Futurology is an inherently dangerous profession; it is impossible to predict changes more than 10 or 15 years into the future with much accuracy. Take "Blade Runner" for example: the original 1982 film imagined perfect near-human robots and flying cars, but has Harrison Ford using pay phones in 2019.

JLL has had a crack at outlining what the ideal cityscape of 2040 might look like in a new report, The Transformation Framework.

According to the report, the city of 2040 will include co-working and living space, smart and healthy buildings, WiFi trees, reverse vending machines, driverless transport and multi-generational housing as standard.

Other elements it will incorporate include underground urban farms, circular economy centres, CO2 absorption facilities and solar wildflower roof gardens.

To create the future cityscape, JLL asked U.K. real estate owners, occupiers, developers and investors what they thought the ideal city would look like in 2040, and combined the answers with seven trends it predicts will influence real estate and infrastructure globally over the next two decades.

These trends included tech innovation, urbanisation, land and resource scarcity, the low carbon economy, demographic and workplace change, health and wellness and transparency and social value.
 
In order to adapt to the changes society is experiencing, businesses need to focus on strategy, governance, funding, skills, partnerships and innovation, JLL said. 

“To succeed and thrive in a world that is continuously changing, radical thinking is needed,” JLL Upstream Sustainability Services Director Emma Hoskyn said. “Rather than tackling each real estate trend individually to accomplish objectives in the short or medium term, companies need to incorporate the seven trends into every step of their business decisions, long-term vision and structure.”