The Arcology Explained - Humanity's Future Home?

Today I take a look at the idea of the Arcology, a massive theoretical megastructure which could someday serve as the homes for millions of humans
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[@beavismount]

O'Neill cylinders are basically arcologies in space. They may have multiple cities or villages within, but they are single structures that each provide for all of their inhabitant's needs. The total control over gravity, day length, seasons, and atmosphere that free-space settlements enjoy suggests that space is the best place for an arcology.

[@zakhaevshub4735]

O'Neill Cylinders....when I heard that word Mobile Suit Gundam suddenly appeared, well probably it's one of the anime that use classic sci fi concept.

[@xXx_Regulus_xXx]

SFIA is a great channel for megastructures if any of you aren't subbed already

[@kiltedbroshar4187]

My favorite arcology in science fiction is an O'Neil cylinder. From episodes 21 &22 of season 4 of Andromeda. They called it Arkology. Lol

[@26th_Primarch]

@@zakhaevshub4735 Oh yeah, same here dude.

[@beavismount]

@@kiltedbroshar4187 Damn, been some time since I've watched that show. Gonna have to check those out, thanks for the tip!

[@demonicaxeman7264]

I remember back in the 1990's when playing Sim City 2000 and the arcologies became available when your city had hit a certain population. There would be that futuristic/alien sound when the 4 arcologies to choose from and the "YAAAAY!" chant every time one was built. It felt like a real accomplishment when your city got them. Good memories.

[@TomPVideo]

Another real-world example that hits a few points would be the Kowloon Walled City. It wasn't self sufficient but within the walls you had homes, schools, factories, and a ton of everything. Enough that many people could live in there and never leave.

[@sneedmando186]

It was like an irl 80’s Courascant

[@thedoruk6324]

+TomPVideo although that example is extremely horrendeously claustrophobic

[@funnelingspace9268]

The walled city was possibly the worst city in China at the time, maybe even the entire world. The crime and living conditions were horrendous. There's a reason why it was destroyed after sometime

[@thedoruk6324]

@@funnelingspace9268 exactly I always read about there was no control neither law in the city and it was ruled by the triads

[@fredflintlocks9445]

@@sneedmando186 look at nyc or Hong Kong for an irl corascant on a "small" scale

[@owenparris7490]

Arcologies and megastructures are very fascinating to me. Just the idea that we might be able to build things like that given the proper time, resources, and technology is so awesome!

[@Ech0Chamber]

Futures beyond our lives will see these structures manifest into reality. Just thinking that'll happen means a great deal to me.

[@owenparris7490]

@@Ech0Chamber Same. It's still a shame we likely won't be around to see it happen, but like you said, we can take comfort in the fact that our descendants could.

[@Ech0Chamber]

@@owenparris7490 Sci-fi's given us many glimpses of that, and it'll continue to until it's no longer fiction. Though we won't take that possibility for granted. It'll be the norm for them, but we can still imagine it with passion.

[@brandenferland3575]

It's really not

[@Ola4family]

Well not in this time not with these piss poor resources and not with this technology. The land size required would be massive. This would only work for people who love to live in the cities.

[@Sin526]

Sim City taught me at a young age that the "Arcology" or self-contained-city-ship as I always thought of it, was the pinnacle of civilized architecture. I say "ship" because to me, the ideal arcology is so self sufficient and "detached" from the outside environment that it would be the logical starting point for learning how to build truly self sufficient outposts and vessels intended to exist and operate outside of the Earth's biosphere.

[@kelaarin]

That, and if you built enough of them, they all took off. "The Exodus has begun."

[@beavismount]

Sim City taught me that arcologies are the epicenter of all crime.

[@malithan]

