This video is currently dying, which sucks because it took a lot of effort to bring together, so it'd mean a lot for everyone to share it, comment, like, help get it out
SFIA with Issac Arthur is an underrated channel... Also fun fact, his parents named him after Issac Asamov and Arthur C. Clark (I don't remember which video specifically he mentions this)
I highly encourage you to research the niche 'Soft apocalypse' trope. Part of it is the essense of "Everything fell, nothing's going to be like it was again, and we're in a new world now. And that's ok". Scary to consider, but strangely calming? When I came across it, I got the same warming feeling that I got from the positive-nihilism from 'Everything, Everywhere, All at Once'. Check the trope out, if you can. (btw I love the video you had on the wandering traveler and the wild robot)
19:04 I still can't get over the fact that one of the most widely known and talked about visual representations of solarpunk ideas is a goddamn yoghurt commercial...
Solarpunk will never get popular. Big Oil and corporate CEOs will never allow for the general public to see a version of the future where they are not in charged.
Thank you for sharing this story. I've gotten tired of humanity being so often portrayed as a parasite when by choice we can be something better. It's not that I don't acknowledge the hard truths about our nature, but sometimes I like a bit more hope instead of constant despair.
It isn't our nature, it's just civilization was built to tap into things like greed, destruction, fear, and our "leaders" across the world keep continuing those trends like they have been for thousands of years.
I was really surprised that 2077's Cyberpunk dystopia had good public transit, lots of places where people could gather without paying for the privilege and supportive communities. For all its architecture, crime and big evil corporations, it's a more human friendly than a lot of real world cities.
@@embasorangiratina36 Yes, but it's also how I've always seen cyberpunk described. Sure, it's far from perfect and the good things aren't the focus, but it has a lot of really good things going for it
I would posit that there are only two groups of people that would see "beauty" in the apocalypse. Those (like us) that look forward and imagine potential futures and marvel at how "a Phoenix rose from the ashes" to create something new, and historians that look back upon events who are blessed with the gift of hindsight and can see literally how the metaphorical forest had to be burned to prevent a greater forest fire. People that live through the apocalypse, likely do not see beauty, all they see, all they have experienced is destruction and death!
@@schemage2210 , exactly. Nobody was thrilled to watch half their village die from the Black Plague in the 14th century, knowing that the depopulation of Europe would lead to social, political, and economic changes that helped trigger the Renaissance in the 15th century.
While this is primarily thought of as sci-fi - this can be inspiration for medieval stasis in fantasy. The giant cities, abandoned, become sources of blight, wealth, adventure. The giant cities living, become points of light where their inhabitants have turned inward and focused on the arts and entertainment, their needs met.
Putting down a comment for the algorithm as I'm currently nursing a terrible migraine and unable to watch the video in full. Your videos are so well-made and have always brought me joy- and helped inspire and direct me in my journey of writing.
At the moment, Solarpunk is mostly an art movement with a few novel examples and one cinematic example of what it is. Cyberpunk is basically the picture of our current world but so many act like we've come to the end of the road as they did during the first world war.
@@mjcsandboxgames4021 And yet we're approaching it. Giant mega corporations with incomes larger than the GDP of some countries, own and control so many aspects of our lives. Politics is a pale imitation of democracy, with donors deciding who gets elected. The only thing we lack is the sick cyberwear
I mean. Capitalism = the right of individuals to own capital. You can surely see why every attempt to end this has led to some kind of horror. Factories, farms, land, anything that can produce anything. An individual is not allowed to own any of those things if you end capitalism. Socialism, as one example of an attempt to replace capitalism, attempts to do this by having all capital be owned by the state. Which obviously makes the state incredibly powerful compared to the individual (helping lead to massive corruption and oppression) and also results in severe inefficiencies because it requires the state to micromanage the economy. Fascism tries to do this by unionising all industry and absorbing the unions into the govenrent. As a result there is genuine competition (and many of the negative aspects of capitalism left intact), combined with a very powerful totalitarian state that can control and interfere with any industry or aspect of your life at will... Ultimately all attempts have been worse and either collapsed or transitioend back to some form of capitalism
@@pattonramming1988 A very innocuous concept I would add as well. Literally just meaning an individual is allowed to own capital.. I've noticed the ignorant also conflate "capitalism" with negative systems or circumstances that can appear within capitalism, such as corporatism, consumerism or monopolies.
Framing 'The City in the Image of Man' as a work of fiction is an excellent way to present it for a video. That being said, it is very much a work of non-fiction. It's all about how and why Arcologies are the future of urbanism. At the end of the book, there's one more design that wasn't mentioned in this video, an Arcology called Arcosanti. It is a real place. I know this because I have been there.
While I agree that suburban sprawl is worse, I am not surprised. Most suburbs don't overwhelm you while you are just standing and looking around, you understand the horror by driving through block after identical block, or by looking on a map. The visual is more naturally fitting for dark urban fantasy than to end of the world dystopia.
@@zivronen9539 That's true, most suburbs dont have the smog and noise and looming shadows of buildings. Instead they have physical and psychological isolation, they are money black holes which are expensive to maintain, and they crush community spirit and make it near impossible to live without a car.
@@zivronen9539tbh that’s just horribly dull city planning being horribly dull city planning. When alot of your buildings are colorless masses protruding from the Earth it’s practically a “give me”. Everything being identical though is something you see in horror alot though.
I'm quite late to the show... I know it doesn't favor the algorithm but it's important for me to not consume your videos but rather wait a little to get a moment where I can be free and focused. I'm amazed and never disappointed. I hope this one will get more visibility!
I just finished "Trickle Down Lobotomies" from your collection and it was incredible. You seriously have a gift for writing about thought-provoking ideas and creating amazing imagery with your words. I wish this video was doing better but I just wanted to share my appreciation for your work on TH-cam and off.
