Sustainable Building

Cities of the future at TEDActive 2012
By Mark WADDEN | Culture, Strategy March 13th, 2012
I’ve been a huge fan of the TED Conference for years now, and last year I had the privilege of working on Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize Wish project, helping to spread his message to online audiences around the world.

I was honoured to attend TEDActive 2012 in California. While the main TED stage—or “Big TED” as we call it—is where the majority of the speakers perform, TEDActive is a separate, simultaneous event designed around initiating deeper discussions on the “Big TED” talks, and getting attendees involved in workshops, interactive displays and even hack labs for developers.

This year’s TED Prize was awarded to “The City 2.0”, a concept that explores what a city of the (not too distant) future could be, how its citizens can interact and connect, and how technology can play a vital role in bringing it all together in a sustainable way. As part of this theme, I participated in workshops that discussed the future of social commerce (both online and offline) and the importance of charity and sustainable giving as a by-product of commerce. The sessions were led by our friends from IDEO and were an inspiring example of cultural and educational diversity coming together for a single cause.

As experts and advocates of digital solutions, the cities of the future are our playgrounds, yielding unlimited opportunities to provide meaningful utility and design to their inhabitants. Our challenge—and our responsibility—is to envision a future where technology brings us closer together, unleashes our potential, and supports us in our everyday endeavours. And, to make that vision a reality. It’s a challenge full of possibilities that I’m excited to take on. Are you?

Tags: Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize Wish, Sustainability Projects, Sustainable Building, Sustainable Design, TED conference, TEDActive 2012, The City 2.0

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