Pentagram designed The City in 2050 for The Urban Land Institute. Designed to educate the public about the variety of economic, social and environmental factors that will shape the future design and development of cities worldwide, the exhibition was installed at the institute’s Urban Land Expo in Miami. A pair of large-scale arrows creates the structure for the exhibition's galleries and symbolically points to the future.

The Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit education and research institute established in 1936 whose mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. The City in 2050 was created for the institute’s Annual Meeting and Urban Land Expo in Miami. Developed as the expo’s centerpiece, the exhibition was designed for an audience of urban planners, architects, real estate developers and government officials who will have a direct impact on the future of cities and how they change.

The exhibition looks ahead to 2050. Over the next four decades, the world’s cities will experience unprecedented growth and as a result, an increased pressure to balance market demands with public policy and land use concerns. According to the ULI, a staggering two-thirds of the buildings that will be needed in 2050 have yet to be built. Factoring in social and environmental concerns such as global warming and transportation issues, this means the coming decades present enormous challenges––and opportunities––to mitigate climate change, protect water resources, build sustainable infrastructure, conserve energy resources and accommodate shifting demographics.

As the focus was the future of the city, Pentagram conceived of the exhibition as two 60-foot-long three-dimensional arrows, one green and the other blue, that metaphorically led visitors towards the future. The arrows presented a bold, instantly recognizable icon within the event. At the same time, the arrows created interior gallery spaces for the exhibition’s content.