The California Science Center in Los Angeles is taking a road trip to a future city where solar power is beamed directly from outer space, smart buildings can generate their own power and are surrounded by lush green landscapes and crisscrossed by multi-level aerial highways.
And, yes, there are even flying cars zipping through the air.
But this isn’t a fantasy world in a far-fetched future like the one famously depicted in cartoons like “The Jetsons,” because according to a new 40-minute documentary titled “Cities of the Future,” these future cities are rising now.
“The film shows you what’s happening today, in the near future and possibly 50 years from now,” said Greg MacGillivray, who directed the documentary that opens Saturday, March 2 at the California Science Center’s IMAX theater. It runs through Friday, April 26.
Narrated by actor John Krasinski, the 3D large-format documentary, which includes clips from “The Jetsons,” was produced by the Laguna Beach-based MacGillivray Freeman Films in collaboration with the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The film uses CGI scenes to predict what cities may look like in 50 years with scenes depicting multi-level highways filled with flying cars, fully computerized buildings that can control their own climate and power themselves, as well as climate-controlling trees and other green landscapes blending seamlessly with the futuristic urban environment.
This is mixed with live-action cinematography and a storyline that follows Paul Lee, a young Los Angeles-based engineer as he travels to Amsterdam and Singapore, which are already undergoing significant transformative changes that signify major steps in creating these cities of the future.
“The cities that we chose, Singapore, Amsterdam and Los Angeles are great examples of cities that have future-looking leadership. Leadership that cares about the livability of the city, solving the problems as they exist and getting us somewhere into a better future,” MacGillivray said.
As Lee travels to these cities he sees real life smart buildings that are generating their own power and have integrated natural elements like flourishing rooftop gardens, as well as a park that doubles as a fresh water pumping station and homes that have been built using 3D printing technology.
“I think the thing I get out of this is that it’s really nice to see people are planning for a happier future for all of us,” MacGillivray said.
The film also looks at the possibility that in the very near future we may finally get those long-promised flying cars as the documentary highlights a California company that is in the latter stages of building an electric flying taxi, which looks a lot like a car-size drone. And according to MacGillivray, these flying cars could be zipping through the air sooner than you think.
“It’s just a fantastic piece of engineering,” MacGillivray said. “They’re in test flights and supposedly they’re saying in L.A. and New York it could happen in as soon as two to three years from now.”
“Cities of the Future”
When: Various times March 2-April 26
Where: California Science Center, 700 Exposition Park Drive, Los Angeles
Tickets: $9.79 for adults; $8.79 for seniors ages 65 and older and students with I.D.; $7.59 for kids ages 3-12 at californiasciencecenter.org.
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