Sunken City
In the future, global temperatures will continue to rise, and to escape the heat, more and more ‘heat refugees’ will flock to East Manchester, leading to less and less space to live and worse living conditions. The rich are seeking a more comfortable life and will build a lot of skyscrapers. On the one hand, it is difficult for ground-level residents to use the better urban services available in skyscrapers. On the other hand, skyscraper residents rarely travel to the ground in a poor environment. Social inequality will become more and more extreme.
The social inequality of East Manchester in the future is caused by global warming and the lack of public space. In order to solve these two problems, I will connect the roofs of the ground floor buildings to form a platform covered with green space to absorb CO2 and reduce global warming. In addition, Sunken Courtyards will be placed on the platform to satisfy the building's need for light. At the same time, I will develop a computational tool that analyses light, land use, 15-minute walking zones, and the CO2 absorption capacity of the green space to determine the optimal location of the Sunken Courtyards, the transport system, the distribution of urban functions, and the type of planting that will maximise CO2 absorption while ensuring the satisfaction of the residents.
