Sacramento's Future: Energized and Mobile

This project explores the destinies of over 1000 cities & towns across the world as they strive to tackle the severe environmental obstacles of the 21st century. As a component of this, today we focus below on the future of Sacramento in the USA.

Sacramento, California’s capital, has a complex history shaped by its role as a hub during the Gold Rush, its location at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers, and its agricultural prominence. Over time, the city has developed into a vibrant, diverse community, but its future faces significant challenges from climate change, including extreme heat, catastrophic flooding, and wildfire risks. As the Sacramento Valley is projected to see daily maximum temperatures increase by 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the century's end, the city must evolve to not only survive but thrive. A crucial aspect of this evolution will be the adoption of communal approaches to urban design that prioritize sustainability, resilience, and cooperation.

One promising solution lies in the expansion of communal housing, where the residents share resources and decision-making processes. By living together in co-housing communities, Sacramento’s citizens can pool energy resources, reduce overall consumption, and ensure that homes are designed to be energy-efficient. Additionally, communal living can help combat the social isolation exacerbated by modern city life, fostering cooperation that becomes crucial during environmental crises such as floods or heatwaves. In the absence of techno-demagogues—figures who might promise technological solutions without addressing deeper social and environmental problems—communal housing allows people to make decisions at a grassroots level, empowering them to tackle their own urban challenges.

Urban gardens are another vital feature of Sacramento’s future. Historically, the fertile land of the Sacramento Valley has supported agriculture, and this tradition can be reimagined in the form of urban agriculture. By converting vacant lots, rooftops, and even park spaces into community gardens, the city can increase local food production, reduce dependence on distant agricultural systems, and support biodiversity within the urban ecosystem. These gardens also offer cooling effects, helping to mitigate the increasing heat, while providing green spaces that can absorb excess stormwater, alleviating some of the flood risks that threaten Sacramento. Like communal housing, urban gardens can be governed collectively, with neighborhoods working together to maintain and share the produce.

Car-free transportation is another important element of Sacramento’s sustainable future. As temperatures rise, traditional reliance on cars exacerbates air pollution and increases urban heat islands. The city can develop extensive pedestrian and cycling networks, with public transit options like electric buses and light rail systems. These car-free zones would make the city more accessible, reduce carbon emissions, and encourage more people to participate in community life. Car-free streets can also be reclaimed as public spaces where people gather, furthering a sense of communal ownership and care for their city.

REGENERATING WOODLANDS SIT ALONGSIDE COMMUNAL SUBURBAN HOUSES

and MOBILE ENERGY BATTERIES IN FUTURE SACRAMENTO (by the Urban Futures team)

Woodland regeneration and the protection of Sacramento’s surrounding forests are also critical to future resilience. As wildfire risks grow, reforestation and the introduction of fire-resistant plant species can create natural buffers around the city, reducing the impact of fires. These efforts must be governed by local communities working closely with Indigenous land stewards, who have long understood how to manage fire-prone landscapes through controlled burns and other techniques. Local decision-making processes can ensure that forest management is done sustainably, avoiding the temptation to exploit the land for short-term gains.

As cities like Sacramento transition to sustainable futures, embracing technology maintenance and continual recycling over the prevailing throw-away culture will be crucial. Rather than relying on disposable gadgets and short-lived infrastructure, a focus on repairable, long-lasting technologies will reduce waste and conserve resources. This shift can extend to everything from household appliances to larger public systems like solar panels, electric transport, and smart grids. By designing for durability and fostering a culture of repair, cities can reduce the environmental toll of constant consumption and minimize the strain on supply chains. Additionally, local communities can build expertise in technology maintenance, creating jobs, empowering citizens to take ownership of their energy and transport systems, and promoting a circular economy that extends the life of all urban technologies. This communal approach reduces dependency on outside corporations and helps ensure that technology serves the city’s long-term environmental goals rather than short-term consumerism.

REGENERATING WOODLANDS SIT ALONGSIDE COMMUNAL SUBURBAN HOUSES

and MOBILE STORAGE BATTERIES IN FUTURE SACRAMENTO (by the Urban Futures team)

Finally, sustainable energy will play a foundational role in Sacramento’s future. With its ample sunshine, the city is well-positioned to adopt solar energy on a large scale, powering homes, businesses, and public infrastructure. Community-owned energy small scale cooperatives can also use combined hydro and solar power plus 'neighborhood batteries' to ensure that this transition is equitable and locally controlled, avoiding the pitfalls of relying on distant corporations or techno-demagogues to solve the city’s energy needs.