Is the difference between Solar Punk and Cyber Punk really techology enslaving vs liberating? To me that feels like one of the outcomes of the real difference between the two: power structure. You don't hear about corporations in Solar Punk. Governments act upon the interest of the people and the sustainability of the environment because they lack pressure from entities whose existence is perpetuated by greed. It's power being used by the rich and powerful for the rich and powerful that leads to Cyber Punk. And it's what we see most in fiction because it is also what we see most often in the real world.
I always thought of it as technology subordinate or subordinating. In cyberpunk, the individual is subordinate to their technology and the technology of others. Solarpunk is more about individuals using their harmonise with their environment.
@@ts25679 yeah, but the power structure is implicit in the relationship between human and technology. No human would willingly use tech against their own interests unless there is a direct and indirect (systemic) pressure by those in power to do so. And in capitalism "those in power" are the ones with the money.
Government by its very nature exists to serve the elite first and foremost. A state exists to monopolize labour and resource for the benefit of a ruling class What that ruling class is doesn't matter It could be the Merchants It could be the army, It could be the priesthood It could be the inbred nobles Government exists to serve them first and foremost, everything from the law to the economic systems exist to serve their interests Everything else is just a necessary concession to keep the dominated population in line No government can ever fully endorse the prosperity and autonomy of it's population without sacrificing a lot of it's power, making it less capable of serving the interest of the elite
@daxlucero2437 No. In the original idea of communism, the state was supposed to "wither away". Communism, by definition, is a stateless and classless society. In the two large attempts at communism, the Soviet Union and China, this did not work out, and we have to learn from that that the state does not wither away - it has to be actively abolished. There is anarcho-communism, which aims to do exactly that. If you're interested in how it works, visit the channel NonCompete. They have an entire video playlist on the topic.
When you started describing the Arcologies (I think I've heard the term before) as monolithic city megastructures, what first came to my mind was that they would be the sort of place where one would require adequate privileges to travel between levels or out of one's home sector. Living inside a mountain-sized cinderblock with a half-million other humans is not something I would ever consider an ideal circumstance.
It's fascinating, 'cause to me it's the opposite. Those monolithic walls are the supports to a vibrant community, one with much opportunity and economic flexibility as there are people in said community. Living inside a mountain-sized community with half a million other humans, who's interests all are physically represented by the unified structure they inhabit together, is something I find comforting, and safe.
It's something I find interesting, and possibly useful as a long-term idea for space exploration and a potential interstellar human diaspora. But it seems like it's based on the idea that somehow people can make a termite mound that's better to live in than a traditional city, and I'm not sure that's really possible.
Same, I would rather be a vagrant in the rotting cities than another termite in a hill of steel. For any arcology to work it would have to be totalitarian and incredibly limiting.
I'd like to point out Astromo is tiny compared to the standard O'Neil cylinder, which is 8km in radius and 32km in length. Do note that the length measurement is arbitrary as the structural integrity of a rotating habitat is based solely on it's radius, specifically, it's integrity is equivalent to a suspension bridge with a length equal to the habitat's circumference under the equivalent gravity the habitat generates. This means you could extend a cylinder as long as you want, perhaps looping it back round and linking the ends (even the hardest materials are quite flexible at interplanetary scales), this being classified as a distinct megastructure called a topopolis. Keep in mind the original O'Neil cylinder was designed to be made out of steel, with new, stronger materials like graphene allowing radiuses as large as 1000km (typically referred to as a McKendree cylinder).
Spacesteads like O'Neill cylinders and Stanford toruses make an interesting arcology option, and a good alternative (or supplement) to setting up shop on planets and moons. The only major disadvantage of ONeill cylinders have that planetary surface settlements would not is a "sky", in O'Neill cylinders, people would essentially see their neighbors backyards and roofs when looking up.
I love seeing Paolo Solieri's stuff getting a spotlight. It is something of a tragedy that he died before Arcosanti, a prototype arcology, a town rather than a city, could be completed.
Given your fascination with the far flung future sci-fi ideas, I wonder, have you ever read the Imperial Radch trilogy? Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy. It takes place in a very deep future society, largely within a space empire that's very Roman in overall design. It's definitely not as high-concept as a lot of what you tend to showcase - it's a first person perspective (though the perspectives shown are quite unlike what you would expect from any normal human for reasons that will become obvious), but it's a good story and has a really enjoyable examination of the culture of the Radch (as well as shorter but fascinating glimpses of a number of other human cultures (some of which require broader definitions of human than the Radchaii or most people today might consider correct.)
I loved the trilogy by William Gibson (“Neuromancer”, “Biochips” and “Mona Lisa Overdrive”), with its “BAMA” (Boston Atlanta Metropol Axis aka “The Sprawl”), its Archologies aka “The Projects”, and its geodetic city domes, and everything else. One of the few things he underestimated was the ever increasing file sizes of any data.
This video was absolute fire! It hit so many points I already felt deeply and articulated other concepts I've never had a good grasp on very clearly. Love this.
5:21 separating out areas according to intended use is still Midcentury thinking. It's the approach to planning that gave us suburban sprawl in the first place. If an archology is meant to be in any way livable, its different districts need to be minced up and tossed together.
i love your analysis, actually love all of your videos your voice is very soothing too if no one told you that yet currently using your videos as either very interesting backdrop or actual reference for my writing
This is really inspirational in its own right and for something I’m working on. It reminds me of another project that came to my attention BLAME! by Tsutomu Nihei. Contemplating the future in all its realities is most fun a person like me can have. Thanks for sharing 😊
I'm super interested in these arcologies and will be checking out all the links. I'm working on solarpunk stories and have been researching how to build sustainable and natural cities. Thanks so much for this video. I'll be checking out Nebula too!
