Technology, Historical Foundations, and Sustainability in the Urban Evolution of Tomorrow’s Metropolis

Integrating ‘hyper-technological prostheses’ into global networks allows individuals to function as integral system components, fostering simultaneous interactions and redefining the city’s traditional physical role. However, as explored in detail by Choay [1], the infrastructural prosthesis serves as a sophisticated technological mechanism essential to the urban structure, but at the same time, takes on the quality of an ‘alien’ space or a ‘non-place’, as described by Augé [2]. To explore this complex issue in detail, we start with Ernesto Nathan Rogers’ concept, as illustrated in “The Sense of History” [3], which argues that every physical element within a city possesses material and symbolic meanings, highlighting the interaction between time and space. Dipesh Chakrabarty’s notion of a future without us [4] further emphasises the intricate interconnection between humanity and the environment, illustrating how contemporary anxieties can separate the future from the past. That pushes architects and urban planners to reconsider tools, values, and cultural identities within an interdisciplinary context, requiring the development of projects characterised by anti-fragility [5] capable of tackling changing circumstances. In this scenario, the crucial question emerges: what role do contemporary techniques and technologies play? The discussion extends to the profound influence of technology on society, as outlined by Shane [6]. That emphasises the importance of recognising that social continuity transforms as individuals reinterpret myths and narratives across generations, reflecting the evolving ethos of the time. In this context, the analysis of the topic requires an assessment of the impact of the transformation caused by technologies on the city as a physical entity and the historical challenge represented by the link between past and future, known as continuity. Continuity refers to the ancestry, inheritance, succession, or connection between past and future, which can be both a constraint and an opening. Modernity has chosen to suspend the authority of constraint in favour of rootless freedom in the passage into the future. This openness also emphasises the value of differences in the customs of different peoples, which are considered against our shared parameters. The term ‘constraint’ is equated with tradition and ritual, regarded as bearers of ethical-ethnic identity.

From this perspective, a crucial question arises: If we remove the constraint of continuity, we risk suppressing the concept of place, understood as the local field of action, which is fundamental to the discussion of “situated knowledge”, as proposed by Donna Haraway in 1988 [7]. This concept represents a theoretical question of essential relevance to the position of this study. The present experience, here and now, implies reflecting on an offered history not as a constraint for the future but as a possibility of action based on the practical awareness of ‘know-how’.

The theme encourages the exploration of the interactions between material and immaterial elements in urban evolution and their impact on the potential for organising personal activities (agenda/diary), hypothetically without physical constraints, in the context of the Twin Transition, Green and Grey. The Twin Transition encourages the redefinition of the city as a dynamic entity in which individuals become integral components of global networks, transcending traditional physical boundaries and enabling versatile activities, but can also define an unprecedented division between a supposedly high and low culture; they are also fundamental to progress that is articulated through a regeneration, mainly agricultural, aimed at bringing about sustainable production. The multiple, grey/green, and digital transitions are rooted in the 1990s, with the ‘space of flows’ [8] as a space of appointments [9]. That aimed to focus on producing urban fields of action endowed with a dual immaterial and material network of infrastructures. These are embedded in the conditions of human corporeality, immediately involving the human soul and time. In tandem with exploring the human body, there is a growing acknowledgement of ‘body time’ encompassing its biorhythms and the temporal dimensions of the soul and thought. In the context of the ‘time-equivalent measurement’ [10] associated with the proximity of distant places influenced by the speed of transport networks, there arises a need for an in-depth examination of the specific presence of the human body and its localisation. This involves recognising the human body as localised and localising—a dynamic entity within the spatial and temporal fabric. This enlightens a need for a deeper understanding of the relationship between multiple proximities. Such understanding requires the in-depth study of the constraints of the body, the powers of memory (which cumulates imagination and reflection), and the power of extroversion in drawings and topographical maps.

While global technologies create a uniform and shared temporal proximity, the local connections and geography specific to each place matter most. Although technology may develop a sense of global connectivity, local influences and geographic topography still significantly shape our time experience and establish the norms and standards that guide our behaviour.

