Global changes and their implications

Throughout time the world has been changing. Population sizes have been changing, nowadays still growing and almost reaching the 6 billion people of different color and race habituating this small planet Earth. This 6 billion individuals moving everyday in smaller or bigger scale. Languages mix all over the world and the many moving cultural identities give every small spot sets of unique characteristics, changing throughout time. However history seems to be repetitive, it never is the same.

In our behaviour and perception we are being influenced by our environment. This environment is not limited to natural but also involves the manmade landscape whereof the development of cities and major metropolises probably is the most explicit. Technology and culture have been developed and in some cases also destroyed or extinguished. Also changes in this (physical) environment have their impact and are perceived as diseases and disasters as these effects, mostly caused my nature, were strong and irreversible. Nevertheless, together with its global organization, mankind power and influence on the environment is increasing continually. We have taken power over greater parts of planet earth and whether conscious or not, the planet is getting cultivated in a very dominant way, not always in a positive sense. The international organization of people independently to place race or time makes the impact we have on Mother Earth even harder to neglect. Nowadays our living environment is dominated by our own activities. This activities not only consist of creating, but also destruction is important whether it is controlled or uncontrolled.

The limits of our actions are set by cultural and technical borders, which should be considered dynamical. The technical borders are extending rapidly due to fast technology development (IT and ICT) in relationship with economical development. Expanding possibilities for worldwide transportation and communication (transportation of information) lay out structures for cultural and technological eclecticism. The cultural identities being mixed and crosslinked by human interaction makes the former vast cultural values getting blurred and uncertain. Historical cultural values are set as a point of discussion, thereby leaving technical possibilities as dominating limiting factors for human action. Differences in living circumstances (basic needs, climatic and geographic circumstances) and culture cause intra- and intercontinental migration. Redefinition of cultural identity and social and economical reorganization cause tension worldwide. This is not different from history but is definitely on a different scale.

These worldwide changes and interconnections impact organizational structures and demand for new visions on a worldwide society and its social geographic developments. On scale of the individual it concerns primary needs which might be set to a worldwide standard on human living and housing but on macro scale it also concerns mondial spatial organization. It deals with sustainable integral solutions for human habitation involving optimal balanced relationships between housing, production, consumption etc. determined by the quality standards of a human living environment. Therefor mondial differences and similarities must be (re)balanced. This might lead to intercontinental reallocation, extensification or intensification of certain functional purposes such as living areas, industrial and agricultural zones and ecological hearts. This might lead to abandoned regions, countries or even continents and brings along major cultural questions.

Though in the next decade it does not seem to be very likely, in future expansion of the living biotope to other planets and milky ways must also be taken into account. If not for residential purposes, storage and exploitation might offer interesting possibilities and nonphysical infrastructure networks are being developed for communication and monitoring aspirations.

With this in mind we can add an extra level to the traditional planning process. The development of Information Technology is seen as an extra dimension with a substantial impact on the mondial society and spatial planning. The today vision on urban planning and intensification of land use might turn heavily outdated in the next decade, with the development of remote performing the city as concentrated economical cluster, is no longer required as optimal functioning economic force. With respect to numerous aspirations concerning living preferences we might end up with a different residential program. This determines a balance between concentration and decentralization in our new network society and results in optimal solutions for spatial planning on every scale...

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