worldbuilding: solarpunk edition. the ideal future.

I am an unapologetic believer in that this kind of society is where our world would find true happiness. Solarpunk is a world of absolute wonder: a sustainable future full of radical reform and the complete change of trajectory from our current society. It's like a haven where dreams go to come true.

Obviously, radical reform and complete reliance on renewable energy doesn't suit the world we live in today, and we would literally have to burn our current way of thinking to the ground in order to achieve this. But, it's a lovely dream. I do hope that future generations head towards a future as secure as this genre.

So, you want to write Solarpunk? I don't blame you - this is a really cool genre to play around with, and it poses a really cool question of what we could possibly write about going wrong in a harmonious future like this. It's almost too good to be true! But let me start you off with the identifiers of this genre. Solarpunk embodies an optimistic future where humans and our way of living co-exist with nature and our planet, a socialist society where selfishness and greed has no place and nobody is left to suffer with the systemic misfortune granted to them from birth. Classes don't exist, people live in harmony. Definitely post-capitalist. The 'Solar' represents a form of sustainable energy, the most easily identifiable of renewables. The 'punk', though, you'll be surprised to learn is not just for the sake of it, like when Steampunk was named. Solarpunk was named so because its core holds an optimistic opinion so contrasting to our society's cynicism. We live in a world that's debatably fallen into the exact tropes that define Cyberpunk, high tech and low life, where the majority of the world is full of apathy and acceptance of lifelong misery due to the hand most are dealt at birth. A cycle of poor remaining poor and rich remaining rich. To take such an optimistic path, despite what this world shows us of humanity's capacity for greed, is a radical opinion. I think people who are inclined towards Solarpunk are some of the best people humanity has to offer, because who else can possibly take us towards a better future? It takes guts to not fall victim to the apathy so many use to cope and instead take life as it is, no matter how hopeless and painful, and still see a future where life might be better, one that you actually reach towards.

Solarpunk is so refreshing. I encourage anyone reading this to dabble in it a little, because you might end up feeling more invigorated to aim for a better future.

And with that, I introduce you to this week's selection of questions, specifically altered for Solarpunk tropes and influences. Here's to sustainable futures, optimism, and futurism, though including the superficial 'flying cars', is also based in true human progress: striving towards humanity and unity as a species.

P.s. Some of these questions have additional tag questions relating to the traditional socialist societies that are encouraged by those pursuing this kind of reality. If you have another concept in mind for what this world would look like, the questions are quite easily adjusted! I thought I'd leave it in the way I have been using it, as I found that when I began exploring Solarpunk worlds, I was pretty stuck on what a functional, sustainable society would look like post-capitalism. It may be able to serve as a foundation for your own society, or it might spark an idea the diverges from the inspiration entirely! I mean, us writers have to be frustratingly knowledgeable about the ins and outs of different economic systems in order to create our own. It's nice to explore inspiration outside of what the world shoves in our faces, even in our most vulnerable moments, whilst we navigate the soaring prices down the milk isle. Anyway, steering from the point yet again, please enjoy these questions.

solarpunk questions

energy & tech

1. An identifier of this genre is the exclusive use of sustainable energy. What’s the primary source of this?

2. Can you describe the basic energy history of your Solarpunk world? How did they get from a world like ours, at the brink of ruin, to a world like theirs?

3. How has sustainable energy impacted the technology? Is it a more powerful source (and therefore allowing more high-tech life), or has it inhibited technological growth, resulting in more resemblance to an environmentally centred life?

4. How has technology impacted people?

5. What are the ten most common buildings in your world? Biotech gardens, solar farms, etc.

6. How technologically advanced in your world? Can you think of any good examples to demonstrate it?

healthcare & children

7. How are children born? Are they made organically?

8. If made organically, what’s the severity of the risk that carrying a child brings?

9. Is raising children common?

10. What do people do if they need healthcare?

11. What healthcare system is in place? Does it benefit anyone? Does it disadvantage anyone?

12. Are there any prevalent health issues?

13. What are the more common illnesses?

14. Are fatal illnesses easily cured?

15. Are there any illnesses that come as a result of the world you have created? E.g., new, or more prevalent, cancers.

environment & travel

16. Are there any weird environmental occurrences?

17. What is the weather like?

18. How much of your cities or public areas outdoors?

19. In a Solarpunk world, much of the food produced will be done through what the environment has to offer, so people might be able to grow their own food. Is there a system in place to distribute food?

20. Does everyone grow their own foods? If so, what happens to outliers who maybe don’t grow their own foods?

21. Any accessible natural resources?

22. What about animals?

23. What are the most common animals?

24. What do people eat?

25. Is water accessible?

26. Is animal meat a common part of meals? If so, where does it come from? What do the meat production systems look like in a sustainable world?

27. What is the most accessible type of food?

28. How do people travel? What systems and forms of travel are in place? What are some of the more accessible forms of travel?

29. How do travel systems integrate with the environment?

society & economics

30. Solarpunk societies lay their values in socialism and community. How does this system work in relation to exchange of goods? If you work harder, are you able to reap any additional benefits compared to someone who does the bare minimum? After all, some people will want more luxuries than others.

a. A traditional form of socialism is along the lines of ‘if you give me some of your vegetables, I’ll give you a very well-made chair.’ If someone, for example, produced vegetables and wanted a chair, what system is in place if the chair-seller does not want vegetables? Does the vegetable seller have to keep track of additional exchanges he’d have to make to acquire something that the chair seller would want, or is there a system in place to reduce mental load?

31. What are the most valuable resources?

a. If leading the society on the traditional exchange, does anything have more worth in exchanges?

i. If so, does this inhibit those who create things worth significantly more, with time equating the value of exchange? If someone needed a hundred vegetables in exchange for one chair, what if they didn’t have enough vegetables? How would the chair seller get vegetables when they’re so low value compared to a chair?

32. What happens to those unwilling to participate in society?

33. There are always going to be those inclined towards greed, and a society like this has little room for selfishness at the expense of others. How does your society deal with people like this?

34. Is education accessible?

35. Does education bring any promise of additional value in life?

36. Is there any pressure for children to carry on the trade of their parents and pursue a more complex life? In a world where everyone can survive from their participation in society, how do the relationships between those content with living and those who strive for more, despite having enough, work?

37. Are the arts valued equally to labour and sciences?

38. Is fashion highly valued?

39. How practical is clothing?

40. Does it differentiate between genders?

41. What’s the day-to-day life of an average citizen look like? Describe it, hour-by-hour.

42. Are there any benefits that can be strived towards?

43. What about the gender divide?

44. Is gender able to be a fluid factor in identity, or socially static?

45. Is there any prejudice in place of the capitalist class-system?

46. Are there any phrases/actions that would be considered rude/endearing to different people?

47. Who are the most important people to society?

48. What are the most notable forms of systemic inequality?

49. Are there any common forms of religion?

50. Are there any common conspiracies?

51. If there are prevalent conspiracies, do the impact wider society in any way?