As someone that actually lives and works at Arcosanti it's great to see you including the history of arcologies and their origins. A lot of other videos I've seen really just skip over Paolo Soleri's contributions to it and focus solely on the sci-fi versions of arcologies. One thing that I find really common when people talk about arcologies is that they are self-contained and self-sufficient. While they certainly are meant to be self-contained, housing all the living spaces, shopping, commercial, workspaces and other facilities to maintain people's lives and lively-hoods, they aren't necessarily self-sufficient. Even back when Paolo Soleri started designing a lot of his arcologies they all had connections to the world and communities outside the acrology, not just for travel and recreation but for trade. In Paolo Soleri's book on the Lean Linear City he has the lofty idea of a series of arcologies that span the world all connected by travel corridors that allowed people and goods to move between the arcology hubs. Different arcologies on the Lean Linear City would have different focuses in resources gathering and manufacturing that they would then trade with other cities ensuring that all cities were actually dependent on other cities. As for Arcosanti itself, yeah it's been really slow progress over the decades however what has been built is a small fraction of what Paolo Soleri had envisioned for the arcology on the mesa. While the drawings and designs changed over the years the lofty goal of the project was to have a city of 5000 people on just 15 acres of land, a stark contrast to most modern towns that need roughly 1 acre per person once you take into account streets and parking lots that abound in the modern town/city. A decent example of one of the models that Soleri built for Arcosanti can be seen here: images.adsttc.com/media/images/55f8/1691/9644/1e13/ec00/00d5/large_jpg/image-29-2.jpg?1442322058 The dark grey parts of the model represent what currently exists while the rest of the structure around it was sections to be built of the proposed city.

[@asienplum]

Arcosanti means a great deal to me. I'm kind of amazed to find someone out in the internet who doesn't just know what an Arcology really is but who has actually been a part of the project. I'd be curious to know if you still live there. It's truly the most incredible vision for what the future could offer, and the idea of Arcology as a whole. It boggles my mind that Soleri's concepts haven't been massively invested in and used as a standard to create sustainable cities that could contain the multitudes of our burgeoning population.

[@dimeman2]

Destiny 2’s New Pacific Arcologies were extremely interesting to me, both in lore and exploring them as well. They seemed to fit the true spirit of it

[@osvaldobravo1772]

Finally someone mentions the D2 ones. I always found them so fascinating.

[@joshuacalebroman478]

Finally someone who agrees with me! So many people talked about Titan being small and boring, but I LOVED exploring the NPA. Just seeing the ruins of humanity’s Golden Age was so cool. And not to mention, I got legitimately freaked out the first time I saw the giant worm/fish thing during the story quest.

[@vastheeternal4972]

I hope that if we ever get titan back it expands more in to the Arcologies as the area itself with the idea of this interconnected system of labs and parks ect just needs to be explored more. Golden age humanity gets brushed over too much tbh

[@paneledberry314]

@@ravenRedwake tbh i think that was cooler. it made the arcology not feel so empty, and kept some mystery to it. maybe it's just me but i liked the vibe of being outside in the rain on an industrial platform and then having to delve into the small bit of the arcology we could get to. made it way cooler when you go super deep during forsaken and see the leviathan etc too

[@EnigmaticGentleman]

This was really interesting, definitely enjoying a lot of this general futurism content!

[@Cheezmonka]

Excellent video topic dude. I hope the algorithm is kind to this one as I thoroughly enjoy your takes on these types of real-world applicable sci-fi icons.

[@the88thdarcstar]

This ☝️

[@colinrickatson6320]

Arcologies in Sim City 2000 :D

[@JohnCBobcat]

Immediately scrolled to comments for one like this. Not disappointed.

[@guymeyer3309]

So true

[@vic5015]

Probably where most people who have heard of them know them from.

[@guymeyer3309]

@@vic5015 most likly

[@KrisHandsome]

I find it interesting that arcologies (at least conceptually) are often a setting for dystopian media. The blocks in Judge Dredd are arcologies housing 50,000 people which are so self sufficient they develop a form of nationalism and go to war with the next building over. Both Rapture and Columbia in Bioshock can be defined as a form of arcology, and both are dystopias in their own ways. One of the more interesting versions of these to me is the New Pacific Arcology in Destiny. It was built on Titan and is a floating self contained city that ultimately was destroyed in the Collapse and overrun by the Hive. It was a very interesting looking destination for sure, and one of the more interesting locations compared to the usual alien worlds you see there.

[@toomanyaccounts]

Dredd has 90% unemployment hence the populace is bored out of their minds. work even factory keeps one occupied mentally

[@questionable8284]

I think Diaspar from "The City and The Stars" by Arthur C Clarke is my favourite example of an Arcology. I think the biggest thing holding back Archologies is that I think it breeds creative and scientific stagnation. From the prelude of the book: "Diaspar was all that existed, all that they needed, all that they could imagine". Another issue think might arise is the influence the environment has on its inhabitants. If everything around you is utilitarian, would you not feel the same way? Perhaps over time you would feel as much a process of the Arcology as the plumbing around you. That being said I certainly wouldn't call Diaspar a distopia, just from the point of view we have today where we wonder about the universe and the extreme climates and places of Earth Diaspar seems painfully mundane.

