Fifty years from now, in 2061, more than 9 million people will inhabit New York City — yet the city will feel less cramped than it does today. Garbage dumps will be transformed into parks, and floating swimming pools in the (cleaner) East and Hudson rivers could give the island of Manhattan more of a beachtown feel.
Gleaming new towers will rule the skyline from lower Manhattan to Midtown, while posh, high-rent neighborhoods will transform into ghost towns.
“The Upper East Side is going to look like a geriatric ward,” said NYU urban policy professor Mitchell Moss. “It’ll be a giant retirement community. The city’s center of gravity will be at Madison Square Park.”
Peering into New York City’s future reveals a vision of a metropolis both similar and foreign from the one we inhabit today.
In half a century, the trees in Central and Prospect Parks might change, but their layouts are landmarked and untouchable.
But with free WiFi in the air we breathe, public spaces will be transformed into communal work spaces. Companies won’t lease entire office buildings. Instead, buildings will become “co-working skyscrapers,” sublet like apartments online by small, mobile companies and freelancers.
