A CYBERNETIC CITY FOR THE NEXT CENTURY
by
Jacque Fresco
INTRODUCTION
The world's present problems cannot be solved within the framework of today's social institutions. They cannot be solved politically or financially, because they are technical in nature. We are now at a time when transitional decisions should be considered that could permit us to evolve from our present culture of scarcity, waste, and environmental destruction to a caring society of ecological concern and abundance.
The Venus Project offers a vision of a future society that is dedicated to human concern and environmental reclamation. It is an attainable vision of a bright and better future. It proposes the redesign of our social institutions by applying the latest technologies to benefit everyone. The uniqueness of our project is that it presents refreshing alternatives that are practical solutions to our many problems.
The ultimate aim of The Venus Project is to ensure social and economic stability and enable everyone to participate in all aspects of the social spectrum and to have access to all of the amenities that a prosperous and innovative society can provide. With The Venus Project approach and our present technologies, we can practically eliminate war, poverty, hunger, debt, crime, etc.
How can all this be possible? Who will pay for this vast undertaking? There may not be enough money available to pay for the required changes, but there are certainly more than enough natural and technological resources.
Financial wealth is irrelevant to survival. The real value of any nation is its developed and potential resources and the people who are working toward a more humane lifestyle and the elimination of scarcity. This can be accomplished through the intelligent application of science and technology.
We will outgrow the need for money. In an economy based on resources rather than money, we will make the necessities of life available to all. When education and resources are available, there would be no limit to the human potential. The measure of success will be the fulfillment of one's life rather than the acquisition of wealth, property, and power. At present, we have enough material resources to provide a very high standard of living for everyone. By overcoming scarcity, most of the crimes and even prisons of today's society could be eliminated.
THE CYBERNETIC CITY
The Venus Project is a proposed city that would combine the most sophisticated utilization of available resources and construction techniques. Its geometrically elegant circular arrangement, surrounded by parks and lovely gardens, is designed to operate with the minimum expenditure of energy to obtain the highest possible standard of living for everyone. The city would use the best of clean technology in harmony with nature.
The outer perimeter will be part of the recreational area. A waterway surrounds the agricultural belt with its transparent enclosed buildings. The eight green sectors will provide clean renewable sources of energy such as wind, thermal, solar, etc. The residential belt will be beautifully landscaped and feature lovely lakes and winding streams.
Adjacent to the residential district are the dining areas, where a wide selection of healthy, organically grown food will be available. Next are the apartments and design centers. Surrounding the central dome are eight domes that house the library, science, art, music, research, exhibition, entertainment, and conference centers. These are fully equipped and available to everyone. The central dome or theme center houses the cybernated system, educational facilities, shopping, communications, networking, and health center.
In our new city, the central dome will serve as the core for most transportation. Horizontal, vertical, and radial conveyors take one safely anywhere within the city. City-to-city transportation will be provided by monorail and electrically operated vehicles. Transcontinental travel will be achieved through advanced aircraft and high-speed mag-lev trains.
The buildings are
designed to be simple, safe, and efficient:
- The free-formed dome structures are virtually windproof and blend into the landscape.
- Steel frames and concrete construction are impervious to termites and destruction by fire.
- They are reinforced to withstand earth tremors.
- Their shell construction can be mass produced in a matter of hours.
The homes will be gracefully contoured to blend in with the landscape. A wide range of innovative architecture will provide many choices for the occupants. The exterior surface of the homes will be thermally activated: The warmer it gets on the outside, the cooler it becomes om the inside. The homes will be prefabricated of a new type of reinforced concrete and other new materials, with an external coating that would be maintenance free and impervious to the weather. With this type of construction, there would be minimal damage from earthquakes, hurricanes, and fires.
Eventually, with applied total design concepts, we could minimize the threat of floods and droughts. A series of canals and water-storage basins with flood locks could provide irrigation , transportation, and recreation and hold back flood waters for future needs. And, as with any massive construction initiative, the possible gains and negative effects will always be very carefully reviewed before each project is started.
CYBERCULTURE IN VENUS
The Venus Project would represent a true cyberculture, in which all of society's institutions are transformed by computers and automation. This cybernated system will link computers with automated machinery, coordinating all the services and functions of the entire city. One can think of this as an electrical autonomic nervous system extending into all areas of the society. For example, in the agricultural belt the computer will automatically monitor and maintain the water table and soil chemistry and regulate the planting and harvesting of crops. In the residential sector, it will maintain environmental cleanliness and waste recycling. It will automatically control and maintain a constant inventory between factory and consumer. Production and distribution will be balanced to correspond with demand, eliminating shortages and overruns.
When cybernation is
integrated into all aspects of this new and dynamic culture, only
then can computers appropriately serve the needs of all the people.
No technological civilization can ever operate efficiently and
effectively without the application of cybernetics to the social
system. This dynamic approach only acts to enhance people's lives;
it doesn't monitor or dictate their activities. Monotonous and
boring jobs would be phased out, and a high standard of living will
be maintained for everyone. With an opportunity for constant growth
and achievement, people will have the time and freedom to choose the
lifestyle they find most fulfilling.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF VENUS
Perhaps the greatest limiting factors of our present-day culture can be traced to our language, social customs, and values, which were conceived in earlier times. The proposals of The Venus Project will not only be applied to cities, industrial processes, and the environment, but also to education, where the majority of subjects presented will be relevant to the direction and needs of this new emergent culture. As we encourage individual initiative, creativity and innovation will flourish throughout society.
The technology and resources necessary for The Venus Project are available today. But to realize this vision, many people must act supportively. The Venus Project is neither utopian nor Orwellian, nor does it reflect the dreams of impractical idealists. Instead, it presents attainable goals requiring only the diligent application of what we already know to the dilemmas of our time.
Phase One of The Venus Project is the 25-acre design center in still-pristine south-central Florida, where the future is taking shape now. The actual buildings, along with the models, illustrations, blueprints, and a video presentation, are the first steps that have been completed to help one see, feel, and touch the future, to dream and strive to create a better life for all people.
The function of this new experimental city would be to test the validity of The Venus Project's designs and proposals. There is no doubt that there would be shortcomings and inevitable modifications during this transition, which we accept and expect. But the final test of the practicality of any system is simply how well it works.
Just as all new ideas go through a process of maturation and development, we expect our experimental City of the Future to gain acceptance by fulfilling its promise as a highly successful, peaceful, and desirable place to live. As these newer communities develop and become widely accepted, they will evolve into the basis of a new society.