Total City Systems[]
It would be far easier and would require less energy to build new, efficient cities than to attempt to update and solve the problems of the old ones. The Venus Project proposes a Research City that would use the most sophisticated available resources and construction techniques. Its geometrically elegant and efficient circular arrangement will be surrounded by, and incorporated into the city design, parks and lovely gardens. This city will be designed to operate with the minimum expenditure of energy using the cleanest technology available, which will be in harmony with nature to obtain the highest possible standard of living for everyone. This system facilitates efficient transportation for city residents, eliminating the need for automobiles. The Venus Project's Circular City arrangement is comprised of the following:
1. The central dome or theme center will house the core of the cybernated system, educational facilities, access center, computerized communications networking systems, health and child care facilities.
2. The buildings surrounding the central dome provide the community with centers for cultural activities such as the arts, theater, exhibitions, concerts, access centers, and various forms of entertainment.
3. Next is the design and development complex for this research and planning city. The design centers are beautifully landscaped in natural surroundings.
4. Adjacent the research facilities are dining and other amenities.
5. The eight residential districts have a variety of free form unique architecture to fulfil the various needs of the occupant. Each home is immersed in lovely gardens isolating one from another with lush landscaping.
6. Areas are set aside for renewable clean sources of energy such as wind generators, solar, heat concentrating systems, geothermal, photovoltaic and others.
7. Next are the indoor hydroponic facilities and outdoor agricultural belts which will be used to grow a wide variety of organic plants without the use of pesticides.
8. A circular waterway for irrigation and filtration surrounds the agricultural belt.
9. The outermost perimeter is utilized for recreational activities such as biking, golfing, hiking and riding, etc.
All the facilities are available to everyone without cost in a resource based economy. The sole purpose of this sophisticated technology is to free people from boring monotonous tasks, make available a much higher standard of living, and provide more leisure time.
With an opportunity for constant growth and achievement people could have the time and freedom to choose the lifestyle they find most fulfilling. The city is designed to serve the needs of every member of society. We are fast approaching a time when human intelligence will be incapable of interacting with the rapidly occurring events in the physical world. The human mind is far too simple to handle and put to practical use the voluminous information needed to operate a highly technical and advanced world society. The processing required would have to deal with trillions of bits of information per second, far too complex for human systems, particularly with the infusion of nanotechnology.
The Venus Project calls for a cybernated society in which computers could replace the outmoded system of electing politicians that in most cases represent the entrenched vested interests. This new technology will not dictate or monitor individual's lives, as in The Venus Project this would be consider socially offensive and counterproductive. Books such as 1984 and Brave New World, and motion pictures such as Blade-Runner and Terminator 2 have spawned fear in some people regarding the takeover of technology in our society. The Venus Project's only purpose is to elevate the spiritual and intellectual potential of all people, while at the same time providing the goods and services that will meet their individual and material needs.
Cybernation is the linking of computers with automated systems. Eventually the central cybernated systems will coordinate all of the machinery and equipment that serve the entire city, the nation and ultimately the world. One can think of this as an electronic autonomic nervous system extending into all areas of the social complex.
For example, in the agricultural belt the computers could automatically monitor and maintain the water table, soil chemistry, and coordinate the planting and harvesting of crops. In the residential sector, the system could maintain environmental cleanliness and the recycling of waste materials.
In addition, to ensure the efficient operation of the city's various functions, all of the processes and services could be equipped with electronic environmental feedback sensors. These sensors could be coordinated with redundant, back-up systems that could operate in the event of failure or breakdown of the city's primary systems.
Only when cybernation is integrated into all aspects of this new and dynamic culture can computers appropriately serve the needs of all people. No technological civilization can ever operate efficiently and effectively without the integration of cybernetics as an integral part of this new world civilization.
These proposals, from an engineering standpoint, seem fantastic and unfeasible within the present monetary system; and they are. The sums involved in ventures of this magnitude would be too huge and inconceivable. No government today can possibly afford this prodigious undertaking. All of this could only be accomplished in a resource-based world economy where all of the world's resources are held as the common heritage of all of the earth's peoples. This University of Global Resource Management and Environmental Studies, or "world-university," is a testing ground for each phase of development. This would be a dynamic, continually evolving research institute open to all of society. Student performance would be based on "competence accreditation," and research findings would be periodically applied directly to the social structure to benefit all members of the world society.