[@Themrine2013]

i would say scuicides would most likely increase from such a sterile envirenment

[@killingragethrowback]

I don't think anyone would build an arcology if there wasn't a need for it, and the only reason to pack together in such a small space when there's a great big world out there is for protection or conservation, both of which would imply the world is not ideal. Ergo, the presense of arcologies would imply at least some level of dystopia.

[@SephirothRyu]

Not quite, some instances could be something more. Special projects and such, which end up occurring before reaching that point. And in a setting like Star Wars, you can to a point just keep on expanding to other worlds, leaving a core planet to just become a big city that is supported by outside imports and generates industrial exports or some such. Of course, in Star Wars, the two city worlds we knew much about eventually end up just building ever higher and leaving the ever lower layers to further and further depths of decay. Taris was in comparatively less of such a state when we learned of what went on in its depths (it still had pretty rotten depths overall though), and Correscant's lowest levels are basically no better than the worst areas of Warhammer 40k hive cities.

[@SpottedHares]

Or the actual environment of the planet is just to hostile to be available, think Luna or Mars. Their is a lot of world, but all of it is lacking in everything you need to just fiction on a biological level.

[@Hession0Drasha]

The idea is they would produce their own food internally. People would want to live there because the quality of life/provision of services are superior.

[@alaunaenpunto3690]

@@SephirothRyu You seem to forgetting that Star Wars is fiction.

[@alaunaenpunto3690]

@@SpottedHares Which is why Martian or Lunar colonies would never happen. Why bother when you have an already habitable planet for which you are already biologically optimized.

[@Darkpentagrams]

In 40K the Thousand Sons original homeworld of Prospero had multiple arcologies that would fit the description. The only city of the planet Tizca had multiple hive city sized pyramids built to house entire sections of the Thousand Sons Legion allowing them to do everything separated from the mortals living in the surrounding city, these Arcologies even had agricultural elements to it as Ahzek Ahriman the Legion's Chief Librarian actually grew his own grapes into the one his cult resided as he considered a life once the Great Crusade would be at an end and Space Marines no longer needed.

[@SpiralSine6]

Ah, the Thousand Sons, a reason to remind everyone that Magnus did nothing wrong.

[@tunguskalumberjack9987]

KuroiOtori- Good call, mate. Don’t forget about the Arcologies beneath the surface of Calth, where the civilians and Ultramarines both took shelter from the attack of the Word Bearers- the Ultras counterattacked from there and fought them in the tunnels and refuges to eventually drive them off of the planet. I didn’t even think of Prospero for some reason, but you’re totally right 👍🏻 (I’m glad that I waited until I heard the whole video before posting my comment, because I originally mentioned the Underhives too, but then heard him mention them.)

[@garygcrook]

@@tunguskalumberjack9987 There were also Arcologies built on Caliban after the Imperium. Probably because Caliban was a Death World.

[@sheevpalpatine2128]

There are hive cities on most worlds in 40k

[@dfherr86]

40k is bonkers when it comes to scale though. Plenty of Ecumenoplosis and planets with hives that aren't necromunda. Half the planets in the Imperium have massive sprawling cities, with hives or other mega structure. Though if it was to make any sense with the combatants the field, they would all need to effectively be ghost towns, or those villages built on the ruins of ancient cities. A whole planet with the skyscraper density of Hong-Kong with the population density of Australia. Millions of those planets. Just sayin'.

[@delmogeny]

Nice you mentioned Sim-City 2000 Arcos. Most people don't remember that game. I do a lot of fictional writing, and I have a city like the one in Warhammer, but the inspiration mostly came form Thief Deadly Shadows, with city build on top of city structured much like Honno City in Kill La Kill.

[@Gantros]

I’ve always been enamored with Sky City 1000, another Japanese mega tall building that was actually planned in the early 90s. It would have housed around 40,000 residents, had 100,000 workers, and been 1,000m tall. The thing I always liked about the design was the series of ‘bowls’ where residences and commercial space would be on the edges while green space would be in the base of the bowl. Even better was the way it was designed to connect to future towers to create a ‘hyper city’.

[@murpheyholloran1067]

There's also the New Pacific Archology and it's many identical structures across the surface Titan in Destiny 2. It's hard to say if those archologies were 100% self sufficient, but they have massive forests in the centers of them and gardens all throughout their living spaces.

[@nomercyinc6783]

i dont even want to live within fucking earshot of my neighbors. id never live in a fucking megastructure. id rather perish

[@sosigking6358]

What if I was your neighbor?

