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From climate challenges to innovative solutions, witness the dual perspectives shaping the cities of tomorrow in this compelling exploration of urban evolution.
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00:00Check out the cool map of New Orleans, USA.
00:04See those bold gray lines around the city?
00:07Those are levees keeping the city safe from the red flood coming in from Lake Moripas, Lake Salvador, and Little
00:15Lake.
00:16Without those levees, New Orleans would be in big trouble with rising sea levels.
00:21Even with the levees, the damage looks pretty bad.
00:25The Bilossi and Jean Lafitte Wildlife Preserve look like they're almost underwater on the map.
00:31New Orleans is not the only city in the U.S. that's at risk of going underwater.
00:36The city of Savannah is located right in the middle of Hurricane Central.
00:41But even without Mother Nature's fury, the place is facing some serious sea level rise.
00:47The Savannah River to the north and the Ogeechee River to the south might both overflow into the surrounding marshland.
00:54And that's not even the worst part.
00:57By 2050, there may be massive floods every year that will make history books look boring.
01:05Sorry to break it to you, but Miami is on the line too.
01:08The Sunshine State is shelling out around $4 billion to stop things from getting worse,
01:14especially in Miami Beach, a hotspot for tourists.
01:18As of now, over 1,200 houses are at risk of flooding.
01:23The Big Apple is also getting hit with more and more crazy floods.
01:28In November 2021, they even had their first ever flash flood emergency.
01:34But still, the city is not ready for it at all.
01:37Even the Statue of Liberty, one of the most famous spots in NYC, got messed up in Hurricane Sandy.
01:44Now with sea levels rising, Lady Liberty is in danger once again.
01:50Tabasco, Mexico is no stranger to flooding, thanks to its coastal location on the Gulf of Mexico.
01:56This low, flat state is covered in wetlands and forests and already deals with seasonal floods.
02:04But with sea levels rising, it could eventually be completely taken over by water.
02:09This would put at risk some seriously important things,
02:12like the Mayan ruins of Malpacito and Comacalco and Tabasco sauce.
02:18Ah, sorry, the sauce comes from Louisiana.
02:21Jokes aside, it's not just Tabasco.
02:23Parts of the Yucatan Peninsula and Baja California are also at risk from rising sea levels.
02:30Panama City is also in trouble.
02:33Apparently, the super-trendy Casco Viejo and the swanky Costa del Este hood might get submerged in 2050.
02:40When Pedro Arias de Avila first founded it.
02:44Fun fact, it was the first European settlement on the Pacific coast.
02:49The 17th and 18th century forts on the Caribbean side are also in danger.
02:55According to Climate Central, they might get washed away by rising sea levels.
03:00Even UNESCO has had them on its risk list since 2012.
03:05Some more sad news.
03:06The Bahamas is going to be hit hard by rising sea levels.
03:10I mean, Hurricane Dorian was already a huge bummer in 2019.
03:16And now, they're saying most of Grand Bahama, Nassau, Abaco and Spanish wells could go underwater by 2050 due to
03:24various reasons.
03:26Amsterdam.
03:27The Netherlands is one of the low countries for a reason.
03:31The city and its buddies, Rotterdam and Den Haug, sit low and close to the North Sea.
03:37You gotta hand it to the Dutch, though.
03:39They know how to handle the water and keep it at bay with high-tech flood defenses.
03:44With sea levels constantly on the rise, it looks like their impressive system of dikes, dams, barriers, levees and floodgates
03:51is gonna get even more crucial in the future.
03:54Still, despite all the effort, some experts are afraid that the Venice of the North might go underwater by 2030.
04:03Well, this one is not something you would expect, but still.
04:07Venice is sinking by 2 millimeters every year.
04:10And the sea levels are rising.
04:12This means that the city is getting flooded more often.
04:15And it's only gonna get worse because of climate change.
04:19Just like New Orleans, Venice has a flood defense system.
04:23But as the crisis gets worse, it's gonna be harder and more expensive to keep it going.
04:29Even worse, beautiful St. Mark's Basilica has already been hit hard by flooding.
04:34They tried to introduce a flood barrier system, but even that didn't work out perfectly.
04:39In 2020, the flood barrier was not used and St. Mark's Square got majorly damaged.
04:45Looks like even when we try to prevent the effects of climate change, things don't always go according to plan.
04:52In London, rising sea levels are causing more flooding along the Thames estuary, and it's not looking good.
05:00Areas along the River Thames are especially at risk, putting iconic buildings like the Tower of London and the House
05:06of Parliament,
05:07as well as cultural hotspots like the Tate Modern and Shakespeare's Globe in Jeopardy.
05:13And the British Museum? It has so much precious stuff, even Gollum would be jealous.
05:18We just can't let it go underwater.
