Whether our cities grow or shrink in the future, the strength and quality of urban society is crucial for our wellbeing. Most of our respondents have a negative view of the future. Even many of the positive comments include conditional aspects thought to be important, and necessary.
Urban society comments are grouped into: A Stronger Society, Signs of Decline, and Some Hope.
Signs of Decline
Signs and causes of urban society declining in the future are described in these comments by the respondents.
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A breakdown in urban society is sadly envisioned by some respondents. Reasons presented vary from ‘this is the way things are going’ to a belief that the wealth gap of the rich and powerful will continue to increase.
I think it’s breaking down for years already. The biggest cities seem dysfunctional to me. With crime going up, congestion being the norm, energy problems all over the place. Netherlands
Community/society has been steadily eroded since the 80’s. United Kingdom
Unless the world goes through one or more strongly population reducing events like world wars, climate disasters, more pandemics – all of which may result in a global conscience of ‘we need to do better’ – it is likely that we continue on the path we’re on which is breakdown of society. United States
Huge population influx is breaking down urban cities and will continue into the future. The rural population in search of greener life will keep migrating to urban centers. Nigeria
Increased poverty, drug abuse, criminality will slowly break down urban society. Sweden
Urban societies, at least in India, aren’t always well-managed and progressive. Members of local units, including resident welfare associations, are often at loggerheads. Conflict between local authorities and citizens seem common. The ease of doing business for entrepreneurs hasn’t really improved at the pace one hoped for. India
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Breaking down of our society is predicted, but specifically driven by an increasing wealth gap.
Narratives, in particular those from faith-based sources, that held populations together for many centuries are slowly breaking down. As new belief systems and world orders are established, I believe there is a far greater likelihood of urban society breaking down. This will be exacerbated by continued inequitable distribution of wealth and climate change forcing displacement of people on an ongoing basis. Australia
Rat race will accentuate dog eat dog culture. India
The strong will get stronger and the weak will get weaker. There will be a polarization instead of a sliding scale. South Africa
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Polarization along common belief, political or ideological lines is stated as a strong cause of siloization that will prevent social cohesion and lead to a worsening urban society.
In the US I see it breaking down. The combination of homelessness and partisan politics along with remote work is making it more difficult for a robust center city culture to evolve. United States
Convenience has been dominated by stress and isolation. Singapore
Communities are getting weaker. But when there is a crisis that affects everyone they will coalesce. Meanwhile people will become more isolated in general. The increased use of technology (eg. virtual reality) drives this. India
Because we are not directly connected to the place of work anymore, the connection will break down. Netherlands
I think the urban society will break into subcultures that run from digitalization and migration. Sweden
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Habitat silo isolation is mentioned as a possible cause leading to the deterioration of urban society, where inhabitants are focused on their own homes and families, and don’t contribute in the larger neighborhood or society.
It’s in a way breaking down a lot due to constant movement of people so relationships with neighbors are less stable. Belgium
Working-from-home will contribute to isolation issues and the inherent mental health issues associated. With cost of living rising, smaller housing (rather than large housing expectation of Australians) is required to meet the population explosion. Australia
Rapid urbanization creates silos not families which in turn erodes collective units. India
More urbanisation leads to more of a rat pack mentality, where no one knows you, so no one cares about you. United Kingdom
From my perspective, people are busy with their own lives and not as much with their neighbors and neighborhood. Netherlands
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Individualism versus the common good is another reason given for a worsening urban society.
Society is becoming more and more individualistic. India
We are becoming more individualistic, there is no “us” anymore in large cities. By looking at sustainability challenges that we are facing; it comes down to money and our own preferences. The world has never been more about money and power as now. Netherlands
Some Hope
Reasons for a more hopeful future of our urban society could include a population move to rural environments and, once again, the younger generation to our rescue. It’s also suggested that some urban breakdown isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
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An interesting view of urban society breaking down is seeing it as a method for eventual improvement.
It’s breaking down but not necessarily in a bad way – it’s inevitable as we further enable diversity and differences of perspectives. Australia
It is breaking down as a necessary part of transformation, rather than decline. Australia
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A move away from urban to more rural societies is predicted by some respondents. This would bring up questions about how rural societies could be sustained, through jobs, internal economics, and transportation between other rural societies and urban centers. At least one respondent sees this as a possible divisive problem between rural and urban societies.
I believe rural communities will grow stronger. Ireland
The divide between urban and rural areas is where the potential breakdown is happening. Australia
As some are able to work remote, I think getting out of cities will continue to happen. Being able to work and have a slower pace of life are what a lot of people want and need. United States
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The younger generation’s involvement in society is given as a driving force for improvement. An interesting counter-aspect of this is the argument that the aging population will force us to come together more.
Marginally getting stronger. the younger generation are yearning for connection and social media is growing a new generation of community networks, we are moving back to a village mentality. United Kingdom
Technological cities will gather more and more young people. Brazil
As people getting older, there will be more need for communal services, centralized in cities. We will become more dependent on each other. Netherlands
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The information age, social media and mainstream media, is seen as influencing our society, sometimes in a positive way (keeping us informed) and sometimes just the opposite (ratcheting up our distrust).
The urban society is becoming stronger, because people are becoming more informed especially through social media. Nigeria
In the false pretense of becoming stronger, the urban society is breaking down due to the rapid exchange of information. India
Breaking down. Older ways of trust are anachronistic. New age trust in any form is hard to sustain. Trust in social media has vanished in less than 10-15 years. India
As long as societies are dominated by mainstream media, they will continue to be strong. Switzerland