[@nomercyinc6783]

@@sosigking6358 especially if you were my neighbor

[@arthurbrandonnielsen]

So, the Tokyo Megacity Pyramid be considered an "arcology". Could classic, turn of the century malls be considered prototype arcologies? Also, I think it's worth pointing out that the biggest flaw with such a structure is the loss of flexibility. The advantage of urban/suburban/rural sprawl is the ability to adapt to the needs of the community, whether it grows, shrinks, or otherwise changes. That ability is lost in a more rigid megastructure.

[@SpiralSine6]

Prototype maybe, but the issue is that an arcology is theoretically self-sufficient. A mall need constant intakes of goods and materials to their businesses for shoppers to have most/all of their needs met.

[@dfherr86]

Sprawl often gets in the way of that change as much as it helps allow for it. Think of all the denser housing that never came to be thanks to R1 Zoning. 100 acres could be one arcology or it could be 50 houses around a golf course. Vertical building isn't necessarily better, but there is much more risk and more reward. We also need to remember that it is far easier to build one staircase than another block of roads, and utilities.

[@kevincrady2831]

"Dead" malls could be repurposed into mini-arcologies, with their vast parking lots converted into growing space or more structure. Seems like a better idea than just bulldozing them to make more suburbs, or letting them rot.

[@dfherr86]

@@kevincrady2831 I've been saying that also. If you take away everything from the pavement upward away you have solid bones for a decent arcology. The massive parking lots can stay. Just start building over them. The "zero" level being the bottom of a two story "parking garage" with a second story as a park. Around them and where the foot print of the mall used to be you can make a mixed use campus. It would feel like a really dense college campus with every generation involved.

[@sprencer]

Dude! This was awesome! How do you make so much content in one day.

[@EckhartsLadder]

For comments like this!

[@sprencer]

@@EckhartsLadder Love it. Also very impressed. So far the "and more" category is a big hit for me :D

[@louismolloy2975]

Loved this video! You should definitely do more of these!

[@pelinalwhitestrake4196]

Loving your work man. Branching out is definitely a good thing for you. Thanks so much too, your videos really help me deal with my anxiety.

[@EckhartsLadder]

Glad to help! I have anxiety as well so I know the feeling!

[@pelinalwhitestrake4196]

@@EckhartsLadder Oh yeah! Late happy father's day bud. Hope you had a good day.

[@willschneider4616]

Dude this was awesome. I really hope you keep making videos like this.

[@kiernanmccleerey]

Amazing video. I really enjoyed it and loved learning about this new topic. Would love to continue to watch videos on other amazing topics like this

[@SgtAckkerson]

Stuff like this is fun to watch! Always enjoy these topics

[@darthguilder1923]

Great video, I love seeing these types of science fiction technologies

[@tunguskalumberjack9987]

Great video, mate- fascinating topic to go into, and I really enjoyed it. Thanks!

[@flynnmckee8442]

This video put a name to something I've wondered about for a while. Thanks mate!

[@NX42]

Very cool to see content like this from you, would certainly be open for more~

[@aridianknight3576]

I think Isaac Arthur describes how to go about building and providing enough realism to the concept in his vid about the topic. Tbh I think Arcologies are necessary for the future of all life on earth as he puts in his vid, “overpopulation is a non issue when you have Arcologies”

[@walkerj.7895]

I absolutely love when you discuss things like these. It reminds me when I was younger and my friends and I would argue about utopias and then try to poke holes in each other’s ideas. Good tirms

[@alexanderboulton2123]

I can't believe you never even once mentioned the most famous arcology to ever be conceived of: the Tower of Babylon. Also I think that there must be some accountability for humanity's need to move from place to place, and to be outside; we are not bug-men who live in pods. There are some things on a metaphysical level that we need that a superstructure can't provide.

[@tryagainbragg2569]

Amazing video love these types of videos that you do keep it up

[@dimensionalchaos8422]

FINALLY someone does a vid. and using photos from Paolo Soleri's book is just icing for me. i live 3 hours from arcosanti and i visit it alot.

[@docj9173]

I have been watching your videos for 3 years now and I learned so much in Star wars and recently Halo lore, and also I enjoyed your battle breakdowns, making me get a Vetter hold on strategic ideas, and I just love this. Better said, I enjoy your vids and we will always support you eck.

[@EpicGnome23]

The “And More” videos are always big hits with me!

