A Vision of the US in 2111

When I picture what the United States will look like 100 years from now, it is almost more difficult to envision than is the "island civilization"  that Nash describes in "Island Civilization: a Vision for Human Occupancy of Earth in the Fourth Millennium." I find it more difficult to picture the United States in 100 years than the world in 1,000 years largely due my inability to cast aside questions about how the world order may change in just 100 years and how large of a factor this may be in determining what the United States will look like. While I can envision a cooperative, multilateral world in the fourth millennium, this is more difficult for me to envision in 2111, and I have a hard time believing that the United States would put forth such a great effort to rework its entire infrastructure and systems of production without considerable pressure from other nations to do so.

That being said, in 2111 I can foresee a United States that is built upward, rather than outward as a solution to urban sprawl. Suburbs will cease to exist, their materials having been recycled to create the structures of tomorrow, but cities will not. The US will have already enacted efforts to curb population growth, but overpopulation will still be an issue, so people will live in apartment or condominium-like structures that reach high up into the sky so as to avoid horizontal growth. Urban farming will be a huge part of these new cities and every residence will have its own hydroponic vegetable garden. Every city will have nearby agricultural units to supply grains fruits, nuts and grains and the harvesting and processing of these goods will employ a large number of people because the machines that used to do so will by then be outlawed. The natural environment will be allowed to run its course outside of the boundaries of cities and the rail system that will connect the cities. Specific government agencies employing a multitude of specialized scientists will be charged with measuring biodiversity and especially plant growth. Hunting will be used only as a means of curbing animal populations that for whatever reason grow to large to sustain the food chains and ecosystems that they belong to.

The government will have set a cap on the number of children per family at two, and families that have two children will be encouraged to have one boy and one girl. This being said, the government will provide tax breaks for couples that choose not to have children. For families with children, education will be free and children will be educated from home via a smart screen that allows them to have a dialogue with educators and other children that are in their classes. Through the smart screen, children can write or type answers directly onto the screen for their teachers' viewing. Higher education will be conducted similarly. 

By 2111, the government will have already phased out gasoline and energy for homes will be provided solely by wind and solar energy. Structures will be created with a solar panel shell that allows the maximum surface area to be exposed to sunlight. Personal vehicles will be obsolete and all transportation will be public. Most travel within the United States will be accomplished by an electric speed rail (even between agricultural and residential areas) and overseas travel will be conducted for the time being (before energy sources with enough power to return to the air will be discovered) through steam-powered ships.

The majority of jobs will be related either to technology - which can largely be accomplished online from home - or to what remains of the agricultural sector, which will have spatial limits. There will also be limits to the number of animals that can be farmed or fished and meat and fish will be rationed to households that choose to continue to eat meat and fish on a weekly basis.