# Building the FUTURE-CITIES In a nutshell, this project is a new paradigm for the design and planning of cities. The protocol is applicable for new plans from scratch but also for existing cities with varying degrees of implementation. The concept pursues the minimization of additional governance and regulations through the design of incentive systems based on decentralized environmental markets. The system creates a cooperative network user-owned and community-operated, build on Distributed Transactional Ledgers [blockchains]. At the core of the system and central to the concept is an extended form of the Natural Accounting System defined in the context of the Future-Cities, which needs further discussion, and design to become a usable tool. INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION We will organize a multidisciplinary International Design Competition, in coordination with Governments and academic institutions to build a proof of concept. ### Project description YLAYER creates an original unique brief for the Architecture of the Anthropocene Epoch: negotiate the future and align the incentives among human intensification and nature. Our strategy is to build on the strengths of the United Nations Global Goals program implemented through the deployment of Incentives-Driven Policies and planning. In this context, the project proposes a new paradigm for the Cities of the Future based on four pillars: 1-Dedicated Economic Zones incorporating the Natural Capital Accounting System 2- Spatial organization system 3-Incentives Driven Governance systems are running in parallel with Nation-States' existing laws and regulations without the obligatory need for political reforms. 4- Use a Public Blockchain Technology infrastructure to implement the systems rapidly and cost-effectively. ### Natural Capital Accounting and Dedicated Economic Zones Accounting is how we see the world. We are creating a counting system based on Natural Capital resources to build informed perspectives of the future. We are building on the strengths of "The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (Extended-SEEA)" and extending it to achieve the desired freedom to operate. The proposed counting system puts a price on every tree, and every service from ecosystems, a radical approach that is valid in the context of Future-Cities. The Extended-SEEA applies as the Accounting Standard for all economic activities involving citizens, Corporations, and public affairs implemented as a triple entry accounting ledger on the blockchain. ### Spatial Organization System and Territorial Configurations The concept identifies three organizational types: (i) Ultra-High Density population format YLAYER Future-Cities, pursue the Ultra High-Density model to allow for the optimization of resources and infrastructure systems while increasing the rate of innovation. (ii) The Deep Nature Habitats with zero human activity. Cities are associated with the "Deep Nature Habitats," where their exclusive function is to produce the natural elements associated with the support of human life and activities in the relevant cities. This, in turn, will increase the capacity of Ecosystems in renewable services flows, which refers to the many ways nature supports human endeavor such as pollination, genetic material, heat absorption, biodiversity, and production of Oxygen, among others. Corporative growth strategies will pursue projects to expand the territorial configurations of natural habitats, increase the resilience of the cities, and expand on the Ultra-High Density format. (iii) Buffer zone economies are the socio-economic systems of communities, spatially positioned between Ultra High-Density spaces and Deep Nature Systems. Their function is to rebuild nature, regulate access, and activity to natural habitats. Environmental markets finance the communities. ### Incentives-Driven governance systems. YLAYER runs in parallel with existing governance systems enabling nation-states and communities to experiment with incentive-based policy systems to re-program environmental and commercial regulations. The system will provide the tools to scale impact design, increase the ease of doing business, and improve the regulatory performance of economies. ### Blockchain Technologies We assume a generalized, public, transactional ledger, with minimal energy consumption requirements.