Solar Punk is something I try to utilize at every chance in my very personal writing. An alien sees his people at their peak fall because they don't understand what they've created. He tries to end everything, flinging the planet off its access into space, but the planet is too well constructed, so he's attached to the core and endures eons as it finds a new star to rebuild. When another race finds the planet, the alien passes immortality in an endless cycle of semi-immortal caretakers. Videos like this and DamiLee are fuel for my theoretical architectural soul.
This has a fascinating resemblance to All Our Tomorrows by C. M. Koseman, a fictional history of humanity as a species (where humans themselves are insignificant to the span of time and space captured in the book) which is written from the point of view of our first possible progeny, a galaxy spanning, unrecognisable form of sentient beings. It also uses illustrations to stretch the imaginative and sometimes horrifying forms of life which survive or perish at whims of chance and power at a geologic timescale.
Something I like the idea of building is subterranean and even underwater arcologies. They could be immensely useful, especially in the case of some kind of disaster. Something like having people go to an arcology in response to a hurricane or earthquake. It would put us in a good position for our future as it would help with disaster relief, and they could even be used to enable things like carbon capture and geothermal energy on a massive scale. Building upwards with space elevators would allow us to improve things like in Gundam 00, harvesting solar energy in orbit, then sending it down the elevators for distribution. It would also make things even easier for further improvement by perhaps mining asteroids and having factories up there. Asteroid mining could be done using mobile space stations as bases for that as well as being refineries. I suspect that going out to other planets would result in a massive amount of bio and geoengineering advances. All that could help make things much more sustainable by taking the pressure off our environment along with the above ground for more people in a smaller area of land. I'd love to see stories about such a future.
Near the start I have two thoughts. The first was the Earth in VanDread, which had the end result as its state in the backstory. The other was Ravnica, a ecumenopolis in Magic: the Gathering, which was supposed to have "stewards of the wild," but what do they do when "the wild" is consumed by city? EDIT: Okay, now that I'm further in, the VanDread example isn't as accurate. The Earth there hit the second phase of the Arcology part, then got worse.
Love seeing megastructures like these, they always bring a sense of scale to any story or world. Especially in reference to the history of the world they're in. Have to hope we get them in the real world someday lol.
These haven't been showing up on my subscriptions feed! - I realized today I haven't seen a video from you in months so went to check in and found ten videos I've never seen!!
I’m so glad you made this video. I’ve been making a solar punk book that doesn’t just dabble into cyberpunk. More like a Destiny vibe but much more plants
This is the sort of science fiction that really does it for me. One thing about a Ecumenopolis of total cement and city worldwide, would be the dangers of Waste heat. the Amount of heat people alone put out crammed in at that level would cause serious danger. Add in machinery, cars, trains etc., we would not be able to live due to the waste heart. The Archology would work a lot better; Isaac Arthur has done some great "real world" videos about these subjects from a scientific stance. I think this is a GREAT video, I have no idea why it would be dying! Great work sir! Very interesting!!
Hearing of a long, up and down future for all of humanity makes me feel so, so tired, and worried for individuals. I wish I knew what part is making me think in such an unusual (for me) way. Maybe I just need sleep Thank you for the interesting topic
Anyone remember the game _SimCity 2000_ from the mid-90's? I haven't played it in decades but I distinctly remember Arcologies being end-game structures you could build in the end-game (if by some miracle you could afford them). I think there were four: a basic beginner one, a dystopic cyberpunk one, a more proto-solarpunk one, and one where if you built enough of them they would launch into space. I had no idea they were based on a previous work, but it makes a lot of sense...
Love the use of music that I only know from Isaac Arthur in chapter V - Really confused me for a moment, but... Thank you (: Edit: Oh. Direct shout out, didn't expect that :D
same, even if it was a well maintained space whats it like for those who live in the interior? these inherently are still places sunlight never reaches and if designed to have a net like structure that would allow light in then still you find yourself closed in, you cant go any direction and have light and openness at the same time in a place like this, at some point people just need to stop having so many babies lol, not all at once cuz rapid birthrate decline means not enough people to maintain things and help you when your old it has to be gradual, but we should over generations shrink down to a maintainable population size its really the only way to get as close as it gets to a good quality of life for everyone
I think that depersonalized aspect of Soleri’s work is what really lent itself to the cyberpunk conceptualization of the arcology. There’s very little space between his cybernetic organism and corporate governance. If anything, Arasaka has more room for individual humans(malevolent or otherwise) than the human hive of the arcology.
This is really interesting. As it went along it almost feels like it could be a prequel to BLAME! (if things went wrong), especially with the Arcologies being self-sustaining and self-building which is a lead reason why the world of BLAME! is the way it is.
This analysis is fascinating but needs to come hand in hand with the breakdown of the evolution of future economic and urban planning ideas. The world building of these cities cant be separated from how humanity views ownership and land use and rights. This city will need a system of rent or personal possessions especially when space is such a finite resource. Im really curious to see someone tackle the idea of vertical land ownership or lack thereof and how humanity's view of property changes as popultion grows into an impossible number. How does urban renewal work overtime? How does travel and mixed use play into it? Public spaces? Privacy? Social class (or lack thereof)? Human inetaction physically as opposed to virtually? How much room does the system give for freedom of choice vs exploitations? Honestly there is so much to think about with these worlds and the ideas presented in this video is merely scratching the surface. Thank you for the food for thought!
A story that can properly demonstrate both our ability to mess things up beyond recognition, and our complete refusal to give up would feel amazing, actually. A lot of post-apoc is so one note.
