Scenario: Hyperlocal Communities

Hyperlocal Communities • Far-future neutral scenario

Hyperlocal Communities

A rapidly mutating environment has reshaped the world: Rising sea levels crept inland, acidification and plastic waste choked the oceans, and heat waves and fires wiped out biotas and razed rainforests. The destruction redistributed the human population across the remaining habitable landmass. As a result, research scientists, technologists, and urban planners created a new model for living: hyperlocal communities.

Designed to meet the demands and limitations of the new environment, these self-contained communities are entirely self-sufficient. Every need is drawn locally—vertical farms grow crops, biofoundries synthesize medicine, and 3D printers churn out construction materials, clothing, and other goods. There is no reliance on outside supply chains, and travel is naturally limited because of the dangers posed by the climate. Consequently, these communities selfisolate and define themselves around specific value systems. One community operates within a capitalist structure with a focus on health, human longevity, and animal welfare, with strictly vegan sources of nutrition. Another rallies around aesthetics, including refined architecture and plastic surgery–molded faces and bodies dictate a person’s socioeconomic class. Yet another community leans into socialist ethos and relies on ubiquitous tracking and algorithmic analysis to manage the egalitarian distribution of wealth and resources.

While cities of the past may have embraced multiple societal layers where disparate demographics intermingled, these settlements offer unique experiments in intentional living—and if successful, they could offer a sustainable model for future communities.