Material #38 - Summit of the Future
Building decisions today, shaping the future
Next week governments are gathering here in New York for a “Summit of the Future”, where they plan to finalize and agree to a “Pact for the Future”.
It’s easy to question the value of international agreements when governments flagrantly ignore them on a daily basis. But they are an opportunity to weave together the threads of a shared humanity and of a sense of direction on a finite planet, and ideally to set pathways to accountability.
Indeed one of the goals of the session is to reform institutions themselves, with UN Secretary-General Guterres saying: “We can’t shape a future for our grandchildren with a system built for our grandparents.”
I’m interested in how building the future - in a literal way - is reflected in the Pact.
The future and people’s experience of it is shaped significantly by what gets built (or not built), where, and how. Opportunities for thinking in a transformative way about the built environment abound, bearing in mind that infrastructure and buildings can exist for decades, even centuries. Decisions today have a material impact well into future. The more built-in adaptability, accessibility, resilience, the better, in everything from energy and transit systems, to sports facilities, to cultural institutions, to homes.
To make the connection clearer, I’ve highlighted built environment references in the latest draft of the Pact. The highlighting is definitely an art rather than a science - honing in on elements that are particularly relevant for real estate, infrastructure, planning, construction, design, and the ways in which these industries impact the planet and people’s lives.
Access the full marked-up draft here, and all materials relating to the Summit of the Future here.
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Through 2024, It’s Material is sharing one use of the word “material” each week, on Tuesdays (sometimes Wednesdays!)