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The history of Somerville, 2010-2100 Contact
   
2010s - 2020s - 2030s - 2040s - 2050s - 2060s - 2070s - 2080s - 2090s - 2100
2020 - 2021 - 2022 - 2023 - 2024 - 2025 - 2026 - 2027 - 2028 - 2029
 
   

Community participant predictions

Somerville is the vegan center of the Greater Boston area.
(source: Bambi Good. To see all of her predictions, click here.)

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The moldy practices of nepotism, favoritism, and back-door-dealing have shrunk under the sunny eyes of scrutiny provided by intrepid reporters and ordinary citizens who've made it their mission to shine on the dark corners where they have thrived.
(source: Linda Haviland Conte. To see all of her predictions, click here.)

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Davis Square is a carbon neutral business district.
(source: Seth Itzkan. To see all of his predictions, click here.)

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The Green Line extension is completed.
(source: MJF. To see all of her predictions, click here.)

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Rounder Records (which is once again based in Somerville, and which created an algorithm to identify illegal file-sharing on the web in 2019) fights a takeover bid from Google. Rounder proceeds to purchase the remains of formerly powerful major labels such as CBS/Sony, EMI and Virgin, cementing its position as the new superpower in the recorded music industry that it maintains for the remainder of the century.
(source: The Dan Crary Fan Club. To see all of their predictions, click here.)

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The federal government passes laws to reduce waste and litter, based on Somerville's practices. Styrofoam and plastic bags are now banned; recycling bins and composting are now required.
(source: Maureen Barillaro. To see all of her predictions, click here.)

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In the 2020s, Somerville is more diverse and welcoming than Cambridge was in 2010.
(source: Josh Burchord. To see all of his predictions, click here.)

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In the 2020s, hover cars make their first appearance
(source: Tim Devin. To see all of his predictions, click here.)


(image source: Graphicaltutorials.net)

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All lines through Somerville (Green Line to W. Medford, Urban Ring) are opened by 2020-2025. But that is "best case scenario."
(source: Andrew Lynch. To see all of his predictions, click here.)


(image source: Andrew Lynch. Click here to see the full map)

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In 2020-25, there will be pedal-powered minibuses, with flywheels, with routes but no schedule. People will use these to commute, and get exercise. It would have to be pedal-optional, for the disabled/disinclined
(source: Jim H. To see all of his predictions, click here.)

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The chances of the Green Line being extended are pretty remote. The extension of the Green line to Medford has been talked about for a long time, and may in fact happen, perhaps 2020 is a reasonable date for that one? The other lines (in the below map) could be a project for the 2020s or 2030s.
(source: Bill Rankin. To see all of his predictions, click here.)


(image source: Bill Rankin. Click here to see the full version of the map)

 

Other predictions

After the Global Economic Crisis of 2015, economic growth resumes. The entire world becomes wired. Confident that the Crisis is over, national governments let corporations take stronger hold of the economy.
___Most students use the internet as their primary tool for communication. More and more technology jobs shift to India and China, to take advantage of lower pay.
(source: Tellus Institute,"The great transition")

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All new cars are hybrids, according to an anonymous survey of car industry executives by IBM's Institute for Business Value. 35 miles per gallon is average for the U.S. fleet. 20 percent of the European Union's energy comes from renewables. 15 percent of China's energy comes from renewables. Sweden is oil-free.
(source: Schirber, "Power of the Future: A Timeline to Energy Independence" in LiveScience)

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There are 1 billion Muslims, worldwide.
(source: Attali, "A brief history of the future: a brave and controversial look at the twenty-first century")

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"The economies of other developing countries, such as Brazil, could surpass all but the largest European countries by 2020; Indonesia's economy could also approach the economies of individual European countries by 2020...Most of the increase in world population and consumer demand through 2020 will take place in today's developing nations-especially China, India, and Indonesia"
___ "By 2020, globalization could be equated in the popular mind with a rising Asia, replacing its current association with Americanization."
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"political Islam will have a significant global impact leading to 2020, rallying disparate ethnic and national groups and perhaps even creating an authority that transcends national boundaries.
___"Production and jobs will be globalized. The transition will not be painless and will hit the middle classes of the developed world in particular, bringing more rapid job turnover and requiring professional retooling...Although the challenges ahead will be daunting, the United States will retain enormous advantages, playing a pivotal role across the broad range of issues-economic, technological, political, and military-that no other state will match by 2020."
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"Traditional geographical groupings will increasingly lose salience in international relations"
(source: National Institute of Science, "Mapping of the future, 2020")

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NASA starts moon colonization for future human exploration to Mars.
(source: Wikipedia, quoting MSNBC)

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Global oil production is expected to peak.
(source: Wikipedia, quoting LiveScience)

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The Russian Federal Space Agency is mining helium-3 from the moon.
(source: Wikipedia, quoting Pravda)