Freilandstadt
The anthropocene will be followed by the symbiocene. Humankind will no longer dominate the planet, but will live symbiotically with its flora and fauna, its resources and elements. Not only will land no longer be a commodity, it will also no longer be abused by humankind for constructing infrastructures and buildings and for mining geological resources. The surface of the Earth will be declared World Heritage, it will be unsealed and renaturalized. Streets and foundation slabs will no longer exist. Each cubic meter of earth will be plowed through by 300 worms. Water will no longer evaporate, but only seep into the ground. The best projects historically developed for the elevated typology will grow upward, forming the Freilandstadt—not as a contiguous megastructure, but as distinct objects. They will host manifold uses, like cities within the city. The most important building material will be wood; the selection of other materials will be limited to a very small repertoire, as was traditionally the case. The Freilandstadt will epitomize the promise of high density with a simultaneously reduced footprint. Because the ground will be renaturalized, it will no longer be necessary to green facades, roofs, balconies, or terraces. People will have to travel only short distances to the most varied land uses, and their journeys will
no longer be fragmented by infrastructures, fences, and walls. Drones will deliver non-biological products, and people will grow their own organic produce. They will feel that working in community gardens provides balance to their virtual jobs and makes them happy. At the scale of the body, people will walk or ride horses or mountain bikes; at the regional level, they will use aerial taxis; and at the supraregional level they will enjoy short travel times on maglev trains and Hyperloops that connect all Freilandstädte with each other. Locational problems will be a thing of the past because of the high degree of functional diversity. Virtual communication will be wireless, but the great desire for real communication will be satisfied by the density of uses in the buildings and the open public spaces. Animals will no longer be killed for consumption, but only as necessary to maintain the ecological equilibrium. Their wanderings will no longer be restricted at all. In the Freilandstadt, people will be decelerated by enhanced contact with the other living beings, and they will abandon their mania to optimize everything. Seemingly purposeless activities in the fresh air and the open countryside will become meaningful once more.