Utopia: Future of our Cities

It’s the future.

You live in walking distance of everything you could possibly need, as does your friend Bob and your aunt Sally, though they are miles away in their own unique communities.

Life moves fast but shopping is easy. There’s high quality goods easily accessible, local and available online. The strength of the community lies in its small businesses and they are flourishing. You always think to invest locally first, but why wouldn’t you? Prices are just as affordable and it’s insanely convenient. You moved because of the shops and restaurants and businesses. 

Your community is full of unique culture specific to your area, though Bob and Sally both have similar stories. Their cities are just as vibrant and strong, yet unique to the culture in their own towns.

Your city mayor has invested in private-public partnerships that empower entrepreneurs and business owners to succeed. That’s why you voted for her. The city teamed up with the most creative and brightest to create your town’s version of community empowerment, an eco-system where small businesses are given the tools and resources to strengthen their collective competitiveness. Alone, they could never compete with the Amazons or the Walmarts. But together, with the power of cities and counties, they not only compete but are prioritized.

Together the small businesses, with the community, put customers and residents first. They first made it more convenient to shop local, adding a local online marketplace and resource center, making it easy for you to choose local over Amazon.

Then they created the supply chain collective, partnering together hundreds of small businesses to access better negotiation power, meaning small shops could now compete on price. They invested in projects impactful to your area, fostering education and funding for entrepreneurs solving climate change, the food deserts, and neighborhood inequality. 

Slowly but surely, your city became vibrant again, like the “old” days yet modernized for today’s generation. Small businesses opened up, away from the strip malls and close to your home, the first time you can remember that ever happening. Products became more visible and accessible - your health has improved from the product transparency, the walking, the strengthening of relationships. Everyone knows the goals now, from education in elementary school to your local grocer. 

You live in more than a city. You are a community. 

Now back to the today, the present.

The pieces are already in place to reach this future state, but it’s just up to someone (or many people) to bring the stakeholders together and work towards a common vision. When businesses, consumers and the public sector agree on the benefits, the new era can be set in motion to herald in the self-sustaining community. Consumer habits will play a role in beginning this transformation but it requires commitment and dedication of our elected officials, business leaders, and grassroot organizers to create the future of our communities.

Are you up for the challenge?