[@boskone]

I think the fundamental issue with arcologies is the adverse effect of population density on mental health. There's a clear correlation between the two, with increased population density leading to an increase in mental health issues, though (AFAIK) causation is still debated and probably really is a combination of factors. Villages probably work, regardless of technical density, because they fall under Dunbar's number. It's also possible that you'd have to count people's work areas into the density, so somewhere like a primarily-agricultural village would have a low functional population density because it's the village proper plus various fields and whatnot. The idea of an arcology is of technical interest to me, but the idea of living in one gives me the heebie-jeebies.

[@historicalaccuracy15]

How a city is designed is gonna play a huge part in just how bad (or for some at least, good?) that population density might be, and might also complicate measurements of it too. A mixed use neighborhood in the Netherlands is going to be very different from an American neighborhood with the same population density for example

[@nsfeliz7825]

i lived in poverty in dense cty. i was in a house were 60 people shared 1 bathroom . no joke. long story short. arcology. HELL NO.! high densiy is bad for mental health.

[@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis]

I think similarly. The idea of a (even somewhat) self-sufficient structure is fascinating, but I prefer living in older suburbs and towns over compact high-density housing.

[@funnelingspace9268]

Maybe it's less with the population density growing itself, and more like living in a shithole concrete hell where everyone is either disturbing, an asshole or both, is going to question your life and ruin your psyche

[@ellusiv5121]

I think most people here are also just fascinated with massive structures. Living on one as you said might not be the most ideal thing especially if there was no need to live on it. But that doesn’t stop us to think what if we build one?

[@Subscriber_barely_know_her]

Hey Ek, have you seen any of the large surface stations from Elite: Dangerous? (or any of the space stations lol) I think you'd find those interesting.

[@StPierreVincentS]

The KZbin algorithm will not be kind to your video, EL. This is one of my favourite videos that you've made, and I've been watching your videos for 4+ years. Please make more of these.

[@thesilentscreamer1595]

Speaking of Arcologies, I wonder if the massive Culture ships from The Culture series counted as arcologies since they are essentially self-sustainable living environments for a population of hundreds of millions of people. By the way, It's good to you back, Eck! I hope you have a wonderful week!

[@spacehooliganzack7429]

The GSV's are 100% mobile arcologies. One of the novels said that the vast majority of The Culture's population lived on those ships. They are self-contained, have everything from residential to industrial districts, and house huge numbers of people that are not related to the ship's day-to-day operations.

[@galm222]

I would love to see you tackle other such projects, such as a floating island or a Geofront, or even underwater and floating cities.

[@RovingTroll]

I'm liking your dives into science futurism, I would really love to see your opinions on various megastructures such as the topopolis

[@dubblepunch1530]

Fun and interesting video I would definitely be interested in more of this on your channel

[@TheBlackBrickStudios]

Well, this is spooky. I was just laying out a reading list of arcology discussions and proposals as the first third of my next book will be taking place on a colony world where a new arcology is being constructed. This video is definitely getting added to the bookmark folder for future reference.

[@TheLuckyTim7]

Love this type of content

[@Kevin-pg6uz]

Love this, we need more Soleri/arcology content in the world

[@ErenisRanitos]

you sir have the best outro on YT 😀

[@MortalMostly]

yo, i'd love to hear more about megastructures in both sci-fi and in reality. a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one

[@maxjames8422]

This is interesting. I would like to see more videos like this

[@theprinceelector745]

the "and more" part of the opening is some of my favorites on this channel, really liked the technocracy one as well. Do you think you'll ever do one on the Dyson sphere?

[@nickbovee-gazett6711]

Nice video. I enjoyed the change of pace (but don't get me wrong, I love the SW content) Some suggestions for similar sci-fi concept videos: Matrioshka brains and/or transhuman species like the United Aquatic Nations from Alistair Reynold's "Blue Remembered Earth."

[@SystemZ3RO]

I only knew Arcologies as those super tall buildings that passenger jets kept crashing into in Sim City 2000. I didn't know they were based off a real concept until years later. So to see you cover this obscure bit of architecture made my day.

[@flintan4885]

I love this kind of videos

[@Catsushika]

In Shadowrun, where archologies are common, they are a way to seclude corporate workers from the outside world, and also provide a company with a zone of space in which their extraterritoriality (a zone where the corporation has as much power as a foreign embassy) can provide them with the space to conduct themselves as they see fit. it is a reason why they appear in many distopias

[@182jUlieN44]

I'm not commenting often, maybe once a year but I had to on this video I've been a big fan of your channel for god knows how many years now and I really like your Star Wars content. But I must say, I think I lile this kind of content even more. It's refrehing and unique. Honestly, keep on doing these kind of video, they are great and high quality. Cheers from Quebec City!