People will live in these experimental cities and provide feedback on the liability and serviceability of the various structures. This information would be used to formulate modifications to structures so that maximum efficiency, comfort, and safety is assured. This facility is also used to develop modular construction systems and components that can be installed to serve a wide range of needs and preferences. In most instances, the external appearance of the buildings will reflect the function of the building - they are designed "from the inside out." These skyscrapers would be constructed of reinforced and pre-stressed concrete, steel and glass. They will be stabilized against earthquakes and high winds by three massive, elongated, tapered columns. These support structures will surround the cylindrical central tower, which is 150 feet wide. This tripod-like structure is reinforced to diminish compression, tension, and torsion stresses. These super-size skyscrapers will assure that more land will be available for parks and wilderness preserves, while concurrently helping to eliminate urban sprawl. Each one of these towers will be a total enclosure system containing an access center, as well as childcare, educational, health, and recreational facilities. This will help alleviate the need to travel to outside facilities.
If we do not maintain a balance between the population and the earth's carrying capacity we may have to move our cities not only skyward and seaward, but subterranean as well.
Subterranean Cities
In-hospitable regions of the planet, such as polar and desert regions, cities below the surface of the earth would become an entirely comfortable home for many. Numerous elevators allow residents to enjoy skiing and other recreational activities on the surface. The primary source of power for these cities, where feasible, would be geo-thermal energy.
Sea City[]
A global system of these structures can easily accommodate many millions of people and relieve the land based population pressures. They can provide the inhabitants with information and serve as natural sea aquariums without artificially enclosing marine life.
Many of these cities may serve as oceanographic universities that maintain the ecological balance of marine systems. Other ocean cities will maintain sea farms that will cultivate many forms of marine life. They could also be used as a new resource for mining the relatively untapped resources of the oceans without disturbing its ecology. Still others may monitor and maintain environmental equilibrium and reclaim dangerous radioactive and other pollutant materials that have been dumped into the sea.
After construction, these structures can be towed to various locations where they would be most beneficial, then anchored to the ocean floor. Some structures will be towed in prefabricated segments and then joined together at selected locations. Their internal construction will include floatation chambers which will render them practically unsinkable. They can be self maintained and fully automated.
Off Shore Living[]
Offshore apartment buildings of concrete, steel, glass, titanium, and a wide variety of new synthetic materials could be built to relieve the population pressure in areas like Hong Kong, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and New York. The materials used in such projects would be engineered to withstand the corrosive effects of the harsh ocean environment.
Mariculture & Fish Farming[]
This is a conceptual view of a mariculture and sea-farming system, which can be varied in configuration. Such systems would be used to cultivate and raise fish and other forms of marine life to help meet the nutritional needs of the world's people. Capable of cultivating a great variety of marine life, these structures would be equipped to permit the free flow of water throughout the system. They are designed to be a non-contaminating, integral part of the marine environment.
Automated Water Systems[]
Eventually, with applied total design concepts and "mega- hydrological" projects, we could minimize the threat of floods and drought. These waterways would be an integrated part of a national flood control system that would hold back floodwaters, which could be released during periods of drought, and be used to maintain the water table. It could also be used for irrigation, shipping passengers and bulk freight; and the water storage basins could be used for recreation as well. In many instances, the waterway would be used as evaporative desalinization.
Energy[]
None of these mega-projects will ever be undertaken without a comprehensive study of the positive and negative retroactions involved.
Geothermal Energy
As refinements in conversion technologies increase its feasibility, geothermal energy will come to take on a more prominent role. Readily available in various geographical regions throughout the world, both on land and under the sea, this energy source alone could provide enough clean energy for the next thousand years.
Underwater Turbines
They are underwater structures that are designed to convert a portion of the flow of the Gulf Stream through turbines to generate clean electric power. These slow rotating turbines would have a centrifugal separator and deflectors to prevent harm to marine life.
Bering Strait Dam
A land bridge or tunnel might be constructed across the Bering Strait. The primary function of this span would be to generate electrical power and house facilities for collecting and processing marine products. Beneath and above the ocean surface would be tunnels for the transport of both passengers and freight. Not only could this structure provide a physical link between Asia and North America, it could also serve as an avenue for social and cultural exchange. This land bridge would perhaps serve as a base for the development of clean fusion power. Pipelines to conduct fresh water from melting icebergs to other parts of the world may also be incorporated.
Solar Power
Solar power has tremendous potential from photovoltaic panels that store energy in batteries for private use to large scale solar plants on land and in the sea. The radiation that strikes the Earth’s surface each year is more than 10,000 times the world's energy use. New technologies are constantly merging to harness this potential.
Transportation[]
Maglev Trains
Various segments of the passenger compartments on these high-speed maglev trains can be removed as the train passes through the station. These removable sections can then take passengers to their local destinations while other compartments are lowered in their place. This method allows the main body of the train to remain in motion, thus conserving energy. In addition, the removable multi-functional compartments could be specially equipped to serve most transportation purposes.
