Five Lost Cities Of The Future 五座未来的遗失城市
遗失城市这个概念总是令我感到震惊，不是因为我不知道想让文明干涸是多么轻而易举的事，而是因为我意识到几百年后，会有那个时代的人类学家们看着所有现代阵营无法解决的遗留问题，有着于我们相同的疑问，关于玛雅人、关于印加人或者所有我们偶尔遇到却少有解释的问题。那种观点印刻脑中，再加上即将来临的气候变化，哪些城市最有可能因此消亡并提出此类问题呢？
5. 亚特兰大
我们可能已经预先知道这不堪一击的扩张：亚特兰大，作为南部城市的首府已经经历了2007年的干旱，无论至今为止的平均降雨量是多少，2008年它仍要经历这样的旱灾。亚特兰大坐落的地方大型水资源太远，这可能最终会迫使亚特兰大搬得离水资源近一点，再加上现在还勉强硬撑的天气变化，令形势变得更复杂，会使美国绿化最多的城市变为一半是沙漠的地区。
4. 迈阿密
亚特兰大没有足够的水资源——迈阿密可能会被淹没。由于迈阿密的大部分地区处在海平线上，再加上现在地下水位情况糟糕，如果海面上升，地面会因被淹没而消失，包括克罗克特和Tubbs的家乡也会被淹没。当然，这种现象要在漫长的时间后才会发生，但迈阿密很可能会成为另一个亚特兰大——海平面下的传奇。
3. 底特律
底特律是这张单子上唯一已经在遗失过程中的城市了——这座城市超过50%的高峰人口已经搬离了这座城市，底特律的大部分地区由于经济不景气也遭受到打击。显而易见，人们希望要缩减损失并使城市有个新气象，但是成功的可能迄今为止尚未可见。
2. 新奥尔良
新奥尔良很明显已经处在危险边缘了，我们知道阿姆斯特丹几世纪以来都位于海平面一下，但是情况还不错——那么为什么它还会出现在这张单子上呢？不幸的是，新奥尔良至今还没有从卡特里娜飓风中恢复，这里的关键问题在于如果再有一个大范围的灾难来袭，这个城市轻而易举就会被毁灭，传统和文化都会所剩无几。
1. 拉斯维加斯
这座罪恶的城市，虽然充满乐趣（你母亲可能不认同），但是恰巧处在旱灾侵袭范围的中心区域，与亚特兰大有的一拼。这座城市的市政府付费请居民们将他们种植的草场移出他们的后院，还让人们灌溉草坪。拉斯维加斯的含水地下层已经干涸了，Meade湖的水已经不能维持这座旅游业城市的需求了，这使人们对它还能支撑多久抱有大量的怀疑。
如果你还有任何你认为在将来可能成为废墟的美国城市，请让我们知道，我们会续写这份表单。
Continuing our theme of lost cities, news editor Ben Ray explores five American cities, which in the distant future could be reclaimed by nature.
The concept of a lost city has always astounded me, not because I don’t see how you can simply let a civilization dry up, but because I realize that in several hundred years, there will be anthropologists of that age looking at the ruins of whatever modern encampment didn’t quite work out, and asking the same questions we now ask about the Maya, or the Inca, or any other ruins we stumble upon with little explanation.
With that thought in mind, and the coming climate change, what cities are most likely to be abandoned and raising questions?
5. Atlanta
We may have gotten a preview of the untenable expansion the capital city of the south has undertaken with the drought that dominated 2007, and will be felt through 2008 despite above-average rainfall so far. Being located in an area that is far away from any large water source may eventually force Atlanta to scale back, and climate change, as it takes hold, will only complicate matters, transforming the greenest city in America into a semi-desert environment.
4. Miami
Atlanta won’t have enough water– Miami might be inundated. With much of the city at sea level, and already in a swampy condition with a high water table, the ground is poised to disappear from under the proud home of Crockett and Tubbs if the oceans begin to rise. Of course, this is the sort of phenomenon that normally takes place after endless amounts of time. Everybody will get out, but it’s possible that Miami will be a future Atlantis - a legend beneath the sea.
3. Detroit
Detroit is the lone city on this list that’s already in the process of becoming ruins– over fifty percent of the city’s peak population has already moved away, and vast areas of the city have been demolished to hide the occupancy issues posed by this economic tragedy. Obviously there’s hope in radically paring down and repackaging the city, but the possibility of success is yet to be seen.
2. New Orleans
New Orleans, of course, already had one brush with death, and we know Amsterdam has been fine for centuries while existing below sea level–so why is the Big Easy included on this list? New Orleans, unfortunately, has yet to fully recover from the Katrina-inflicted blows, and the concern here is that if a large-scale disaster were to strike again, that the city would simply be left for ruins, tradition and culture or no.
1. Las Vegas
Sin city, the shining beacon of fun (that your mother wouldn’t approve of) actually happens to be in the midst of a drought so bad that it makes Atlanta’s pale in comparison. The city government is actually paying residents to take grass out of their yards, and writing tickets to people that water their lawn. The Las Vegas aquifer has dried up, and Lake Meade can’t support the demand of this tourist-heavy metropolis, leaving it asking very hard questions about sustainability.
If you have any American cities, that you feel could become wastelands in the future, please let us know and we might do a follow-up post.
呵呵，不错的城市 不错的城市:handshake :victory: :victory: :victory: :hug: :hug: :victory: :victory: :victory: :victory: :victory: :victory: :victory: :victory: :victory:
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