Why solarpunk is my word of the year

And how this hopeful vision could inspire your 2025, too

I asked ChatGPT to create images of a solarpunk Toronto we can all aspire to.

In a world often overshadowed by dystopian reality and political despair, choosing solarpunk as my word of the year feels like a radical act of hope.

Solarpunk started as a word to describe a literary genre, but to me, it isn’t just a book-bound thing, or an arty aesthetic; it’s a whole mindset—a vision of the future grounded in optimism, community, and environmental stewardship.

Maybe you’re familiar with the dark foreshadowing of the steampunk aesthetic. Maybe you’ve seen and read plenty of dystopian movies and books. Solarpunk offers a brightly shining alternative: a world where humanity has chosen to collaborate with nature rather than exploit it, where tech innovation serves the people rather than corporate entities, and where hope is not naïve but revolutionary.

So what is solarpunk, and why should you care? If this word feels new to you, let me paint a picture.

Beauty, function, and human ingenuity

Imagine a city whose skyscrapers are alive with vertical gardens, their glass facades doubling as solar panels. The streets below are pedestrian-friendly, shaded by fruit-bearing trees, with pathways woven through community gardens.

Imagine a city where we invest in public spaces that feel safe and rejuvenating.

The air is clean, not because of some futuristic filter in the sky, but because the city itself is designed to breathe—its parks and green roofs functioning as lungs. In solarpunk worlds, technology isn’t sterile or dehumanizing; it’s seamlessly integrated with the natural world.

A wind turbine might double as a public sculpture. A local repair shop might not only fix your broken gadgets, it might also teach you how to repair them yourself. In a solarpunk future, beauty, function, and human ingenuity walk hand in hand.

It’s a blueprint for the future

This isn’t just fantasy or fiction—it’s a positive blueprint for the future. And IMHO, we desperately need that right now.

Solarpunk asks: What if diverse communities had more influence than billionaires and bureaucrats? What if we actively participated in designing a world that created human connections? What if we chose kindness and creativity over greed and waste?

It’s an optimistic way of seeing the future, but it’s also a call to action for today. And as we face an era of overlapping crises—climate change, social inequality, the erosion of trust in institutions—it’s a necessary mindset.

In the future, Toronto’s cemeteries could provide solace as well as solar power.

A literary and aesthetic movement

Solarpunk emerged as a literary subgenre in the late 2000s and early 2010s, partly as a reaction to the dominance of dystopian narratives. While dystopias serve an important purpose by warning us of what we might become, they can leave us feeling paralyzed. Solarpunk flips the script. Instead of asking, “What’s the worst that could happen?” it asks, “What’s the best we could build?”

In fiction, solarpunk stories often explore the challenges and triumphs of creating a sustainable, just world. They grapple with real issues—climate adaptation, renewable energy, collective governance—while centring human creativity and resilience. These aren’t utopias, free of conflict or hardship, but they insist that even in struggle, hope can flourish.

Visually, solarpunk is pleasing. It combines the organic elegance of Art Nouveau with the utility of green technology. Solarpunk architecture builds on already existing historic styles, sometimes adding on softly flowing lines, botanical motifs, and warm, nature-inspired colour palettes.

It’s a far cry from the grim, neon-lit cities of cyberpunk science fiction, the desolate wastelands of post-apocalyptic fiction, and the oppressive systems of dystopian fiction. And that’s the point. Solarpunk is aspirational. It invites us to dream of futures worth working for.

In a solarpunk vision for the future, rainwater is harvested and stored for later use. And smart sprinklers make gardening easy.

Why solarpunk matters now

The world we inhabit can often feel like it’s careening toward disaster. Headlines about rising sea levels, unthinkable acts of violence, and political turmoil dominate our collective psyche. In such a climate, solarpunk isn’t escapism—it’s resistance.

One of solarpunk’s most radical ideas is its rejection of fatalism. The climate crisis is real, and the challenges we face are enormous, but solarpunk insists that solutions are possible, and apathy is part of the problem.

Through grassroots activism, scientific innovation, and rethinking our relationship with each other and the planet, we can collaborate to create a future that works for everyone. Solarpunk reminds us that our choices matter, and that agency is not a luxury—it’s a necessity.

Collective wellbeing is the new wealth

This mindset is deeply tied to community and radical friendship. Solarpunk envisions a world where no one is left behind, where the health of a neighbourhood garden is as important as the health of the global climate. It imagines a society where wealth is measured not by profit margins but by collective well-being.

In a solarpunk world, local food systems thrive, repair and reuse are the norm, and energy is clean, decentralized, and abundant. People share what they have because billionairism has been abolished, ensuring there is more than enough to go around. Individuality is out of style, and collectivity is cool.

The new Gardiner Expressway doesn’t have to be ugly.

Solarpunks acknowledge that these changes won’t come easily. We don’t shy away from the hard work of dismantling systems of oppression or confronting climate injustice. But we frame these changes as within the realm of possibility. And that’s the spark we need. Solarpunk doesn’t ask us to ignore the gravity of our situation—it dares us to believe we can rise to meet it.

And let’s not forget the role of storytelling. Solarpunk reminds us that the narratives we tell ourselves shape the futures we build. If we keep consuming stories of collapse, we might start to see collapse as inevitable. But if we immerse ourselves in visions of regeneration and creativity, we begin to believe in their possibility. What we know will grow.

How psychedelics support a solarpunk lifestyle

Psychedelics and solarpunk share a transformative ethos. While solarpunk reimagines our physical and societal systems, psychedelics offer a pathway to inner change. They help us confront trauma, foster interconnectedness, and shift our perspectives in ways that mirror solarpunk’s holistic vision.

Psychedelic journeys often reveal the underlying harmony of the natural world—a harmony that solarpunk seeks to embed in its designs. Both push us to see the world differently and to act on that vision. Psychedelics inspire awe and reverence for nature, while solarpunk provides tools to turn that reverence into tangible action.

In my solarpunk vision for the future, people can enjoy music, dancing and psychedelics in communal spaces.

What’s remarkable about the connection is how both movements resist despair. Psychedelics show us what’s possible within ourselves; solarpunk maps out what’s possible for our communities and the planet. Together, they remind us that transformation—of mind, society, and environment—is not only possible but essential.

Solarpunk is a call to action

So here’s my challenge for 2025: Let solarpunk inspire you. Let it shape the way you think, act, and dream. Let’s see how much brighter the world can become when we dare to imagine it differently.