The first scenario of a six-part series: "The World in 2030", written and designed by Marizanne Knoesen, Monika Jiang, and Nora Hunger, House of Beautiful Business

1. The World in 2030
Part One of Six Future Scenarios
Written and Designed by:
Nora Hunger l Monika Jiang l Marizanne Knoesen
Created by the House of Beautiful Business

2. Big City Life
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3. Urban Survivor
In the previous decade we watched Survivor for
entertainment. Now we are living it, in the urban jungle.
More than half of the world’s population live in cities.
Public transport is a nightmare and good luck trying to
get a doctor’s appointment or a proper apartment!
On the weekends you’ll find many city slickers taking
their children to the countryside so that their offspring
can at least experience some true natural elements,
because heck, a houseplant does not cut it.
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4. On average, 60% of the world
population will live in cities by 2030
– ranging from 81% in developed
countries to 56% in the developing
world.
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5. Strong demand for accommodation
leads to extremely high prices for
housing in cities: 90% of 200 cities
around the globe are considered
unaffordable.
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6. Resource Apartheid
With city infrastructure failing to keep up with the
massive demand, residential developments within cities
are taking a more aggressive approach.
Taking inspiration from the gated community concept,
which focuses mainly on safety, entire mini-towns that
also ensure people have access to resources, are
springing up in metropoles all over.
With good quality water becoming a highly valued
commodity, towns within cities are managing their own
water purification plants, as well as their own basic food
supply chains. They also have their own quantum
batteries which store clean energy for when a natural
disaster strikes. You need to buy your way in or you have
to have friends in high places. Some things never
change.
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7. In early 2018 Cape Town was the
first major metropolitan area that
was at risk to run out of water.
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8. The Coronavirus is
impacting the Chinese
economy and has led to
disruptions of the supply
chains for the high-tech,
pharmaceutical, and
automotive industries.
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9. Ethiopia is building Africa’s largest
hydroelectric power station on the
Nile River. The fact that this dam can
regulate the water flow of the river is
threatening Egypt, which is
dependent on the Nile’s water.
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10. Glass Humans
We invited The Guest into our homes without asking too
many questions. Every year, The Guest moved into more
corners of our private space. No room in the house was
sacred anymore. It didn’t bother us initially; why would
it?
Toilet paper arrives on the doorstep, before the last roll
is up. “Which restaurant for tonight’s dinner?” is
outsourced with the click of a button and the perfect
choice pings as a notification. Or how about LinkedIn
automatically applying for a job on your behalf? Save
time and energy in return for giving away your free will
for free? You decide.
Maybe those who are born in this new decade will have
the luxury of being anonymous again. I’ve heard that
quantum encryption can help with that nowadays, but
it’s too late for me now. The Internet knows me too well
already.
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11. Amazon has already sold more than
100 million “Alexa devices.”
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12. Facebook has access to heart rate
and menstrual cycle data, without
the knowledge of users of those
apps.
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13. The World in 2030
Created by the House of Beautiful Business
collaborate@thebusinessromanticsociety.com
www.houseofbeautifulbusiness.com