ABSTRACT
Back in 1982, I thought I had seen what the city would look like in 2019. It was a dark place, with flickering neon signs, spinning spotlights, and flying police cars racing between skyscrapers. People were eating noodles bought from Chinese street markets in the rain, and everyone was keeping an eye on genetically-engineered androids from an off-planet colony. Some 24 years later, it turned out that apart from eating noodles and the rain, the future was not going to be Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. Instead, we were told that the future was about blue sky, cycling, greeneries, recycling, and renewable energies. 1 It was going to be about ‘smart, responsive simplicity’ according to Peter Head, Director of Arup, when he launched the Dongtan City project in Shanghai. That was 2006. Today, the project is on halt and even if it was not, would Dongtan be a realistic model of urban future? If not, what would be? One person who has tried tirelessly to find out is Peter Hall whom I first met in 1996 and had the privilege of working with and enjoying his support ever since.
