City of the Future

Maël Vidal was born and grew up in Auroville before going to France to pursue higher studies, where he received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in social anthropology.

Once, in later years, I went to see Roger in Auromodѐle, but it was different from the other times I visited him. I cannot recall why I went there, to discuss what.

The clearing of the Crown, Auroville’s main urban path, once again met with resistance after 25 years of discussion and waiting, on December 4.

Everyone here knows the expression “Children of Auroville”, but they’ve grown up since, and some now have children themselves! As various waves of ‘children of Children of Auroville’ – i.e. youth that has grown up in Auroville to parents that have themselves grown up in Auroville (monikers: GenZ, iGen or even Zoomers) are born and grow up here, the older ones now represent a category that is starting to be more vocal in the community.

Auroville City Conversations is the online discussion forum of the exhibition The City The Earth Needs, which has been in the Unity Pavilion since February.

The compilation “Chronicling Auroville: A selection of articles from Auroville Today 2006 – 2018” has just been published. 189 articles cover 19 different aspects, including history, environment, town planning, economy, the arts, humour, people, outreach and Auroville and the world.

This is really two books in one. The first book is an introduction to Auroville, the vision, the history and its inhabitants. The second book is a passionate advocacy of the need to build the city as soon as possible according to the original Galaxy plan.

Throughout those difficult years, each person kept, well hidden deep in the heart, the dream of a luminous, spiritual and harmonious city; a flaming torch.

One name keeps coming back over the years, in connection with the Galaxy: Roger Anger, the well-known French architect. Soon after leaving the Beaux Arts, he constructed some buildings which were architecturally remarkable and which immediately associated him with the avant-garde.