[@avery4149]

I like that you shows footage of Hong Kong in relation to the idea of living in a close community, because I am born and raised there, and the one thing I can compliment about a packed city is the conveniences of having access to a lot of things very quickly, if I want some snacks, utilities, or take-aways, unless you live in an apartment building on a mountain, it is 5-15 minutes on foot. However, when it comes to commuting with our neighbors, my experiences is that unless you meet them on your way down an elevator or on your way back home from school/work, you don't have any business with them (you might even have to put a lot of effort into starting and continuing a conversation). It may be our reserved Chinese culture that were burnt in our mind since birth, but I don't think is that accurate anymore and would like to offer another explanation, poor city planning and stressful living standards. First of all, some districts will have really nice amenities...that's concentrated near where the middle-class and higher-class lives, so if you are living in the poorer part of the district, have fun walking through the noise and smokes with your friends before reaching to a park or something. Two, we do have tiny parks that are scattered in every districts in Hong Kong (there are 18 districts), but not a lot of people go there to rest, especially when most of it is right next to stores and roads, so expect either smokes or cockroaches when you are trying to rest. Also, some parks are properly maintained than the others (depends on if you living in an higher or lower class districts). Three, so where do people go to during the weekends? Commercialized districts which will subject you to even more noise, air pollutions, and materialistic distractions. Okay...Then how about just ask them out to a park? Sure, but with studies or works constantly looming over their head, unless they live in the same district as you do (but even then...), you might as well "book" for a weekend where you "all" can hang out at a park, but they might prefer commercial district because it is more "fun". So, do I hate this place and what I wrote here speaks for everyone in Hong Kong? Nope, it is just that our capitalistic culture makes everything less fun, and I came from a sociology background during college, so I tends to be critical toward these things. We have things setup here in Hong Kong, but they achieved less than optimal results that you sometimes wonder: "What's the point?"

[@hadriel1228]

Ah yeah skyscraper fan 🤝

[@MRDLT00]

God living so close to sooo many people in such a small place sounds like an absolute prison. :I

[@keenantrent1574]

I love this this is a creative way to look at life

[@c.j.fedderson5541]

If you ever been to Seoul, South Korea you would be happy to learn this basically exists already underneath the ground there.

[@farshot]

Didn't know you had an interest in architecture, and arcologies to boot. I get a Morphologis vibe from content like this, one of my other favorite channels - more like this please! (Maybe a collaboration on sci-fi architecture?)

[@tennozeorymer]

Great video! "Farewell Horizontal" by KW Jeter and "Appleseed" by Masamune Shirow are two good examples of Arcology life.

[@coolchulainn7417]

I believe that when you start talking about self sustaining space structures you more or less start getting into the realm of Dyson spheres. I wouldn’t call them either, more of a similarity, like a habitat. Which brings to mind, I would mind if you started getting into Legend of the Galactic Heroes and some of the technology and lore there.

[@cthulhufhtagn7520]

Definitely not even similar

[@GlamorousTitanic21]

When I hear the definition of arcology, I can’t help but think of the film Logan’s Run. Everything anyone could want under a series of massive sealed domes. The only problem is having to die at 30, supposedly to be “reincarnated” again.

[@linkspokemon4114]

The pentagon is a type of Semi-Arcology the building is so big that it's considered a small city with stores, restaurants and even a mayor!

[@itstartedinmud]

Anyone interested in megastructures should check out the Science and Futurism channel. Well done Eck, are you building up to doing a video on Corsucant? I think the first time I heard of the idea was from shadowrun. When something that efficient and interdependent fails, it's gonna fall hard. They are designed for a world where nothing ever goes wrong, aka a fantasy.

[@Shimazusama]

One of my favorite places in Destiny 2 was the Titan Arcology. You only got to explore a tiny fraction but it seemed so cool.

[@tomaslamp]

Fr kinda surprised you're the only other person who thought this

[@shayt321]

As humanity becomes more technologically advance would larger self-sufficient space stations be considered an arcology?

[@itstartedinmud]

Look up ONeil cylinders, see if that is something like what you are thinking of.

