The City of the Future

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Cities are adaptable things. They change and meld as very complex systems. The way they're dealing with complexity now is that they are taking some account of nature. That is happening in city after city around the world. And there is plenty of opportunity if we're willing to let go of the idea of neat, orderly nature in allotted areas like parks. Instead welcome in a bit of messiness, re-wilding them with local, hardier plants that can take care of themselves.

As the planet warms, and intense heatwaves become the norm, our urban environments need a radical rethink to keep them habitable. So what do we want the cities of the future to look like? In the first of our special series of episodes looking at what a future world could look like, Madeleine Finlay speaks to author and historian Ben Wilson, Prof Jessica Davies and Prof Diane Jones Allen about how to create cities that are fairer, greener and more self-reliant.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod