities to produce their own energy through renewable sources, demonstrating a shift towards more self-sufficient, circular urban systems.

This part delves into Germany's investment in green hydrogen technology as a sustainable energy source, including a project in Esslingen's 'neue Weststadt' where green hydrogen is produced and utilized for local energy needs. It discusses the challenges and innovations in hydrogen technology, its potential for powering vehicles, and the importance of safety in its implementation. The narrative also revisits the theme of integrating nature with urban development, showcasing Barcelona's efforts towards urban renaturalization and the potential of wood as a sustainable building material, illustrated by Vicente Guallart's projects and teachings at Valldaura Lab.

Exploring the concept of 'Bio-cities,' this segment advocates for cities that mimic natural systems to achieve self-sufficiency and sustainability. It emphasizes the dismantling of global supply chains in favor of local production of food, energy, and materials, including the use of 3D printing to minimize industrial processes. The narrative features Vicente Guallart's Bio-City project in Xiong'An, China, as a model for integrating farming within urban limits to create cohesive, self-sustaining communities. It also discusses the broader implications of this approach for global urban development, highlighting the need for a shift from new construction to adapting existing structures for future needs, as exemplified by German architect Arno Brandlhuber's work.

This concluding paragraph underscores the urgent need for cities to move away from construction practices that harm the planet towards sustainable, nature-integrated urban planning. It calls for a reevaluation of urban development strategies, focusing on preserving natural resources and adopting practices that align with ecological principles. The segment highlights the necessity of changing our approach to urban living to ensure future cities are places where prosperity and sustainability coexist, thereby securing a livable future for coming generations.