Aircraft
Since military aircraft will be unnecessary in the future, emphasis can be shifted to advancing medical, emergency, service, and transportation vehicles. Here is an example of VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing) aircraft with three synchronous turbines, which allow for exceptional maneuverability. These delta-configuration aircraft can be controlled by electrodynamic means eliminating the need for ailerons, elevators, rudders, spoilers, flaps or any other mechanical controls. In addition to providing better maneuverability and aerodynamic qualities, this innovative technology will also serve as an anti-icing system. In the event of an emergency landing fuel will be ejected to prevent fires.
These Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft are designed to lift passengers and freight by the use of ring-vortex air columns. The helicopter in the foreground has a stationary center around which the rotors are propelled by engines at their tips. VTOL aircraft will be propelled by a variety of techniques, from ducted fans to vectored jets. They will be designed to combine the most desirable attributes of fixed winged aircraft, helicopters, and flying platforms. Transcontinental travel will be achieved through advanced aircraft and high-speed mag-lev trains, all integrated in a worldwide transportation system.
Airport
The central dome of this airport of the future would contain air terminals, maintenance facilities, service centers, and hotels. The runways are arranged in a radial configuration, which allows airplanes to easily take off into the prevailing winds and to avoid dangerous crosswind landings. Emergency stations are located at the edge of the runways, which are fully equipped with built-in fire fighting equipment and emergency arresting gear. All of the runways will be equipped with built in sprinkler systems in case of emergency. Passengers will be transported to and from the airport by underground conveyors. Many of the terminals themselves will eventually be constructed underground.
Automobiles
Streamlined cars will provide high-speed, energy efficient, and safe, long-range transportation. Some vehicles will have wheels, while others will eventually be equipped with magnetic levitation or air-floatation capabilities. Most vehicles will be equipped with voice-recognition technology that will allow the passengers to program unique individual homes. Their structural elements will be flexible and coherently arranged to best serve individual preference. These pre-fabricated, modular homes, embodying a high degree of flexibility inconceivable in times past, could be built anyplace one might imagine, amidst forests, atop mountains, or on remote islands.
All of these dwellings can be designed as self-contained residences with their own thermal generators and heat concentrators. Photovoltaic arrays would be built into the skin of the building and into the windows themselves. “Thermopanes” would be used to tint out the bright sunlight by variable patterns of shading. All these features could be selected by the occupant to supply more than enough of the energy required to operate the entire household.
Homes could be prefabricated of a new type of pre-stressed, reinforced concrete with a flexible ceramic external coating that would be relatively maintenance free, fireproof, and impervious to the weather. Their thin shell construction can be mass-produced in a matter of hours. With this type of construction, there would be minimal damage from earthquakes and hurricanes.
Construction[]
If technology does not liberate all people for the pursuit of higher aspirations in human achievement, then all its technical potential will be meaningless.
Automated Construction Systems
The machine in the foreground is a multi-function unreceiit. Here, it is used to lift and insert prefabricated housing components into a support structure. Although these "prefab" units will be composed of standard components, they will be of a modular design of such a wide and diverse array as to allow maximum individual expression in interior design and décor.
Automated Cranes
The construction of these industrial and research complexes in the Circular City can be carried out by robotic equipment that will receive instructions via satellite. Automated cranes travel along the buildings' length installing floors, windows, curtain walls, roofing, and other components from the ground up. These devices will contain sensors to minimize industrial accidents or collisions with other devices or living beings.
Laser Excavator
This scene depicts a laser excavator of the future. Such devices, which could be directed via satellite, would be capable of fusing the earth beneath it into a molten magma-like material. This machine would be able to change its shape to conform to a wide range of contours such as canals, roads, and waterways.
Industrial Robots
These "multi access industrial robots" will utilize vast information resources, which will enable them to receive commands via satellite up-link or on-site. They can also be designed to take appropriate actions in the absence of human directives by combining an array of sensors and receivers with sophisticated decision making abilities. They will be capable of handling a wide range of industrial production tasks, and will be able to upgrade their level of service and replace defective or worn parts. These mega robots will communicate with one another to coordinate delivery of the required materials for each project.
Nanotechnology
There future of nanotechnology offers enormous potential, Nanotechnology combines optics and lasers, and will eventually enable us to assemble matter, atom by atom, into whatever molecular structure is needed. Nanotechnology will lead to a sub-microscopic revolution in all fields, including the way in which we conduct human affairs.
Space[]
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Space stations provide the advantages of a gravity-free research environment. They can be entirely automated and self-contained to permit maintenance and self-repair without human intervention. These space stations would be able to monitor the earth’s resources, as well as facilitate further research in the fields of meteorology and astronomy, work that is often difficult on Earth due to atmospheric interference. Many other experiments can be accomplished in a gravity-free environment, particularly in the areas of medicine, chemistry, and metallurgy. In addition, these space stations would serve as nodes in a worldwide telecommunications system, providing up-to-date information on the Earth's ecosystems, the position of ships and airliners, and other information pertinent to the inhabitants of the cybernated world. |