Here's the following types of arcology 1 - Skyscraper archeology. Imagine Burj Khalifa with its own power plant, indoor farm and waste management facilities, it would essentially be an arcology. Sizes for these arcologies could range from no bigger than a typical current high-rise all the way to ultratall buildings that could be tall enough to reach into orbit! 2 - Small arcology. Arcologies need not be gigantic, in fact, a fully self sufficient house could be considered an arcology. These could be home to a few families each, possibly a single family. 3 - Underground arcology. A subterranean arcology could go the bunker/fallout shelter route with no light from above ground, the "earthscraper" route with a central light well/atrium bringing sunlight down several dozen storeys, or a sunlit cave route. This is the type of arcology most likely to be built on Luna/the Moon to protect denizens from radiation and other hazards. 4 - Submarine arcology. A submarine arcology would be underwater, particularly in the ocean. In coastal waters, and lakes, such arcologies would rest on the lake/sea bed. In the open ocean, the structures would be neutrally buoyant at a manageable depth. 5 - Seasteads. It is debatable as to whether seasteads could be considered arcologies given that most designs call for multiple buildings rather than just one, and a decent chunk of the space on the seastead would be outdoors, but they would likely satisfy the self sufficiency criteria. 6 - Spacesteads. A spacestead is a hypothetical rotating space station habitat outfitted to mimic environments on Earth. Well known designs include O'Neill cylinders and Stanford toruses. 7 - Planetary cities and towns. The conditions on planets and moons in our solar system besides Earth will necessitate enclosed arcologies for humans and other complex organisms to live there. These arcologies would provide pressurized environments protected from radiation and micrometeorites and would have air.
this channel always has me crying 😭 i want to see our whole future, i want to see what humans do, i want to see if we make it 💕 i hope people get to live in a lovely, sustainable, and peaceful world. for all of us who hoped.
The saddest part of Cloudpunk is that people born in Nivalis never see the sky. There's this giant elevator that just ends above the clouds and there are A LOT OF people who want to see the sky even knowing they would die. SPOILERS From what I remember the Dispatcher doesn't even know he's AI. He thinks of himself as human.
![On Worldbuilding: Fallen Civilizations! [ Forbidden West | Halo | Doctor Who ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DdH3RqVNUaE/mqdefault.jpg)
![On Worldbuilding: Fallen Civilizations! [ Forbidden West | Halo | Doctor Who ]](/img/tr.png)
This video is currently dying, which sucks because it took a lot of effort to bring together, so it'd mean a lot for everyone to share it, comment, like, help get it out
COOL!
SFIA with Issac Arthur is an underrated channel...
Also fun fact, his parents named him after Issac Asamov and Arthur C. Clark (I don't remember which video specifically he mentions this)
I highly encourage you to research the niche 'Soft apocalypse' trope. Part of it is the essense of "Everything fell, nothing's going to be like it was again, and we're in a new world now. And that's ok". Scary to consider, but strangely calming? When I came across it, I got the same warming feeling that I got from the positive-nihilism from 'Everything, Everywhere, All at Once'. Check the trope out, if you can. (btw I love the video you had on the wandering traveler and the wild robot)
One piece
How can it be dying already?!
19:04 I still can't get over the fact that one of the most widely known and talked about visual representations of solarpunk ideas is a goddamn yoghurt commercial...
yep super ironic barely an inconvenience
I tappped your link and got an ad 😭😭
@@dynamite8959 oh nooo. I'm sorry, I'm on Premium, I didn't know YT would mess up timestamps when the ads are removed!
Solarpunk will never get popular. Big Oil and corporate CEOs will never allow for the general public to see a version of the future where they are not in charged.
@hollowman9410 "cyberpunk will never get popular because..."
Glad to hear a shout-out to Isaac Arthur. His techno-optimism is a much needed voice of hope and inspiration in this day and age.
Thank you for sharing this story. I've gotten tired of humanity being so often portrayed as a parasite when by choice we can be something better. It's not that I don't acknowledge the hard truths about our nature, but sometimes I like a bit more hope instead of constant despair.
It isn't our nature, it's just civilization was built to tap into things like greed, destruction, fear, and our "leaders" across the world keep continuing those trends like they have been for thousands of years.
Yeah well, Capitalism isn't gonna just go away tomorrow
If only for variety’s sake.
Doom is the Marvel Studios of discourse and frankly should be getting the same reception as Phase Five
Gurren lagan
I was really surprised that 2077's Cyberpunk dystopia had good public transit, lots of places where people could gather without paying for the privilege and supportive communities. For all its architecture, crime and big evil corporations, it's a more human friendly than a lot of real world cities.
His point is the lack of soul, something that seems perfect but diminishes meaning.
@@anderporascu5026, yes, I get that. I was observing how surprised I was that 2077 pushes back against that instead of going with the easy trope.
@@nomadzophiel I supposed Cyberpank 2077 future is not in ireversable state like classic dystopias are
I mean it'd be a lot less fun of a open world game if you couldn't traverse it quickly whenever you need to.
@@embasorangiratina36 Yes, but it's also how I've always seen cyberpunk described. Sure, it's far from perfect and the good things aren't the focus, but it has a lot of really good things going for it
The phrase “a beautiful apocalypse” is so…refreshing
A less optimistic term for this idea is "bubblegum dystopia".
Id recommend Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou if thats the kind of thing you want
Because “beautiful disaster” by 311 was already taken
I would posit that there are only two groups of people that would see "beauty" in the apocalypse. Those (like us) that look forward and imagine potential futures and marvel at how "a Phoenix rose from the ashes" to create something new, and historians that look back upon events who are blessed with the gift of hindsight and can see literally how the metaphorical forest had to be burned to prevent a greater forest fire.
People that live through the apocalypse, likely do not see beauty, all they see, all they have experienced is destruction and death!
