Imagine if you could get a ‘city’ to agree to making the world more self-sufficient. A creative team of pioneers and makers is doing exactly that. They’ve created a set of ten principles as a sort of instruction manual to build a more sustainable and inhabitable new world. And they’re getting cities to agree to it. In fact, 28

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We must, we can and we will solve the climate crisis. On 8 October the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report on the forthcoming impacts of the climate breakdown. And it ain’t looking good. Even half a degree of extra will affect hundreds of millions, decimate corals and intensify heat extremes. But there is

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Ever travelled back to the future? Well, you’re about to. Strap in, because we’re transporting you into the heart of Barcelona’s ramshackle old town, to within the sleek white and glass walls of its modern CCCB cultural centre – and smack bang into our very first AtlasEvent, Fixing the future … via the medium of video. It’s

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Blockchain isn’t just about finance and Bitcoin, but when Jessi Baker started Provenance that wasn’t the case. That’s why her idea was considered crazy at first. The software company uses technologies like the blockchain to help businesses share truths about the people, places and materials involved in their products. Labelled as one of the UK’s ‘coolest female startup

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How do we tackle climate change whilst maintaining a healthy economy? Just ask carbon. In the third of our three-part video series for the United Nations Global Compact with the ‘Godfather of modern sustainability’ – John Elkington – we explore the wonderful world of C with some of the world’s leading innovators and thinkers. Considered a dirty

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“We either build the future we want, or become the victims of it.” As Director of Fab Lab Barcelona at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Tomás Diez constantly breaks the rules when it comes to education, business, science, urbanism, farming, environmentalism, design, and housing… you name it. In this AtlasChart, the Venezuelan digital fabrication urbanist opens up about projects in

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Are you ready for the good, the bad and the ugly? Here’s the bad news: the world is broken. The good? This lot can help us fix it. And now for the ugly: it’s going to get messy. Luckily there are plenty of people who are happy to get stuck in. Having now mapped over

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“If you want to be Che Guevara, stop walking around pointing to what’s bad. Want to be a true revolutionary? Rip up the paving slabs, plant a garden and cover your roof in solar panels.” In South London a Uruguayan-born, New York-raised community entrepreneur and artist is tackling fuel poverty with renewables – while catalysing

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As a women-led editorial team, we’re that happy to hear that female empowerment is firmly on the agenda in 2018. So we’re introducing you to 11 of our favourite female FutureHeroes who turn it up to 11 – starting with the real life inspiration for ‘Charlie’ in arguably one of the best films of the 80s… Top Gun (of

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This year it will be ten years since environmental journalist and broadcaster Gaia Vince began her 900-day journey around the world to take stock of humanity’s impact on the planet. Back then she never expected to see the important changes now happening globally – the explosion of renewable energy production, the rise of electric vehicles, tariffs

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Future curious? On 13 March a future-‘supergroup’ will gather for the first time in Barcelona. Brought to you by Atlas of the Future and Ara, ‘Fixing the future: adventures in a better tomorrow’ will explore the talent solving the audacious goals of our planet with radical methods. Join us at the CCCB to meet the innovators

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In today’s world we are addicted to growth. That’s why renegade economist Kate Raworth wants to radically reframe the way we look at economics: “The goal of the 21st century economy should be to meet the needs of all within the means of the planet.” It’s an exciting challenge to ensure that no one falls short on

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Cows are often the scape-goats (or scape-cows) for climate change; the methane-burping livestock animals have become confused with our management of them. By giving the animals a more holistic hook, carbon-canny cattle rancher Tony Lovell, co-founder of SLM Australia Livestock Fund, has raised a whopping $100 million to help to regenerate the billions of hectares of damaged

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When you find yourselves somewhere between Gotham City Police HQ and Blade Runner’s Leon’s Hotel chatting to a Westworld sexbot you know that it’s been an interesting – and surprising – year. OK, it’s been relentless too, but there are so many reasons to feel hopeful. From Cameroon to Patagonia, 2017 has seen your projects make the

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In news unrelated to monkey clones, last night’s super blue blood moon or the adorable ‘shower rat’ (sorry to burst your soap bubble, but it’s a Peruvian pacarana), we’ve got big news of our own! Our first major AtlasEvent will take place on Tuesday 13 March. We’re excited to announce that ‘Fixing the future: Adventures in a

