Concrete fruits
Every spring as a kid, I'd pick fruit from the trees with my mom, and we'd turn it into jam.
I still think about that whenever I walk through my neighborhood in spring. The trees are full of fruit, right there in the middle of the city.
It's a small thing, but it points to something bigger: nature in cities makes us live better. Studies show that time spent in nature lowers cortisol, the stress hormone, and activates your parasympathetic nervous system — the part that helps you relax and reconnect with the world around you.
The city I'd want to live in
The ideal city would be full of green: trees everywhere, gardens, maybe even public spaces that grow food. There's a name for this vision: solarpunk — a hopeful, futuristic picture of society where technology and nature grow together.
I find it genuinely hopeful. And it's not some distant fantasy — it's already happening. Look at Singapore: greenery everywhere, with plants climbing up the sides of its buildings.
The future doesn't have to be gray. It can bear fruit.
What would make your city greener?