AM New York had an interesting article this morning, speculating on what New York will look like twenty-two years from now. Not only will the population change, but the habits of our citizens, what the city will look like and especially how technology will continue to change how everything works from relationships to police activity.
Being a criminal will be exceedingly tough in the city:
A wanted criminal will have a much harder time disappearing into the New York of 2030, as live, streaming surveillance cameras will be equipped to recognize license plates and even faces, technology experts predict. As soon as the suspect comes in sight of one of these smart cameras, the nearest police officers will be notified. The officers may even be wearing cameras on their uniforms that will recognize suspects at a distance.
It sounds like something out of Brave New World or 1984, but reality is coming close to that scenario. Gadgetry is getting more complex by the day. Cameras are easy to produce with incredible communication systems that will link the police force together even more than they are now. It isn't all about cops and robbers though, dating in the city will be changing, as it is already:
Text messaging, e-mail and instant messaging has changed the nature of our relationships, perhaps to our detriment, experts say.
"Young men and women that build the idea of a relationship on text messaging, e-mail and IM never really develop the nuances of relating to each other," said Cynthia Callsen, a therapist since 1982 who specializes in relationship counseling.
"A few years from now we may see even larger segments of men and women who have real difficulties in committing to each other."
I can definitely relate to this one. My girlfriend and I text message more than we talk on the phone, we're instantly connected as long as the signal on the phone works and the battery isn't dead. However, more than texting, we talk in person the most and the best way to talk is face to face, especially when you see something in his or her face that tells more than the spoken word. The majority of all communication is through body language, or so they say.
Well enough about relationships, this blog is about politics, right? So what about the future of the NYC political scape?
"Every three decades or so, a Republican wins for mayor," said Ed Koch, mayor from 1978-1989. "It was unusual for Bloomberg to follow Giuliani. We shouldn't expect another Republican mayor for at least 30 years." What will likely change sooner is the ethnic background of the mayor, political experts say.
Projections put the city's population at 9.1 million by 2030, nearly one million more residents than today. Much of this growth will come in the Hispanic and Asian communities, and it is only a matter of time before the city elects an Asian or Hispanic mayor, predicted Craig Charney, president of Charney Research, a political consulting firm.
"But whatever the mayor's ethnicity, he/she will still be very sensitive to business interests and the needs of outer-borough single family homeowners," Charney said. "That's the essential coalition since Koch's day." Others hope that business coalitions would become less dominant by 2030.
I agree with Koch on that, seeing two Republicans (though Bloomie is an indie now) is an odd blip on the history of the city. I do not know about changing ethnicities however, New York has always been a city of immigrants and right now there is a rich white guy (albeit Jewish) in there and before him was another rich white guy. Sure, anything can happen, but I am not holding my breath. The key is to have a mayor that cares about the citizens of the city and allowing for the character of NYC to shine, not those that are considered citizens by the 14th Amendment.
Of course, until 2030, it is all speculation, all we have is today, right?
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