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Illustration Freija Carlstén and Emmelie Nilsson
Connected Thinking

Five thoughts on the fifth facade

Solutions to many of our urban problems can be found up on the roof, say Freija Carlstén and Emmelie Nilsson

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Illustration Matthew Marson
Connected Thinking

Smart unplugged

Don’t get hung up on the gadgetry, writes Matthew Marson. Smart is about the ends, not the means

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Connected Thinking

Strangers in the city

Urban loneliness is a huge problem, but it doesn’t necessarily need large-scale design solutions, write Yasmin Afshar and Michi McCloskey

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Illustration Matthew Troemner
Connected Thinking

Five steps to 3D-printing a home on mars

The Red Planet has all the raw materials we need to create human settlements, says Matthew Troemner

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Author photo
Connected Thinking

The map is not the territory

It’s easy to be seduced by the power and precision of digital models, writes Mark Bessoudo. But they can only ever offer an approximation of reality

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Illustration of Susan Krumdieck
Connected Thinking

12 people who can save the world

Let’s think of the energy transition as a mission to save the Earth. It’s an impossible situation, writes Susan Krumdieck, but drastic times call for unlikely heroes

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Issue 04

The Possible issue 04: what can’t we afford to lose?

This issue seeks the optimum balance between technology and the human element

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Connected Thinking

Blockchain: the missing link

The technology behind cryptocurrencies could hold the key to managing complex networks of all kinds, from supply chains and energy microgrids to the internet itself, writes Robbie Epsom

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illustration of Poornima Paidipaty
Connected Thinking

Cities by numbers: How to make urban metrics count

Historian Poornima Paidipaty explains how new data streams give a more nuanced picture of how cities work, and why they fail

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Connected Thinking

Five components of the modular future

Factory-built homes could make affordable, healthy city living possible for all, argue Narada Golden and Chris Edmonds

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illustration of Mo Sarraf
Connected Thinking

Brief encounters in the multicultural city

Urban planners should worry less about making communities diverse, and more about creating ’overlapping spaces’ between them, argues Mo Sarraf

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illustration of Mark Bessoudo - WSP
Connected Thinking

In search of eudaimonia, or why we cannot just design happiness

An ancient town in Laos causes Mark Bessoudo to reflect on the limits of designing for the good life

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Ingenuity

One thing for sure: Adapting to climate change

How do we prepare for a future that is both entirely certain and completely unknowable?

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Fawley Waterside
Spaces

The Smartest Place I Know: Fawley Waterside

Siemens’ Julie Alexander picks a regeneration project on England’s south coast that could become the UK’s most connected city

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Illustration of Agustin Chevez
Connected Thinking

The hiker’s guide to humanity

Agustin Chevez reveals what he learned about the future of work and human purpose while walking from Melbourne to Sydney …

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Illustration of Helena Klinstrom
Connected Thinking

Five ways to understand social sustainability

It’s often misinterpreted or dismissed as intangible ­— but there’s nothing fluffy about it, says Helena Klintström

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Ingenuity

Adaptive decision-making: “There are lots of possible futures”

We can’t completely predict climate change, in part because it depends on how we react to it

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Visualization California High Speed Rail Authority
Ingenuity

Got it covered? How corporates can manage risk in an uncertain world

Take every chance to fix issues before it is too late, says WSP’s Michael Mondshine

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aerial view of Stockholm’s Arlanda airport
Issue 04

A contrarian view: “Some Airports Treat You Like Sheep”

The hallmarks of future airports will be efficiency, convenience, ease of operation – and not shopping, argues MIT’s Richard de Neufville

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rendering of Heathrow 2030
The Future Of...

Heathrow 2030: Sustainability, saunas and very little signage

Expansion programme director Phil Wilbraham explains how the UK’s biggest airport intends to double passengers while creating a more personal service

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Jewel-Changi-Airport's-magnificent-Forest-Valley
The Future Of...

So what will we be doing in the airport of the future? Anything we want

Tomorrow’s airport is not just a place to catch a plane or pick up some duty-free…

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Illustration of a towel mountain and a pneumatic tube linked to a hotel room
Ingenuity

Blank Canvas: Can technology tackle a hotel resort’s laundry pile?

Three engineers, armed with drones, robot bins and pneumatic tubes, take on hospitality’s eternal towel problem

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The Human Factor

Back to the drawing board

One of humanity’s oldest skills is making an unlikely comeback as designers rebel against the render

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illustration of the back of an aircraft with Future of Airports written on it
The Future Of...

The future of airports

With passenger numbers set to double, and technology shaking up everything from retail to runways, aviation is soaring into a new golden age

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girl with feet on luggage waiting at a gate
Issue 04

Airports: The best security experience is one you don’t know you’ve had

Advances in biometrics, facial recognition and AI are helping to make security invisible

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rendering of Terminal 3 at Taoyuan International Airport
The Future Of...

Facial recognition and intelligent vacuum cleaners: Welcome to the automated airport

Robots are taking their first steps to welcoming passengers, handling baggage, driving shuttles and carrying out airfield inspections

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Spaces

Defensive realms: protecting cities from terrorism

How can we secure our cities from the threat of terrorism without destroying what makes them liveable?

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Spaces

Biological and chemical attacks: should we lock the doors?

The risk of such attacks has increased, but there is no agreed strategy for how to respond

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Spaces

In praise of human error: why breaking the rules can be safer

Following security protocols to the letter can increase risk

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Trains in Stockholm
Spaces

Connected cities: Is smarter safer?

Intelligent systems make cities vulnerable to new threats

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Issue 03

The Possible issue 03: human after all

This issue looks at nurturing human creativity in an increasingly automated world

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Ingenuity

Adapt or mitigate: the dilemma for cities

Do the two climate-change disciplines need to talk to each other more?

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WSP

About Us

The Possible is a print and digital magazine about the future of cities, and all of the built and natural infrastructure that supports them. It is published by WSP, a global engineering company, to explore the ideas and innovations that could help create better functioning, healthier, more sustainable places. Our goal is to inspire, inform and entertain, to encourage discussion about the challenges ahead, and to bridge the gap between blue-skies thinking and what’s possible now. What if we can? wsp.com

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