The Blossoming Future of Tunis

This project plans to forecast the future of the 10,000 cities across the globe -- as though they have survived climate change and social discord and gone on to flourish anew. Today, we highlight the future of the Tunisia's capital city.

Tunis has the potential to become a leading example of climate-adaptive urban transformation by investing deeply in urban horticulture rooted in its own ecological and cultural context. By integrating productive gardens into rooftops, courtyards, schools, and public squares, the city can cool its microclimate, reduce food dependence, and reconnect residents with land-based knowledge that long predates modern urbanization. North African desert cereal species such as millet, sorghum, and fonio are especially suited to this future, as they thrive in heat and low water conditions while offering high nutritional value. Grown within the city, these crops would strengthen food security and symbolize resilience in the face of climate stress.

The North African city of Tunis -- in the future

Pedestrianized arcades planted with flowering North African species could reshape the social and spatial life of Tunis. Streets once dominated by cars could become shaded, walkable corridors lined with jasmine, bougainvillea, oleander, citrus, and date palms, reducing heat while restoring the historic role of streets as places of encounter and exchange. These green arcades would link medinas, markets, and coastal zones, encouraging local commerce and slow movement while cutting air pollution and noise. In doing so, Tunis would reclaim its identity as a city designed for people, climate, and continuity rather than traffic flow.

Beyond land, the sea offers Tunis another powerful ecological ally. Seaweed farms along the coast could absorb carbon, clean water, and provide food, fertilizer, and bioplastics for the city, creating jobs tied to regeneration rather than extraction. When paired with urban horticulture, seaweed-based compost and soil conditioners could close nutrient loops between sea and city. Together, gardens, arcades, desert cereals, and sea farms would form a living system in which Tunis feeds itself, cools itself, and sustains itself. This transformation would not be a rejection of modernity, but a re-rooting of the city in African and Mediterranean ecologies that have always understood how to live well with limited resources.