Reference is also made to Heideggerian phenomenology [11], which, deprived of the exclusive use of words to expound its thought, emphasises circumspection (instead of perception) and tactile experience, the tectonics of the world. This approach leads to the notion of the ‘promenade’, an architectural idea of the urban field of action co-occurring with the promenade architecturale of the architect Le Corbusier [12], who referred to its exposition in the first lesson of his treatise on the modern architecture of the city: Precisions. The promenade coincides with Heidegger’s [11] circumspection and recalls a primary experience called “competence to inhabit/construct” [13]. This concept is also to be taken up because it has, as a necessary consequence, the privilege of architecture in concretising the field of action, i.e., the city in its physical topographic definition. The reference to the “promenade” is significant because it reflects a profound understanding of the city, particularly the temporality of the “eras” that mark the existence of cities, at least as far as Western ones are concerned. That leads us to reconsider the theme of past epochs and the ‘competence to inhabit/build’, even if it might seem anachronistic, in the context of the thought of Le Corbusier [14], who dealt with modernity in architecture, interpreting his thinking at least until the 1950s/60s, whose theorisation of the ineffability of art brings him into line with Mies and Kahn. Le Corbusier advocated ‘urban design’ as a principle of city layout in the context of urbanism. Today, when dealing with the landscape, the concept of ‘urban design’ is converted into ‘landscape urbanism’ [15]. This transition reflects the need to consider urban design and landscape in an integrated manner, emphasising a broader and more holistic view in approaching the form and function of metropolitan areas.

Nevertheless, the concept of scale and its temporal, not just spatial, content must be explored further in the metropolitan context. In other words, scale specifies how much the real world has been ‘enlarged’ or ‘reduced’ to fit the map size. The unit of the real world is always at the numerator and relates to higher or lower measurements. In short, scale represents the relationship between the dimensions on the map and those in the real world, guiding how accurately the map reflects reality in terms of dimensions. This concept of time scale can help us understand how accurately a map represents events over time and how it can influence our understanding of history and changes in the real world. The scale notion, used as a metric in cartographic representation, requires a deeper understanding of the concept of internal time. This temporal aspect is rooted in the human mind and its abstract thought processes but is anchored in tangible reality through lived experiences. The emphasis is on focusing on these lived experiences to the exclusion of unconscious elements. By leveraging this focus, the concept of multiple temporally equivalent proximities within the fields of action facilitated by technological networks could retain its relevance. In the third lesson of “Precisions” [12], Le Corbusier compares the rectangular prism house with the megalith encountered on Britannia’s beach. The house, having taken on the ubiquitous role of the megalith as an archetype, itself becomes an archetype and recalls the nature of the landscape, establishing a bi-univocal and strictly local relationship with it. When aligned with the local solar time, architecture creates a memorable image that allows for the construction of a map, even on a metropolitan scale.

Today, technology enables individuals to select their preferred destinations through its material and immaterial networks, connecting numerous locations at varying distances in equivalent timeframes. This phenomenon characterises globalisation: the ability to choose among favoured destinations. The solar time of the selected place, the timing of motivational intentions, and the duration of communication and transportation are now shaped by technology and personal preferences, often influenced by vast data-driven offerings. When comparing the solar time of a chosen locale, the time associated with motivational intentions, and the time required for communication and transportation—all influenced by technology and individual inclinations—a ‘time’ relationship of scale emerges. This relationship is inherently human and social, reflecting generational successions shaped by diverse cultural habits or habitus across nations. It underscores the interconnected dynamics among technological influences, individual behaviours, and cultural attributes that mould the temporal dimensions of human activities and societal evolution across different cultures and generations. The two-scale relations are not symmetrical or directly comparable. The measurements of the physical scale do not align with those of the temporal scale. This dissymmetry is the focus of research conducted in various cities worldwide by the Measure and Scale of Contemporary City research unit (MSLab) at Politecnico di Milano [16], where specific spatial and temporal scale aspects have been investigated, pioneering the exploration of modern scale and the reimagining of urban paradigms. Addressing dissymmetry begins with Le Corbusier’s concept of “espace indicible” [14] and leads to the notion of “temps inducible” [17].

The metropolis embodies an integral fusion of biosphere, water, and soil, collectively called the critical zone [18], requiring regenerative techniques for settlement and agriculture. Within this framework, the intertwined connection between culture, science, and technology, described as ‘entanglement’ [4], reinforces the anti-fragility [5] of the natural system. The goal is to diminish the susceptibility of nature, with society taking a central role in preserving and promoting this natural heritage to ensure its sustainable perpetuation. The ambition is a collaborative effort between the metropolitan city and technology to minimise loss or exposure to risk and capitalise on opportunities that may arise from difficult or unforeseen situations. By cultivating the ability to protect, adapt and transform through exposure to risk and uncertainty, and with the help of technology that can adjust to natural processes, we must develop opportunities, fostering potentials and advantages to improve systems, organisations and strategies that thrive under conditions of stress and volatility, rather than survive.