@@schemage2210 , exactly. Nobody was thrilled to watch half their village die from the Black Plague in the 14th century, knowing that the depopulation of Europe would lead to social, political, and economic changes that helped trigger the Renaissance in the 15th century.
While this is primarily thought of as sci-fi - this can be inspiration for medieval stasis in fantasy. The giant cities, abandoned, become sources of blight, wealth, adventure. The giant cities living, become points of light where their inhabitants have turned inward and focused on the arts and entertainment, their needs met.
Isaac Arthur and Jacob Geller shoutouts at the end! Love those madlads!
Tim and Geller combination goes insane. Some of my two fav TH-camrs
Putting down a comment for the algorithm as I'm currently nursing a terrible migraine and unable to watch the video in full. Your videos are so well-made and have always brought me joy- and helped inspire and direct me in my journey of writing.
At the moment, Solarpunk is mostly an art movement with a few novel examples and one cinematic example of what it is. Cyberpunk is basically the picture of our current world but so many act like we've come to the end of the road as they did during the first world war.
Double- to triple-bottom-line policies and more collaborative leadership styles, like Participative management, exist, so cyberpunk can be avoided.
@@mjcsandboxgames4021 And yet we're approaching it. Giant mega corporations with incomes larger than the GDP of some countries, own and control so many aspects of our lives. Politics is a pale imitation of democracy, with donors deciding who gets elected.
The only thing we lack is the sick cyberwear
@@mjcsandboxgames4021 perhaps in due time, but till then, the more likely option is a cyberpunk world
False, Solarpunk is a also a political ideology.
@@jascrandom9855 what are you saying is false?
Nothing is more haunting than the remnants of a long lost civilization
"It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism"
Loved the video
I mean. Capitalism = the right of individuals to own capital. You can surely see why every attempt to end this has led to some kind of horror. Factories, farms, land, anything that can produce anything. An individual is not allowed to own any of those things if you end capitalism. Socialism, as one example of an attempt to replace capitalism, attempts to do this by having all capital be owned by the state. Which obviously makes the state incredibly powerful compared to the individual (helping lead to massive corruption and oppression) and also results in severe inefficiencies because it requires the state to micromanage the economy.
Fascism tries to do this by unionising all industry and absorbing the unions into the govenrent. As a result there is genuine competition (and many of the negative aspects of capitalism left intact), combined with a very powerful totalitarian state that can control and interfere with any industry or aspect of your life at will...
Ultimately all attempts have been worse and either collapsed or transitioend back to some form of capitalism
Because capitalism is an abstract concept not a tangible superpower as portrayed by the ignorant
@@pattonramming1988 A very innocuous concept I would add as well. Literally just meaning an individual is allowed to own capital.. I've noticed the ignorant also conflate "capitalism" with negative systems or circumstances that can appear within capitalism, such as corporatism, consumerism or monopolies.
@anonperson3972 finally someone gets it
@@pattonramming1988 You too give me hope in a sea of crazies 🤣
Architects make the best distopian sci-fi settings, Tsutomu Nihei, creator of BLAME!!!!! was also an achitect before deciding to do manga.
I live in Arizona and that structure looks so cool! Would love to see a community establishment like this!
Arcosanti, the real world prototype arcology from the 70s, is about an hour outside of Phoenix if I remember right.
Framing 'The City in the Image of Man' as a work of fiction is an excellent way to present it for a video. That being said, it is very much a work of non-fiction. It's all about how and why Arcologies are the future of urbanism. At the end of the book, there's one more design that wasn't mentioned in this video, an Arcology called Arcosanti. It is a real place. I know this because I have been there.
Arcosanti may not have been directly mentioned, but a picture of it is shown at 25:48
That's so weird to me, that people are scared of a city sprawl when suburban sprawl is already doing this and is much more vicious.
While I agree that suburban sprawl is worse, I am not surprised. Most suburbs don't overwhelm you while you are just standing and looking around, you understand the horror by driving through block after identical block, or by looking on a map. The visual is more naturally fitting for dark urban fantasy than to end of the world dystopia.
@@zivronen9539 That's true, most suburbs dont have the smog and noise and looming shadows of buildings. Instead they have physical and psychological isolation, they are money black holes which are expensive to maintain, and they crush community spirit and make it near impossible to live without a car.
I guess it’s less imposing
@@zivronen9539tbh that’s just horribly dull city planning being horribly dull city planning. When alot of your buildings are colorless masses protruding from the Earth it’s practically a “give me”.
Everything being identical though is something you see in horror alot though.
People were nice and friendly in my suburban neighborhood, people were mean and hostile in the nearby city.@@4dragons632
I'm quite late to the show... I know it doesn't favor the algorithm but it's important for me to not consume your videos but rather wait a little to get a moment where I can be free and focused. I'm amazed and never disappointed. I hope this one will get more visibility!
I appreciated the foreshadowing @16:20 with the shift in background music to Isaac Arthur’s theme.
I just finished "Trickle Down Lobotomies" from your collection and it was incredible. You seriously have a gift for writing about thought-provoking ideas and creating amazing imagery with your words. I wish this video was doing better but I just wanted to share my appreciation for your work on TH-cam and off.
Is the difference between Solar Punk and Cyber Punk really techology enslaving vs liberating?
To me that feels like one of the outcomes of the real difference between the two: power structure.
You don't hear about corporations in Solar Punk. Governments act upon the interest of the people and the sustainability of the environment because they lack pressure from entities whose existence is perpetuated by greed.
It's power being used by the rich and powerful for the rich and powerful that leads to Cyber Punk. And it's what we see most in fiction because it is also what we see most often in the real world.
I always thought of it as technology subordinate or subordinating. In cyberpunk, the individual is subordinate to their technology and the technology of others. Solarpunk is more about individuals using their harmonise with their environment.