[@theasianandthejew]

Great stuff

[@Parocha]

That building in Whittier, Alaska, reminds me of a housing complex in Caracas, Venezuela, called Parque Central (Central Park Residential Complex), consisting of several 20+ story buildings, all sharing the same base. There are parking lots on the basement. At ground level, grocery stores, a supermarket and utilities offices. Everything from the second story upward was residential. At the top floor, walkways connect each building. I believe it even had its own emergency powerplant, in an adjacent structure. It's an amazing building, built in the late 50s or early 60s, I think. Too bad it has been quite run-down for the last 30 years..

[@jake2011rt]

The negative view of arcologies in Sci-Fi is largely due to the fact that our current experience is that population density = crime, urban decay, poverty, and so on. Even in eras when cities were thought of as the home of luxury, the more densely populated areas were typically the poorest. Just consider the fact that people commonly refer to poorer, more dangerous parts of cities “the inner city,” hinting at the truth that these areas are where people are really packed in. A hyper-dense arcology triggers that impulse of judgment, namely that a high concentration of people invariably opens the door to degrading standards of living.

[@anilin6353]

From rat studies we have seen there high population density also increases aggression

[@micwclar]

Read Oath of Fealty by Larry Niven. Gives a different take on arcologies and living in one.

[@Fuckingboredrn]

the stigma isn't ungrounded tbf. ofc that doesn't mean it has to be that way forever but it's been the trend for sure.

[@jake2011rt]

@@Fuckingboredrn Even the super utopia Earth of Star Trek has people spread out with a more typically modern understanding of the space required for healthy living. The vision of arcologies suffers from an overly optimistic view of humanity and it’s ability to associate in large groups without trouble ensuing. The Trek example illustrates that even Roddenberry’s view of humanity’s ills being primarily caused by want (of necessities, goods, services, and luxuries) understood that one of those necessities was enough space to feel like your home is truly yours.

[@jake2011rt]

@@anilin6353 I suspect that the psychology of it is that extreme population density creates the illusion of fierce competition for resources or even shortage, even when none exists. This would lead to aggression as the rats would see others as competitors regardless of if there are sufficient resources for everyone. I’m not sure how this would carry over to human beings though. Rat studies don’t really tell us much about ourselves, being that we are not rats and have conscious faculties for reason and such. People can understand that there actually is no shortage and overcome the illusion of competition, whereas rats cannot reason that out. The wrench in the works here is that humans also have the conscious capacity to doubt the veracity of the report that there is no shortage, which may result in varying levels of aggression in a similar situation.

[@trentonwoodcox7586]

10/10 vid, very neat

[@jarcher7768]

I think the actual closest example to Arcologies would be Japanese cities, such as Tokyo or Yokohama. They are obviously not single structures nor do they provide self sufficiency as they rely on the ocean and Japanese farms to survive. But after living there for 4 years they certainly are Utopian in every other category. Another close one would be US Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carriers. They provide everything you’d need to survive, freedom of movement, etc. but they do rely on outside food being air lifted for long deployments. A big problem with that though is mental health. Many feel confined and depressed living in the same closed space day and day out. With a lot of people I’m sure they wouldn’t mind that, and with an Arcology people would be able to leave. But it does open up the idea of negatives to this concept.

[@WhiteScarsEmo]

I was playing Shadowrun RPG and there was quite a few adventures taking place in arcologies.

[@lukekeeler1343]

Nice one 👍

[@RocketCouch]

Something of interest might be the city of Calgary's Plus 15 system, basically it's a system of pedways linking the 2nd floors of most of the buildings downtown, so in a sense they become a single connected structure

[@jorgemariosanchezrodriguez7527]

Dude ! You forgot about the cylinder colonies from Gundam ! Probably the most grounded models. Good video anyway ;)

[@johnrobinson4445]

I bought a copy of his book in the 1970's at Controversial Bookstore in San Diego. It fascinated me.

[@dim391]

On the topic of the Halo installation, you should talk about orbital structures that could potentially orbit Earth and be an alternative living space for people. And talk about orbital structures like the Halo ring or the structure in the film ‘Elysium.’

[@zenny1329]

The New Pacific Arcology from Destiny 2 is a good modern interpretation of the idea in current pop culture. It was cool to fight through the tight urban spaces at the beginning of the campaign and then to end on the sprawling, country side’esq interior.

[@Traven158]

Actually, the best example of an Arcology in Warhammer 40k is the Eldar Craftworld. A self-contained, self-sufficient city ship capable of providing for almost every need for their population. Wraithbone tech also allowing for new construction of structures, weapons, armor, and even Starships for defense. The only resource it doesn't provide are the Soul Stones to protect the Eldar souls from she-who-thirsts; those have to be gathered from specific worlds.