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Today carbon is considered a dirty word; consigned to dirt, dust, something that’s in the air, something that is dark. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Taking many forms, from diamonds to exhalation of CO2 as a gas, carbon can be used for good. And that’s the idea behind Carbon Productivity. As we struggle with climate catastrophe, this remarkable

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Want to know what a green energy guru has in common with Ozzy Osbourne? This podcast. Sailing close to the winds of change, the ‘Atlas Futurenauts’ are top selling author and futurist Mark Stevenson and leading sustainability expert Ed Gillespie. In this FutureHero podcast they interview the extraordinary Juliet Davenport, founder and CEO of leading renewable and ethical

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In episode 3 of their podcast, the Atlas Futurenauts (AKA top selling author and futurist Mark Stevenson and leading sustainability expert Ed Gillespie) interview the extraordinary Juliet Davenport, founder and CEO of leading renewable and ethical energy provider Good Energy. A true renewable pioneer, Juliet built Good Energy from scratch in 1999 to tackle climate change. Learn about her

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As the world turns upside down and unhinged becomes the new normal, we want to provide some positivity from within the deep divisions of 2016. Take comfort. The world is better than you think. From Silicon Valley to Bulambuli Valley, social entrepreneurs are tackling the world’s most difficult problems. Technology is being democratised, access to education is causing global

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Climate change is real. Musk knows it, the Pope knows it and Obama knows it. With their new film, ‘Before the Flood’, Scorsese and DiCaprio want us all to acknowledge it. Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases raises the planet’s temperature. Fact. These projects all help, because (as Leo puts it): “The science is clear, the

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Have you spotted cyborg vultures catching illegal fly tippers; heard of a cool way tech is bringing clean water to the billions without it; or discovered a robot that teaches kids to code? At Atlas of the Future we love projects that find new, original or creative solutions to a problem. But to help us truly democratise the future,

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Parag Khanna loves maps. Born in India, his parents took him everywhere on their travels while growing up in the United Arab Emirates, New York and Germany: “Whether finding maps in the glove compartment or flipping through the maps in airline seat pockets, maps always kept me busy,” the bestselling geopolitical author tells us. “They gave me a

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From a Noah’s Ark of seeds and American Idol for rural farmers to 3D printing prosthetics in conflict zones and igloo orphanages on skis, this year has seen hundreds of projects mapped on the Atlas from Syria to the North Pole. We’re celebrating the end of 2015 and looking to the future by ranking our favourite 16.  So get your

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Wouldn’t it be extraordinary if we could end extreme poverty, hunger, disease, climate change and fight inequality and injustice by 2030? But fixing our world is an epic task. The need for a shared vision has led to a move by world leaders described as “bold” and “lofty”. On 25 September 2015 the UN committed to

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Plant curious? The flexitarian, vegan, vegetarian and sustainable food movements are growing in sexiness every day. Veganism is moving away from being seen as a cult, and being recognised as a good thing for your health, the environment – and animals. Ready to join the plant-based revolution? This week we’re celebrating vegan answers in the most surprising

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To read The Third Plate is not only to take an extraordinary journey in the company of chef and writer Dan Barber. It is to be a guest at the birth of a brilliant and important idea. His travels, investigations, reading and thinking go beyond an exploration of what ails our food systems – and

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Fresh from editing videos for the Carbon Productivity event at London’s RSA, last week we returned to UBS‘s London HQ to shoot Volans’ Breakthrough Money – focusing on the confluence of money, data and trust. (We’re into venues that can be reduced to 3-letter acronyms.) Organised by sustainability think tank and advisory firm Volans as part of Project Breakthrough, it is part of

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As more and more sensors, electronics and data radically transform the way we understand cities, Carlo Ratti makes dazzling interactive environments from the information we create – like our phone calls and the garbage we throw out – to create surprising visualisations of city life. Known as ‘The Choral Architect’, he senses the future of architecture as collaborative; with design intervening at the

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We’re proud to invite you to the first Atlas of the Future event. On Tuesday 10 May, FutureHero Mark Stevenson will take us on an optimistic tour of the future and the challenges humankind faces – at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) in Barcelona. (Sceptics and pessimists, you’re invited too.) The pragmatic optimist

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