@@ts25679 yeah, but the power structure is implicit in the relationship between human and technology. No human would willingly use tech against their own interests unless there is a direct and indirect (systemic) pressure by those in power to do so. And in capitalism "those in power" are the ones with the money.
Government by its very nature exists to serve the elite first and foremost. A state exists to monopolize labour and resource for the benefit of a ruling class
What that ruling class is doesn't matter
It could be the Merchants
It could be the army,
It could be the priesthood
It could be the inbred nobles
Government exists to serve them first and foremost, everything from the law to the economic systems exist to serve their interests
Everything else is just a necessary concession to keep the dominated population in line
No government can ever fully endorse the prosperity and autonomy of it's population without sacrificing a lot of it's power, making it less capable of serving the interest of the elite
@@johannageisel5390and in communism the state crushes its people with authoritarianism.
It’s not capitalism. It’s corporatism
@daxlucero2437 No.
In the original idea of communism, the state was supposed to "wither away". Communism, by definition, is a stateless and classless society.
In the two large attempts at communism, the Soviet Union and China, this did not work out, and we have to learn from that that the state does not wither away - it has to be actively abolished.
There is anarcho-communism, which aims to do exactly that. If you're interested in how it works, visit the channel NonCompete. They have an entire video playlist on the topic.
Great video! Gives me a lot of ideas for writing and worldbuilding my sci-fi novella.
When you started describing the Arcologies (I think I've heard the term before) as monolithic city megastructures, what first came to my mind was that they would be the sort of place where one would require adequate privileges to travel between levels or out of one's home sector. Living inside a mountain-sized cinderblock with a half-million other humans is not something I would ever consider an ideal circumstance.
It's fascinating, 'cause to me it's the opposite. Those monolithic walls are the supports to a vibrant community, one with much opportunity and economic flexibility as there are people in said community. Living inside a mountain-sized community with half a million other humans, who's interests all are physically represented by the unified structure they inhabit together, is something I find comforting, and safe.
It's something I find interesting, and possibly useful as a long-term idea for space exploration and a potential interstellar human diaspora. But it seems like it's based on the idea that somehow people can make a termite mound that's better to live in than a traditional city, and I'm not sure that's really possible.
@@mattrobson3603Literally warhammer
Same, I would rather be a vagrant in the rotting cities than another termite in a hill of steel. For any arcology to work it would have to be totalitarian and incredibly limiting.
I loved this video, while i don't know much about science fiction but i really enjoy your videos about stories.
[comment for the algorithm!]
This feels like a blend of Dami Lee and HFM and I'm so here for it
Completely agree!
Tim - This was great! I hope this video doesn't die and that you do more of this.
I was thinking of the culture throughout the video but yeah, you said it
The videos keep getting better and better. this is really cool subject!
I'd like to point out Astromo is tiny compared to the standard O'Neil cylinder, which is 8km in radius and 32km in length.
Do note that the length measurement is arbitrary as the structural integrity of a rotating habitat is based solely on it's radius, specifically, it's integrity is equivalent to a suspension bridge with a length equal to the habitat's circumference under the equivalent gravity the habitat generates.
This means you could extend a cylinder as long as you want, perhaps looping it back round and linking the ends (even the hardest materials are quite flexible at interplanetary scales), this being classified as a distinct megastructure called a topopolis. Keep in mind the original O'Neil cylinder was designed to be made out of steel, with new, stronger materials like graphene allowing radiuses as large as 1000km (typically referred to as a McKendree cylinder).
It's not the length that matters, it's the girth.
Spacesteads like O'Neill cylinders and Stanford toruses make an interesting arcology option, and a good alternative (or supplement) to setting up shop on planets and moons. The only major disadvantage of ONeill cylinders have that planetary surface settlements would not is a "sky", in O'Neill cylinders, people would essentially see their neighbors backyards and roofs when looking up.
@@Libertaro-i2u like at the end of Interstellar. I'd like to think in that universe it's only the beginning of what humanity can achieve.
This is a wonderful wonderful video man.
I love seeing Paolo Solieri's stuff getting a spotlight.
It is something of a tragedy that he died before Arcosanti, a prototype arcology, a town rather than a city, could be completed.
Given your fascination with the far flung future sci-fi ideas, I wonder, have you ever read the Imperial Radch trilogy? Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy.
It takes place in a very deep future society, largely within a space empire that's very Roman in overall design. It's definitely not as high-concept as a lot of what you tend to showcase - it's a first person perspective (though the perspectives shown are quite unlike what you would expect from any normal human for reasons that will become obvious), but it's a good story and has a really enjoyable examination of the culture of the Radch (as well as shorter but fascinating glimpses of a number of other human cultures (some of which require broader definitions of human than the Radchaii or most people today might consider correct.)
I am so glad you called out Isaac Arthur. I saw these ideas in his videos first, and I love his work.
Great video! I love solarpunk stories with a hopeful view on the future
I was first introduced to arcologies in Paolo Bacigalupi's The Water Knife - very grim but do recommend.
I loved the trilogy by William Gibson (“Neuromancer”, “Biochips” and “Mona Lisa Overdrive”), with its “BAMA” (Boston Atlanta Metropol Axis aka “The Sprawl”), its Archologies aka “The Projects”, and its geodetic city domes, and everything else. One of the few things he underestimated was the ever increasing file sizes of any data.
The art that moves me most makes me want to make art. This video makes me want to make art.
An amazing video as always! Hope to see more like it
Thank you for introducing 'Arcology: The City In The Image Of Man' to me. The longer I've listened to you, the more I wanted to read it.
This video was absolute fire! It hit so many points I already felt deeply and articulated other concepts I've never had a good grasp on very clearly. Love this.
This hit a spiritual cord with me. Humans need beauty.