05:21During your next Euro trip, make sure to add Bruges in Belgium to your list.
05:26Chances are you won't see it if you skip it this time.
05:29The thing is, it's also in danger of getting flooded.
05:33Bruges is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so we really hope they can protect it from any potential floods.
05:40Plus, it has a lot of nice local specialties we don't want to lose.
05:45You may not know it, but Andalusia in Spain is home to Western Europe's oldest city, Cadiz.
05:52It's been around for over 3,000 years, thanks to the Phoenicians.
05:57But, unfortunately, climate change is putting it at risk.
06:01Rising sea levels might flood the city's cobbled stone center, beautiful tree-lined plazas, and historic sea fortifications.
06:09And it's not just Cadiz.
06:11Parts of Andalusia are in danger of flooding, too.
06:15Well, seems like one more destination must be added to your bucket list.
06:19Ho Chi Minh City, and especially its eastern marshy districts, are at risk, just like all the other places mentioned
06:26before.
06:27And it looks like the whole city is going to have a tough time with the Mekong Delta.
06:32While the main part of the city probably won't be completely submerged by 2030, flooding and storms are definitely going
06:40to become a big problem.
06:43So, it turns out that Bangkok might be in some hot water due to global warming.
06:49Literally, a 2020 study says that Bangkok could be one of the cities most dramatically affected by rising sea levels.
06:56It's sitting pretty low, at just 5 feet above sea level.
07:00And to make things even more interesting, it's sinking at a speedy rate of an inch per year.
07:07And the cherry on top?
07:08The soil it's built on is super-dense clay, which means it's basically a flood magnet.
07:15By 2030, parts of Bangkok, including the main airport, might have to get used to living underwater.
07:22The next city at risk is Kolkata, India.
07:26The fertile land in West Bengal has been a major key to their success for ages.
07:31But now it's causing some big worries in Kolkata and the surrounding areas.
07:36Just like Ho Chi Minh City, they could have some serious problems with all that rain during monsoon season.
07:42And the map of what could happen in 2100 is pretty scary stuff.
07:48The next destination is Shanghai, China.
07:51It's literally translated as the city on the sea.
07:54But it might actually end up under the sea.
07:58Climate control data is flashing red warning lights for this megacity, making it one of China's most at-risk cities.
08:05The Yangtze Delta, where Shanghai sits, and the Pearl River Delta, home to the Guangzhou, are both in hot water
08:13too,
08:13with lots of people living on low-lying land that might get flooded.
08:18The Maldives, a luxurious group of islands, already get flooded every year.
08:24Experts think they might lose 80 or even more percent of their islands in the next 30 years.
08:30The Maldivian authorities aren't taking any chances though.
08:34They're already making plans to buy land in other countries, just in case they need to relocate the whole population.
08:42There are some inventions that make us say,
08:45Dude, why didn't I come up with this?
08:47And then you have the next question.
08:49Why don't we have it in my hometown yet?
08:52I'm talking about things like splash-proof toilets, liquid trees, and skyscrapers with slides.
09:00Yep, they're all pretty real, and you're about to fall in love with them.
09:05Have you ever used a public bathroom in the summer in your shorts and sandals and got splashed?
09:11It happens to the best of us, so no worries.
09:14If only there was some solution to this problem.
09:17Perhaps a urinal with a small hole so no liquid goes where it shouldn't.
09:22Looks pretty yucky and painful to me.
09:25An assistant professor at the University of Waterloo,
09:29Zhao Penn and his colleagues came up with a way better solution for this sensitive issue.
09:34Their designs were inspired by physics and dogs.
09:38When a stream of liquid moves on a solid surface at a shallow angle, the splash is reduced.
09:44And the smaller the angle, the fewer splashes you'll see.
09:47You can even minimize them to a zero.
09:50And when dogs do their business, they lift their hind legs and do it on the vertical surface of a
09:55tree or a wall.
09:56I don't know if they actually care about it, but this does reduce the splash.
10:01Good job, Pluto!
10:03The team invented several models and presented them at the American Physical Society conference, and it was a hit.
10:10The inventors say that all of the models are no splash, but their favorites are the slice of apple
10:16and the one that looks like a tall and slender J with a narrow and long opening.
10:21The new urinals aren't just super cool, but also more sustainable.
10:25You won't have to wash the floor with water, chemicals, and human energy after every use, which is a win
10:32-win.
10:34Here's another innovative public toilet idea for you, this time from Japan.
10:39They have completely transparent walls, which means, yes, you can see everything that's going on inside,
10:46from the toilet itself to the hand wash sink.
10:48It sounds pretty creepy, but the idea was actually to create a safe restroom in the park.
10:55Visitors can see if there's someone hiding inside before entering, and also check if the toilet is clean before entering.
