Future Scenarios

The following Future Scenarios project two different possibilities for imagining Sydney 2030.

Scenario 1 – Glitching

In 2030, Sydney has become the ‘ideal’ city. The post-card that Jan Gehl and Clover Moore had dreamed some 20 years before. George St is completely car-free carrying instead a light-rail network, pedestrian boardwalks among rows of trees and symbolic water features. The Cahill Expressway has been removed and the Circular Quay railway line has been relocated underground. The Western Distributor has long gone and the mono-rail finally dismantled. The ‘ground plane’ has been ‘rescued for the pedestrian’. Far from a homage to ‘delirium’ Sydney has become a stroll in the park. Sydney is the host par excellence for the ‘big event’. Real Estate values have sky-rocketed. It has become the domain of the uber rich global citizen. They ‘occupy’ the city and picture themselves there. For others, it is a theme park, a spectacle of perfection. Families, tourists, cyclists, joggers and shoppers venture into the city zone as part of the program to activate the ground plane. But access above the street is largely denied. The city is sustained on it’s own image. Webcams replace CCTV cameras. The city is live streamed from a controlled ‘point of view’.

‘Sydney City’ of 2030 does not accommodate ‘ordinary’ citizens. They live outside the central city zone in new emerging cities. Development in these new cities has been contingent rather than planned. They have largely emerged out of sight and therefore out of control. As a result they are more complex and culturally diverse. Many prefer these cities. They have no access to the Harbour but this is no longer a value. They have rejected ‘Sydney City’ altogether. Others remain fixated on this non-real environment, this artificial park at the centre of their new city. They sustain it and some come to despise it. They know the weaknesses in the program and look to exploit it. The game begins…

Glitches

In computer gaming a ‘glitch’ means ‘a slip’ a momentary breakdown of the code, a revelation of a fault in the program. Glitchers are those that take advantage of the error. Sometimes they use it to win, other times they use it to explore beyond the framework, to create new narratives. While Glitches are generally understood to be mistakes there is some speculation that they are actually programmed into the game to give advanced users an alternative space in which to play.

In Sydney 2030 ‘glitching’ becomes a tactical way to engage in the perfect city. A glitch in free WI-FI coverage provides momentary ‘off air’ space. An unsolicited art installation in Martin Place becomes a ‘glitch’ in the event programming of the city. Hacking into the ‘Webcam’ stream to disseminate a political message is as provocative as ‘No War’ on the Opera House. Electronic facades are hacked to broadcast not advertising but art. Space is hacked, real estate vacancies are taken over by artists to create momentary programmatic glitches in the commerce driven culture. But are all of these activities subversive or were some written into the program?

Scenario 2 – Re-pro City

Technology pervades our experience in Sydney 2030 in ways unimaginable just decades before. The downscaling of the global military economy to address the looming environmental crisis led to a global focus on technological advancement. This in turn brought about unprecedented changes in our environment; physically, politically and socially. Change is rapid. All forecasts for the implementation of technologies just imagined in 2010 have been collapsed and have arrived. The distinctions between the physical and the digital have blurred.

Contrary to the fears of some back in 2010, Sydney is not overwhelmed by the systems and infrastructure of control. It’s citizens are not forced into a state of submission by technology or the control mechanisms of the state. Alternatives have emerged, democracy has become faster and more active, the mechanisms of the old state were too cumbersome to keep pace. We vote to change our world constantly. The physical environment has begun to dematerialize. Public and private spaces are built to be reprogrammable; to facilitate constant customization. Waste begins to be eliminated from the process. Virtual systems replace our attachment to the object.

The old rules of urban planning have become obsolete. Changes that once took years can now take weeks, even days. A small community from Zimbabwe moves to Sydney. They establish themselves in the Bridge and Phillip St sector. Their culture infiltrates the surrounding cultures over night. The city is re-programmed to accommodate. Existing residents are excited by the new restaurants, grocery items and cultural venues. Some residents reprogram their apartments, adapting their private space to these new influences.