sorgJul 21, 2023
Bastian Allgeier

Lovely German project to visualise utopian future versions of cities all around the world: https://realutopien.info/visuals/

I want more of this. More positive self-fulfilling prophecies. I also think that it's totally fine to positively overshoot and be naive about it. Why shouldn't we be allowed to just dream big here?

Klima Zukunftsbild Straßen befreien

Infothek für Realutopien
Jul 21, 2023 at 7:53amElk
Show threadFlorian EgermannJul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier Why do these feel like 70s sci-fi illustrations? Is it the techno-utopian optimism?
Show threadBastian AllgeierJul 21, 2023
@fleg I think there's always a risk to keep referencing previous future visualisations. Folks need to draw inspiration from somewhere. But a lot of those feel more like green/solarpunk to me than techno-utopian optimism. Although I guess there's often a thin line between those forms of optimism.
Show threadFlorian EgermannJul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier I meant it as a compliment :)
I never thought about “classifying” optimism, interesting subject (especially in these times).
Show threadbarningJul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier I visited New York during Earth Day, and they closed the streets. There were tables and chairs outside, along with a farmers market. The trees were already there, but, of course, no building was overgrown with plants. So, it's not that far away…
Show threadBastian AllgeierJul 21, 2023
@barning Yeah, that's why I think it's great to overshoot with such visualisations. To a certain extend all of this is already being done in various places. Superblocks, vegetal canopies, vertical gardens, sponge cities, more liveable outdoor spaces, renaturation as heat protection, etc. I just love to think how far this could get. What if we truly go wild with such concepts?
Show threadCytelessJul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier Some of this is coming true with the efforts of the New Urbanism movement. Worth checking out the work of Leon Krier and Andres Duany.
Show threadRob 🌱Jul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier Love this. A great antidote to the dystopian-zombie-apocalypse-doomsday propaganda that is everywhere .
We all need a positive hope to strive for (as opposed to being motivated by fear).
Show threadMattias SchlenkerJul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier Here is a page of one of the companies doing the realisation. Scroll through "Projects"... https://transsolar.com/projects/redevelopment-place-de-la-republique
Redevelopment Place de la République | Transsolar | KlimaEngineering

Show threadBastian AllgeierJul 21, 2023
@mattias I wonder why I didn't think of them. They have been a client years ago. I actually built that website :) Such an amazing company with really lovely people.
Show threadCanadian CurmudgeonJul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier Nothing from Canada, but maybe we could ask them to visualize Toronto, Montreal, or Ottawa...
Show threadMattias SchlenkerJul 21, 2023
@CdnCurmudgeon @bastianallgeier Remember: The trees in the Photos are relatively young, they have to grow. No visionary idea, but a project realized. Change cities block by block... https://transsolar.com/projects/calgary-mackimmie-tower-renovation
MacKimmie Complex with Tower Renovation | Transsolar | KlimaEngineering

Show threadKevin Karhan Jul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier #Solarpunk is going mainstream...
Show threadRevJeberJul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier @lisamelton
When reality becomes too dire to face, escape into fantasy is understandable.
Show threadBastian AllgeierJul 21, 2023
@jeber @lisamelton Defeatism is so much better than that of course.
Show threadRevJeberJul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier @lisamelton
I’ll always be a hopeful utopian but also a pragmatic realist. It’s difficult sometimes.
Show threadLojie  Jul 21, 2023

@bastianallgeier In Hamburg, Germany, the project of putting green rooftop and hundreds of plants and trees on our flak tower/bunker from 2nd World War is almost finished!

https://www.bunker-stpauli.de/en/

It is gonna be a sight to behold. See the gallery on the website... before and after.

Here is a pic I took a few weeks back. #hamburg #bunker #greencitylife

Bunker St. Pauli | Grüner Bunker in der Feldstraße Hamburg

Bunker St. Pauli | Das grüne Dach Hamburgs
Show threadMalteJul 21, 2023
@Lojie @bastianallgeier i'd like to add that this project was tied to building a luxury hotel into the bunker, effectively negating its status as a home to alternative cultures it had for decades.
Show threadBastian AllgeierJul 21, 2023
@electricgecko @Lojie 😕
Show threadcfrankeJul 22, 2023
@electricgecko @Lojie @bastianallgeier Will it really be a luxury hotel?
Show threadMalteJul 22, 2023
@cfranke @Lojie @bastianallgeier well, depends on your definition of luxury - it will definitely be upscale. as far as i know the originally community-driven idea to create a garden on the bunker's rooftop was co-opted by its property developers. i'm not super informed though.
Show threadDzsoJul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier "All around the world" seems to mean, mostly Germany, and a few other places in Europe. :(
Show threadCasey HoflandJul 21, 2023

@bastianallgeier Bastian, my friend, have I ever told you about a little place called SWEDEN?! 🇸🇪

(Yes these images are all real)

Show threadWolfram RittmeyerJul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier You might like the book "Zukunftsbilder 2045" for which many of those pics were originally created.
It contains now-then comparisons for those places plus some texts that are also worth reading IMHO.
Show threadLiberalTechnocratJul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier I saw the last pic first and almost wrote "omg this city looks pretty nice, where in Germany is this?". Then I saw what you wrote lol
Show threadTom StreeterJul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier As the only person known to have enjoyed “Tomorrowland” enough to watch it twice, I wholeheartedly agree.
Show threadLeszek CiesielskiJul 21, 2023
@bastianallgeier Funny thing, Hamburg is **not** changed that much in this visualisation. Yeah, there's some odd "loops" over the Brewdog office building added, the Ludwig-Erhard-Straße has half the lanes replaced with a tram (but there's already underground there), a third bike lane added. That's hardly utopian changes. Yes, yes, the trees on the roofs are new - but the trees on the ground are already there, so are the windmills.
Show threadPeter WithamJul 23, 2023
@bastianallgeier @daniel We need all the positivity we can get in this World. These make me think back to video of animals in urban areas during the pandemic lockdown.