11:02When you go inside and lock the door, the walls change color to opaque, and no one will be able
11:08to see you.
11:09They used glass covered with PD-LC film to make the walls,
11:13which allowed them to go from being transparent to safely in tents using electricity.
11:19Alright, now you've nearly convinced me to try one of those magical toilets.
11:23Oh, and they also double as excellent lanterns in the dark, shining bright in different colors.
11:29Bring a couple to my local park, I don't mind.
11:32Take a deep breath.
11:34If you don't like what you're breathing in, do something about it.
11:37That must have been exactly what the smart guys at the University of Belgrade, Serbia thought and invented the liquid
11:44tree.
11:45The liquid tree, not the pun and laugh a bit, consists of a glass tank filled with over 150 gallons
11:52of water,
11:53some microalgae, and a solar panel, which provides electricity to a small pump.
11:58The microalgae need heating, so just in case there's no sun and the temperatures drop,
12:04the photobioreactor is also connected to the city grid.
12:08Microalgae work hard to do some photosynthesis magic and convert water and CO2 into oxygen,
12:14and then it goes into the atmosphere.
12:17The liquid tree also comes with a bench to sit on and enjoy its work.
12:21The liquid tree needs more work than a regular tree in the park.
12:25They need to replace the water and microalgae almost completely every month and a half.
12:31And they also need to take out the biomass that is the byproduct of the process,
12:36and let's admit, nothing can replace those blooming babes in spring.
12:40If you ever find yourself casually wandering in the forests of Estonia,
12:44don't freak out if you see some giant megaphones.
12:47These wooden, acoustic giants were set three hours away from the country's capital by interior architecture students.
12:55That's way cooler than the hamster roller coaster I once built for a science fair, I have to admit.
13:01More than half of Estonia is covered by woods, and they're pretty proud of this natural wealth.
13:06So it's not the first art project of this kind,
13:09and there was a winding, elevated pathway and a faceted woodland cabin.
13:14The idea of the megaphones is to crank up the natural sounds of a forest
13:19and also to serve as a rest spot for hikers.
13:23These wooden beauties are large enough to host several people.
13:27And hey, if you walk this far into the woodland,
13:30you'll be thankful for this.
13:32The students were given a task to invent some concepts of a forest library.
13:37They built the megaphones off-site and brought them to their permanent spots.
13:41They're set in such a way that sounds from three directions meet in the center
13:46and create a cool natural surround sound effect.
13:49Have you ever helped your friends move into a new apartment in a building without an elevator?
13:55Then you're gonna love this one.
13:57Houses in Amsterdam have hooks on top.
13:59This is a medieval invention for pulling stuff up the houses.
14:03The simple tech consisting of a wheel and a rope still functions now, centuries later.
14:08Why not just use the stairs?
14:11Well, if you get inside one of those narrow Amsterdam buildings,
14:14you'll see there's hardly enough room to comfortably ascend,
14:18and you can forget about even trying to pull a table on top.
14:22Back in the medieval ages, pretty much like now,
14:26only rich people could afford housing around the canals in the best parts of the city.
14:30Those people were mostly traders and used the canals for their business.
14:35They stored goods in the same houses they lived in,
14:38and with regular floods, they had to find a way to keep the goods dry.
14:42And that's why they needed to invent something to lift furniture,
14:46goods, boxes, instruments, and food on the upper floors,
14:51and pull it in through fully open, wide windows.
14:54The lifting tech is one of the reasons the houses in Amsterdam are leaning forward.
15:00This position helped keep both the lifted stuff and the walls and windows safe during transportation.
15:06They didn't have to touch each other.
15:09The gables also assisted in the process and had to be made firm to withstand all the heavy weight.
15:15And in case you're wondering what gables are,
15:18they're sections of wall between the edges of a dual-pitched roof, typical for Amsterdam.
15:25Folks who live or work in skyscrapers have the opposite problem.
15:29Getting out of the building can take a while as you wait in line for the elevator.
15:33A slide going from the top of a skyscraper could be a solution.
15:37In 2016, they added one outside of the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles at the height of 1
15:44,000 feet.
15:45The see-through slide, made of glass just one inch thick,
15:48was built to withstand hurricane-force winds and earthquakes.
15:52It was built to bring tourists to the building,
15:55though not for the convenience of office workers.
15:57And then they decided it wasn't such a great idea,
16:01so the slide was removed as part of the reconstruction of the building.
16:04A Hong Kong photographer and editor who became famous online went even wilder with his imagination
16:12and designed a double-decker bus with a slide.
16:15It's not his only futuristic photography masterpiece,
16:18as he likes to play with perspective and proportions.
16:22I can totally see myself sliding away when someone asks me to pay for the ride.
16:27You should film a while and you're watching that you now.
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