Polar Cities, Part II: Future need for survivability, Q & A

Polar Cities or Lovelock Retreats as they are sometimes called, are self-contained cities.  These cites are created to house the population that manages to survive the extreme effects of global warming.  Projected need for such cities ranges from 2300 to 2500.

Danny Bloom, founder of The Polar City Project, was willing to answer several questions I asked him via email.  Following are the questions and answers concerning the future of Polar Cities:

1) What type of power do you see running this city, solar, wind, wave….?

DAN: Whatever is most effective to meet the environment and is sustainable.
In some areas we looked at, Geothermal is a popular choice.  We
certainly don’t want to use a power source that will contribute to the
carbon footprint. We would probably use a mix of sources for
redundancy purposes if we can afford it.

The time frame will be around the year 2500 or so, perhaps earlier, but not real soon, maybe like 2300 or 2400 or 2500, so by then, they will not be using coal or oil, but solar power mostly……..and sometimes good old wood-heated stoves for cooking and warmth at night,,,,,it won’t be a very pretty picture. it will be just survival, and the population worldwide will be down from the current 7 billion and 15 billion by 2500 to just 200,000 survivors of global warming disaster events in the future, so this is not a pretty scenario, but it is NOT doomsday either, people WILL survive, and have children, and their offspring will come out of these polar cities in the far distant future, maybe 3500 A.D. to reoccupy the middle areas of the Earth again and start building up the population again,…..

2) Where would the power sources be set up in your city?

DAN: Whatever is most effective to meet the environment while not posing
any health or safety issues. Solar for instance could be on the roof
while geothermal might need to be a few kilometers away.  Wind power will be outside the city, about ten miles away, and the power will come in by electric wires above ground to a power station inside the city…

3) I notice that you refer to living spaces as “dorms” do you mean apartments or is it set up like a college dorm setting?

DAN: More like apartments for families, but for single people, there will
be dormitory style living areas too. so both, apts and dorms.

Due to our desire to keep costs down while housing as many as
possible, a college dorm setting is most efficient.  We haven’t
determined yet if each will be “en suite” or have community
lavatories.  Survivability is the key point so some creature comforts
would probably not make it into the final design. We’ve been tossing
around the idea a cruise ship-like compartment: a small en suite room
with a window (but larger than a porthole).  Interestingly this is a
similar concept to Japanese hotels where space is at a premium.

4) Does your complex include employment and entertainment (movies, concerts, bars…) venues?

DAN: Ah…good question.

We haven’t explored employment areas yet (other than those required to
run the city) but this is certainly a possibility.  We expect the
cities to be very self-sustainable but also extensible. It’s possible
we could see something that is currently done in India: a major
employer like IBM could build a polar city with work complex and a
residential complex connected.

Recreation facilities are on the drawing board but we don’t yet know
what this will look like in the final iteration.  Our current thinking
is a multi-use facility that will be a gymnasium, movie theatre,
performing arts stage, etc..

Again, by 2500, these LOVELOCK RETREATS, their
other nickname, besides polar cities, since they are NOT at the poles
per se, could even be in Oslo Norway and Seattle Wash. and New Zealand
highlands and Tasmania highlands and ROCKY MTN highlands…..and of
course Alaska and Canada far north…… it won’t be a pretty picture
or fun. this is mere survival so that breeding pairs of humans can
continue the human species, James Lovelock’s idea, Google it, so YES,
there will be libraries and digital movie halls in these cities, but
it won’t be middle-class bourgeois life, it will be just survival 101
life, but as clean and hygienic as possible, there will be small
medical staff too, and teachers,,,but NO bars or pubs, NO discos,
nothing like that……..again, not a pretty picture……not MAD MAX
either, but not a pretty thing to behold…..NO concert venues. no
more rock and roll…sigh….just sleep, eat, exercise, grow food,
chat, read books, sleep again…….

5) You have security so what kind of dangers do you for see?

DAN: We have discussed internal and external security concepts but only to
the minimal extent needed.  With people living in tight quarters, it
won’t take long to get to know your neighbors on your block.  Entryway
security will most likely be a mix of man and physical (cctv and door
locks) to process visitors and returning residents but also to scare
away any local wildlife that might be considered a threat to any of
the inhabitants.  We would gladly trade in a security person for a
trained therapist to counsel those who find life’s outlook bleak.
Security needs will vary based on location and if a city has a
targeted resident class (e.g. corporation sponsored cities would not
need much security but one housing Christians and Muslims might).

There will likely be marauders and bandits outside the cities, so
there will be a defense force to protect and guard the cities from MAD
Max-like gangs…..

6) Are these dangers from nonresidents? YES…..wildlife? NO……derelicts? YES

7) Is your city more like Babylon 5 where all can live and work (or in other words various socioeconomic levels)?

DAN:……..No. Polar city life will be harsh and hard to endure….only the hardiest, mentally, will survive those times…..civilization will have broken down, but inside the polar cities, people will be well-behaved and trying their best to put on a happy face…..and there will be activities to keep people focused and alert……but no middle class /upper class /lower class, everyone will be in the same boat, trying to survive…

8) Is this an exclusive gated community for the very wealthy?

DAN: An excellent question. One of our biggest internal questions is “who
will manage these facilities?”  For example, would it be a private
foundation or the United Nations? Would each country run their own or
would it be corporation sponsored?  Ideally everyone who enters a
Polar City would be as equal as the next person but the sponsorship of
each facility might impose additional restrictions.   If we can get
good at efficient low-cost yet durable construction it would be easier
to construct these cities so that almost anyone could afford to be
there and large governments could build several for low-income
families and refugees.

[So] no, NOT exclusive, but YES gated, but not for wealthy, ….for anyone
who is lucky enough to secure a place…….hopefully, if plans are
made for these cities NOW, we can figure out a good democratic and
fair way to admit families…..

9) Besides tube travel, what type of travel within the city will be included? Bicycles, skytran, ….?

DAN: NO SKYTRAIN, but yes bicycles, and walking…..no cars, no buses, no trains, no airplanes…..The primary means of locomotion will be walking with lifts for the elderly.

The pictures are great but more information please!

DAN: The current pictures are meant to give people a sense of what these
cities might look like inside, but it is just a blueprint and the pics
are colorful and pretty. But actual life for survivors, with marauders
outside trying to get in and steal food and resources, will be an
every day survival test….

The original pictures can be found here where they can be enlarged for viewing in greater detail.

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• Polar Cities, Part I: Background need for survivability
• Polar Cities, part III: building the first model city
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