A French architecture collective et alors has put together a vision of a sustainable City of Lights in 2100. It’s impressive.

The architects envision the capital city already a leader in climate policy as a green bastion with urban agriculture and walkable infrastructure everywhere. Making extensive use of what they call un terrain de jeu exploratoire (“an exploratory playground”) the architects are not afraid of embracing more radical ideas either such as massive wind and solar farms powering the region and a transportation system completely decoupled from automobile dependence.

Although some of the renderings may appear too whimsical to be realistic keep in mind that we’re talking about nearly 90 years from now. To avoid the worst effects of climate change solutions that are currently bandied about – mainstreaming green building and putting a price on carbon for example – will likely need to be accompanied by major technological advances and behavioral changes (i.e. ditching cars and living in walkable mixed-use communities). That combination is what these renderings depict. As Treehugger notes a Paris like this in 2100 isn’t impossible (nor should it be for other major cities): “It’s utopianism based on optimism: if we start working now this is the urban paradise we can pass down to our children.”