Technology in the contemporary metropolitan context is fundamental for studying nature through verification tools. This tool, however, operates in tune with historical knowledge of past sustainability. Human beings have two potentials; they either open or destroy the contexts in which they live and operate. The verification tools that technology provides help us understand how, over time, there has been an understanding of this tension between humans who destroy, comprehend the rules of nature, and recreate them. Sometimes, in destruction, there is comprehension for the sake of understanding. Today, we live in an age of conformism concerning production that generates the destruction of the environment. What is needed is a subversion in action that allows the effectiveness of action on the world: a subversive change of the productive structure is only possible through a renewed pact with technology [19]. That is the hope we place in a sustainable reading of the Twin Transition.

Over the years, the technical question has progressively distanced itself from ethical and moral considerations. Today, it must once again serve as the wellspring of knowledge to determine the survival of humanity. It is no longer merely a matter of a technique dictating a technology that assimilates living beings into a technological or prosthetic realm, where the management of phenomena surpasses the scope of our bodies. Instead, it is about a technology that enables the body, as a realm of action, to uncover aspects that the mind and soul must consider to comprehend a more sustainable human dimension. The subversion of the field must transpire with the Twin Transition, whether by discovering an inheritance across successive moments in history or embracing total openness as a signal of necessary discontinuity. The question is how to preserve existing knowledge or embrace new forms of understanding.

The metropolitan architecture [20] will result from figurative elaboration, translating the metropolitan field of action into other symbolic forms effective for preserving and unveiling the unknown through an agogics process understood as the activation of phenomena that alter established rhythms [21]. The concept of a collective public space hinges upon its representation, exhibition, and manifestation, which involve bringing the space to life through tangible actions. It transforms into a place through the organisation, direction, and configuration of people’s activities, a role fulfilled by architecture. The portrayal of new behaviours within such spaces signals a readiness to redefine interactions and social dynamics influenced by the unique attributes of this context. Furthermore, there is also an emphasis on the need to develop a metropolitan cultural anthropology that reflects on how to inhabit the territory and goes beyond, contributing to constructing new dimensions through an agogics approach to space. That implies active learning, guiding actions in space, and a deep understanding of how metropolitan people, as a collective, can build and shape a shared idea of urban space. Contemplating this space as “raw material” suggests the presence of tangible and intangible elements constituting the substance of this new metropolitan reality. Preserving the power of rhythm variation as art [22] highlights the need to maintain the flexibility and adaptability of the urban context, treating it as a continuously evolving work of art, open to interpretation and participation by its inhabitants. This perspective also encourages considering the construction of urban space as a creative and participatory process, where citizens’ thoughts can produce a collective imagination that inspires and engages further generations, aided by new technologies.

The need to reconsider approaches to new environmental issues emerges. Technology, often seen as the answer, requires an in-depth exploration of the real question that generated the need [23]. The discipline of architecture must confront the scale of system complexity and address environmental and social crises with a broader and more inclusive focus [24]. The response to these challenges is embodied in creating metropolitan cartography, a mapping methodology. According to Braidotti [25], cartography as a tool plays a crucial role in creating a scientific continuum, inventively linking the competencies of ecology, environment, nature, culture, and humanities.

Architectural theory is further transformed. The aim is to build an inclusive theoretical framework that addresses the complexities of material and immaterial realms in architectural discourse. The current era is characterised by anti-humanism due to a highly advanced technological society that often results in apathy towards others, their history, and their rights, weakening the foundations of social unity. The over-reliance on technology and efficiency in the name of national or racial identity leads to a loss of uniqueness and the division of society into elite groups. The Twin Transition in metropolitan areas can lead to negative results due to increasing inequalities and vulnerabilities in physical and social dimensions. To counter this, a ‘wave of quality renewal’ is needed to increase prosperity and equity, improve people’s lives, and achieve climate neutrality. The Twin Transition raises questions about urban growth’s metabolic sustainability and requires a new language to analyse the context and promote a new public good. Protecting cities and territories from artificiality and seriality is a crucial ethical and political mission.

If the Twin Transition can improve the quality of life and meet its citizens’ expectations and needs, an alternative future is possible. Through Metropolitan Cartography, technology promotes inclusiveness, allowing us to collaborate with other specialists and stakeholders in collecting and interpreting open-source data. These data represent the current state of complex contexts and predict future scenarios using various monitoring methodologies and technologies to identify which ecosystem services [26] and their connections are most effective in mitigating current vulnerabilities. The Twin Transition offers the potential to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas but requires collective efforts to address inequalities and preserve the environment. Therefore, it is crucial to adopt innovative approaches that respect historical continuity, value diversity, and foster harmonious development between people and the environment, placing technology as an ally in building resilient and future-oriented communities.