5:21 separating out areas according to intended use is still Midcentury thinking. It's the approach to planning that gave us suburban sprawl in the first place. If an archology is meant to be in any way livable, its different districts need to be minced up and tossed together.
Exactly!
This is amazing and I can’t wait to flesh this out more you’re the best!
i love your analysis, actually love all of your videos
your voice is very soothing too if no one told you that yet
currently using your videos as either very interesting backdrop or actual reference for my writing
This is really inspirational in its own right and for something I’m working on. It reminds me of another project that came to my attention BLAME! by Tsutomu Nihei. Contemplating the future in all its realities is most fun a person like me can have. Thanks for sharing 😊
I'm super interested in these arcologies and will be checking out all the links. I'm working on solarpunk stories and have been researching how to build sustainable and natural cities. Thanks so much for this video. I'll be checking out Nebula too!
This video put the way I think about the movie Megalopolis in a new light.
Solar Punk is something I try to utilize at every chance in my very personal writing.
An alien sees his people at their peak fall because they don't understand what they've created. He tries to end everything, flinging the planet off its access into space, but the planet is too well constructed, so he's attached to the core and endures eons as it finds a new star to rebuild. When another race finds the planet, the alien passes immortality in an endless cycle of semi-immortal caretakers.
Videos like this and DamiLee are fuel for my theoretical architectural soul.
16:45 the music hits and I get confused; "wait...Isaac Arthur? No...wrong channel"
This has a fascinating resemblance to All Our Tomorrows by C. M. Koseman, a fictional history of humanity as a species (where humans themselves are insignificant to the span of time and space captured in the book) which is written from the point of view of our first possible progeny, a galaxy spanning, unrecognisable form of sentient beings. It also uses illustrations to stretch the imaginative and sometimes horrifying forms of life which survive or perish at whims of chance and power at a geologic timescale.
Something I like the idea of building is subterranean and even underwater arcologies. They could be immensely useful, especially in the case of some kind of disaster. Something like having people go to an arcology in response to a hurricane or earthquake. It would put us in a good position for our future as it would help with disaster relief, and they could even be used to enable things like carbon capture and geothermal energy on a massive scale. Building upwards with space elevators would allow us to improve things like in Gundam 00, harvesting solar energy in orbit, then sending it down the elevators for distribution. It would also make things even easier for further improvement by perhaps mining asteroids and having factories up there. Asteroid mining could be done using mobile space stations as bases for that as well as being refineries. I suspect that going out to other planets would result in a massive amount of bio and geoengineering advances. All that could help make things much more sustainable by taking the pressure off our environment along with the above ground for more people in a smaller area of land. I'd love to see stories about such a future.
That synth intermixed, is Dead Kool
Near the start I have two thoughts. The first was the Earth in VanDread, which had the end result as its state in the backstory. The other was Ravnica, a ecumenopolis in Magic: the Gathering, which was supposed to have "stewards of the wild," but what do they do when "the wild" is consumed by city?
EDIT: Okay, now that I'm further in, the VanDread example isn't as accurate. The Earth there hit the second phase of the Arcology part, then got worse.
Close enough, welcome back Coruscant
Love seeing megastructures like these, they always bring a sense of scale to any story or world. Especially in reference to the history of the world they're in. Have to hope we get them in the real world someday lol.
Wonderful work
Thank you so much for telling me about solarpunk
I didn't know it had a name for that vibe
Thank you for making this video! The arcology structures look awesome. Would be really interesting to live in such a place
I'm commenting to do my part, solarpunk is a really interesting aesthetic
absolutely love this video, great work ❤
Amazing! I'm screenwriting in the genre of Eco-Fi (Ecological Scifi), adjacent to solar punk. You've inspired more ideas for me!
These haven't been showing up on my subscriptions feed! - I realized today I haven't seen a video from you in months so went to check in and found ten videos I've never seen!!
Robert Silverberg's SF novel _The World Inside_ provides a fascinating portrayal of life in an arcology.
I think the first megastructure we have started is “The Line”
The design of the cities is really amazing, this doesn't look like a city anymore, it is like a cell or bacteria
Annoyed the algorithm isn't spreading this around so guess we'll have to do it ourselves
This is an amazing video, I deeply apriciate your work
I’m so glad you made this video. I’ve been making a solar punk book that doesn’t just dabble into cyberpunk. More like a Destiny vibe but much more plants
Beautifully done!
My first introduction to arcologies was sim city 2000
Same here! It opened my mind as a kid
This is the sort of science fiction that really does it for me. One thing about a Ecumenopolis of total cement and city worldwide, would be the dangers of Waste heat. the Amount of heat people alone put out crammed in at that level would cause serious danger. Add in machinery, cars, trains etc., we would not be able to live due to the waste heart. The Archology would work a lot better; Isaac Arthur has done some great "real world" videos about these subjects from a scientific stance. I think this is a GREAT video, I have no idea why it would be dying! Great work sir! Very interesting!!
Comment for the algorithm god. Loved the video as always Tim
Hearing of a long, up and down future for all of humanity makes me feel so, so tired, and worried for individuals. I wish I knew what part is making me think in such an unusual (for me) way. Maybe I just need sleep
Thank you for the interesting topic
If this isn't a movie, it should be
Bro you haven't even watched the whole thing yet 😂
I hope your stick collection will be displayed and publicly accesible in our future arcology.
Anyone remember the game _SimCity 2000_ from the mid-90's? I haven't played it in decades but I distinctly remember Arcologies being end-game structures you could build in the end-game (if by some miracle you could afford them). I think there were four: a basic beginner one, a dystopic cyberpunk one, a more proto-solarpunk one, and one where if you built enough of them they would launch into space. I had no idea they were based on a previous work, but it makes a lot of sense...
the arcetecture of these buildings reminds me of the designs for the Gorma Tribes base the Gorma Palace from the sentai Dairanger
Awesome video.
