What Will Apartment Life Look Like in 100 Years: To Boldly Live Where No Man Has Lived Before
From the primitive housing in New York City at the turn of the century to Greystar’s modern luxury communities now, there’s no doubt that apartment life has significantly advanced from its humble beginnings. Never before have we seen the current levels of comfort and service applied on such a broad, universal scale — and this is especially true within the Greystar brand.
As these advances in amenities and services are pondered, one can’t help but wonder what the future holds.
So, what will apartment living look like in another century? Will people still congregate in cities and suburbs, or will a massive, universal metropolis cover the globe? We don’t know for sure, but Greystar is excited to be along for the ride and will continue to take pride in providing great communities to live in with unmatched services, modern conveniences and high quality locations.
Future Commutes and Communities
Complimentary coffee in your apartment lobby is still going to be a big deal 10 decades from now, especially when your morning commute is measured in light years instead of miles. Whether you’re just hopping into your sub-orbital space craft for a quick trip around the globe or suiting up for a jaunt across the galaxy to the office, your morning cuppa’ Joe will be just as important as it is today.
And speaking of future vehicles: What if private parking and garages, like we see today at Greystar’s SKYE of Turtle Creek are replaced by personal aircraft hangers for our automated flying vehicles? Who needs a valet?
While valets could be a thing of the past, the need for friendly community staff will never diminish. However, rather than being friendly humans who work a fixed schedule, you may see robots who never need to sleep — allowing them to be available 24/7 for customer service. Even though they’ll be mechanical at heart, they will have long passed the uncanny valley and will be as relatable to as a real person.
Integrated Technologies
What if commuting, literally, becomes a thing of the past? Advanced home-office environments might permit interaction that actually exceeds that found in traditional office spaces. Imagine meetings via a next gen, holographic-webcam-on-steroids where you actually get stuff done all from the comfort of your cutting-edge apartment home.
Far-future residents will also experience integration with their home climate control that’ll make you look at current NEST thermostats the same way you turn your nose up at an old 8-track or VCR today.
Wireless technology will be as naturally integrated into buildings as current electrical wires are and won’t cost residents a dime. Everything from entertainment systems to appliances and energy systems will benefit from connection to “the cloud.”
By now, we’re used to being able to change the background wallpaper on our smart devices with a swipe of the finger. But, imagine being able to do the same thing with your home décor. Don’t like the neutral colors in your apartment now? Just download the appropriate app and instantly change the colors and textures of walls, countertops and appliances. Digital surfaces like this are already in the early stages of development, so the future is looking good for customizable home finishes.
Environmentally Perfect
In the future, it’s quite possible that utility bills will be a thing of the past. With self-contained water cleaning and recycling systems, communities will be entirely self-sufficient and completely eco-efficient. Advanced solar, wind and perhaps even nuclear power will mean free electricity and energy storage for use by the community, and residents can enjoy living in pest-, water- and fire-proof structures.
Greystar already leads the way on the sustainable apartment movement with the introduction of the Greystar Green award. This coveted prize recognizes outstanding communities that exemplify energy efficiency, smart water consumption and other long-term strategies with the long-term aim of protecting our environment well into the future.
We don’t have plans to stop these goals anytime soon, and we’re excited about what lies ahead. Who knows, 100 years from now, we could have communities that actually build the environment up and coexist in perfect harmony within nature.
While it’s completely impossible to predict the future of apartment living, we just happen to know quite a bit about what it’s like in the present. Start your future now by contacting a Greystar community near you, and boldly go where many have gone before.
