Postcards From the Future

Postcards From The Future feature images of a future London ravaged by climate change. Robert Graves and Didier Madoc-Jones originally created the postcards in response to the G8 summit in Japan in 2008.

The climate refugee crisis reaches epic proportions. The vast shanty town that stretches across London’s centre leaves historic buildings marooned, including Buckingham Palace. The Royal family is surrounded in their London home. Everybody is on the move and the flooded city centre is now uninhabitable and empty — apart from the thousands of shanty-dwellers. But should empty buildings and land be opened up to climate refugees?

This view across Parliament Square shows paddy fields running up to the walls of the Palace of Westminster. The land that once housed political protest is now part of the city’s food production effort. In this scenario London has adapted to rising water tables in radical ways. Managed flooding is now the name of the game, as is self-sufficiency in food. Central London is a network of rice paddies and Londoners diet is largely rice-based.

The iconic City office tower is now high-rise housing. Originally converted into luxury flats, the block soon slid down the social scale to become a high-density, multi-occupation tower block. The Gherkin now worries the authorities as a potential slum.
Refugees from equatorial lands have moved north in search of food. They make their homes in the buildings that once drove world finance - before the collapse of the global economy.

As the Gulf Stream slows a mini ice-age brings temporary relief to heat-weary Londoners. Winter skating becomes London’s most popular sport and Tower Bridge is a favourite spot. The scene harks back to the 17th century when artists loved to paint London’s Frost Fairs. Then, the Thames froze over because the river flowed sluggishly. Now, the river flows quickly but every winter the temperature falls to new lows.

London has become uninhabitable. Every year spring tides surge through the Thames Barrier, making London the new Venice. But whereas the city of gondolas has come to terms with water, London is overwhelmed. This image shows the impact of 7.2 metre flooding, the level required to breach the Thames Barrier.

Link to the project website. All images © Robert Graves and Didier Madoc-Jones. The postcards are currently on display at the Museum of London until March 6, 2011.