This is wonderful
This is a great video, I would love to see more Solarpunk video because I think we all need a bit of optimism in our lives!
I never comment on videos, but its such a shame that this isn't getting the views it should. Great video Tim!
This reminded me of the world building in Juno Steel in the Penumbra Podcast.
For you to put your subs onto other great creators on purpose is very important. Thanks a lot
Love the use of music that I only know from Isaac Arthur in chapter V - Really confused me for a moment, but... Thank you (:
Edit: Oh. Direct shout out, didn't expect that :D
I love solarpunk, if anyone wants a great other solarpunk book to read, A Psalm For The Wild Built is amazing
These arcologies make me think of Kowloon. And in that context, they're kind of terrifying.
9:40 - oh look, you see it too.
same, even if it was a well maintained space whats it like for those who live in the interior? these inherently are still places sunlight never reaches and if designed to have a net like structure that would allow light in then still you find yourself closed in, you cant go any direction and have light and openness at the same time in a place like this, at some point people just need to stop having so many babies lol, not all at once cuz rapid birthrate decline means not enough people to maintain things and help you when your old it has to be gradual, but we should over generations shrink down to a maintainable population size its really the only way to get as close as it gets to a good quality of life for everyone
I think that depersonalized aspect of Soleri’s work is what really lent itself to the cyberpunk conceptualization of the arcology. There’s very little space between his cybernetic organism and corporate governance. If anything, Arasaka has more room for individual humans(malevolent or otherwise) than the human hive of the arcology.
This is really interesting. As it went along it almost feels like it could be a prequel to BLAME! (if things went wrong), especially with the Arcologies being self-sustaining and self-building which is a lead reason why the world of BLAME! is the way it is.
simply awesome, Lancer TTRPG brought me here
This analysis is fascinating but needs to come hand in hand with the breakdown of the evolution of future economic and urban planning ideas. The world building of these cities cant be separated from how humanity views ownership and land use and rights. This city will need a system of rent or personal possessions especially when space is such a finite resource. Im really curious to see someone tackle the idea of vertical land ownership or lack thereof and how humanity's view of property changes as popultion grows into an impossible number. How does urban renewal work overtime? How does travel and mixed use play into it? Public spaces? Privacy? Social class (or lack thereof)? Human inetaction physically as opposed to virtually? How much room does the system give for freedom of choice vs exploitations? Honestly there is so much to think about with these worlds and the ideas presented in this video is merely scratching the surface. Thank you for the food for thought!
Reminds me a bit of the books “Metatropolis”. Really good speculative fiction.
A story that can properly demonstrate both our ability to mess things up beyond recognition, and our complete refusal to give up would feel amazing, actually. A lot of post-apoc is so one note.
sick video hope it gets picked up by the algorithm better
Here's the following types of arcology
1 - Skyscraper archeology. Imagine Burj Khalifa with its own power plant, indoor farm and waste management facilities, it would essentially be an arcology. Sizes for these arcologies could range from no bigger than a typical current high-rise all the way to ultratall buildings that could be tall enough to reach into orbit!
2 - Small arcology. Arcologies need not be gigantic, in fact, a fully self sufficient house could be considered an arcology. These could be home to a few families each, possibly a single family.
3 - Underground arcology. A subterranean arcology could go the bunker/fallout shelter route with no light from above ground, the "earthscraper" route with a central light well/atrium bringing sunlight down several dozen storeys, or a sunlit cave route. This is the type of arcology most likely to be built on Luna/the Moon to protect denizens from radiation and other hazards.
4 - Submarine arcology. A submarine arcology would be underwater, particularly in the ocean. In coastal waters, and lakes, such arcologies would rest on the lake/sea bed. In the open ocean, the structures would be neutrally buoyant at a manageable depth.
5 - Seasteads. It is debatable as to whether seasteads could be considered arcologies given that most designs call for multiple buildings rather than just one, and a decent chunk of the space on the seastead would be outdoors, but they would likely satisfy the self sufficiency criteria.
6 - Spacesteads. A spacestead is a hypothetical rotating space station habitat outfitted to mimic environments on Earth. Well known designs include O'Neill cylinders and Stanford toruses.
7 - Planetary cities and towns. The conditions on planets and moons in our solar system besides Earth will necessitate enclosed arcologies for humans and other complex organisms to live there. These arcologies would provide pressurized environments protected from radiation and micrometeorites and would have air.
I swear this never appeared in my feed, odd that it took 2 weeks for me to see it!
this was a fantastic video, very inspiring and informative!
Can you recommend a Steam game that is basically a "walking simulator" that lets you explore mega-structures or arcologies.
NaissanceE (free) or Lorn's Lure (demo / $15) might be up your alley. Let me know if you find anything else.
not quite a video game but lots of interesting environments people uploaded on VRchat to wander around and explore
Rain world kinda counts for the exploring a msga structre vibe. Although the gameplay is more survival platformer than strict walking sim.
this channel always has me crying 😭
i want to see our whole future, i want to see what humans do, i want to see if we make it 💕
i hope people get to live in a lovely, sustainable, and peaceful world. for all of us who hoped.
this tickles my imagination in all the right ways. thanks!
Oh! Solarpunk! Some of my favorite apocalypse fic is solarpunk. I love a hopeful dream of our future.
The saddest part of Cloudpunk is that people born in Nivalis never see the sky. There's this giant elevator that just ends above the clouds and there are A LOT OF people who want to see the sky even knowing they would die.
SPOILERS
From what I remember the Dispatcher doesn't even know he's AI. He thinks of himself as human.
Its a great video! amazing concept