Gazing into a planner's crystal ball

Healthy eating and living were once a dream but the crisis of the first ten years of this century has led to a dramatic turn around. Systems are becoming smarter and individuals are taking personal responsibility for their health. Personal carbon credits have led to reconfiguration of energy use, making SEQ a world leader.

There are still conflicts, but neighborhood mediation centres (not to mention peer mediation in schools) resolve many of them. While population has increased, energy consumption has remained steady. Innovation continues to breed innovation.

In this outcome, global changes will be met by SEQ citizens , who will not see themselves at the mercy of large institutions, their capacity to influence their lives will continue to increase.

It is too soon to tell which of these futures is the most plausible. Decisive factors will be a shared vision of the future, good governance through enhanced community consultation (creating anticipatory democracy) and the use of smart and social technologies to problems (using technologies to enhance community capacity).

We cannot rely on simply expanding highways, but must change the nature of the city, finding new ways to work and live.

Which future do you want for SEQ 2026?