[@mitchellrounds4266]

Everyone living in such a densely packed space would make it extremely easy for state surveillance. I think that 9 times out of 10, an arcology would end in dystopian despotism for that reason

[@Gabriel87100]

Edifício Copan in São Paulo is pretty interesting when it comes to the idea of a mini-city in a single building. Originally it had some even more ambitious features, but as with a lot of things in Brazil, cool things tend to be neglected.

[@sir_chris]

Interesting topic. I think that's where we are going. The topic does remind me of the former Kowloon Walled City.

[@maximosmausten7668]

A lot of the buildings you referenced and talked about are also discussed in solar sandses video about monumentality, you should watch it, it's a great video about size and how humanity in real life fiction and art go to great lengths to enhance size and such, it's a great video.

[@benjaminbrockway5998]

It sounds like absolute Hell. No way of seeing the Sun, no room to spread out, too many people to deal with. Humans weren't meant to be crammed into a box for their entire lifespan.

[@spider00x]

I've been to the original proposed arcology, arcosanti in Phoenix

[@Ravenous1369]

Great video as ever dude, like that you're still willing to step outside the 'normal' content from time to time and look forward to more! That is so long as the AI doesn't make it hard for you. Funnily enough I apparently watched the Technate video at some point since I have it 'liked' but don't remember the details so it's getting another view lol As for your suggestions/ideas at the end I definitely don't think Infinity herself counts given the ship isn't intended to be lived on permanently, despite that being her original purpose and it has manufacturing facilities along with those needed to collect new materials. While that certainly did happen during the Created Conflict I believe intent should be a part of the definition. Halo Rings on the other hand I think Could count I'm just not sure on the exact specifics of their self-sustainability. The environments certainly appear capable of supporting life for at least an extended period (100,000 years is a Very long time) but can its contained ecology maintain a population of Humans for longer than a few decades or more? I'm not so sure, unless they were able to maintain an agricultural lifestyle and keep the numbers in check. I think The Ark definitely could based on its sheer size and diversity, but as we know Humanity will eventually outgrow even Earth so who's to say?

[@wasseckbigovich2037]

Your Halo ring is an interesting idea that would probably qualify. Also the dome cities of Mandalor seem quite close.

[@dodokhiin8562]

I absolutely adore the concept of arcologies. My favorite planet in destiny 2 was Titan because of the New Pacific Arcology, the mission in the tank where Holliday picks you up was my favorite because we got to see this entire forest with a river, lake and waterfall in the distance, all while being inside a superstructure built on top of the methane oceans of Titan. I really wish they kept that planet.

[@worsethanyouthink]

I think space vessels would count as arcologies, and I would also say that modern is military naval vessels are what is truly closest to one. they are huge mega structures built on a person scale, powered by a self contained reactor, and have a very unified social structure. sure they have the issue of sustaining their own food but if you stripped the weapons and planes and other war based equipment from the USS Gerald Ford you would have more than enough space and potential carry capacity to establish thriving farms and ranches. I understand that sustaining the vessel at sea is very expensive and maybe too much wear and tear. however you could dock it inland (be a project on scale with the Panama canal) build a dam and turn the dock into a dry dock, and then burry it at a level where it is essentially floating on land. it would cost waaay less materials to maintain and infinitely less energy than it needs since it's not pushing the nearly HUNDRED THOUSAND TONS of itself people and equipment along over the thousands of miles it travels in a year. it would actually be feasible to decommission an aircraft carrier this way in some practically uninhabitable place like the swamps of Louisiana and turn it into a city.

[@michaelold6695]

I agree that a nuclear powered aircraft carrier is probably the closet thing we have right now, while it doesn't meet all the criteria, it does meet some (as you pointed out very well)

[@seanrea550]

The few things holding large ships back is a lack of production. While they can be called floating cities, they lack a capacity stleast now to produce major componants and resources and so must be supported through a supply network. Some minor componants can be produced if the ship has a machine shop but that would mainly be for replacement small parts.

[@BOS_C.O.]

I think you'd be interested in the setting of an anime called Girls Last Tour since it takes place on a Archology I think or at least a multileveled city

[@Kronecraft]

I've actually visited Arcosanti! It's pretty cool, and I recommend it to anyone who gets the chance

[@miqvPL]

cool video, well researched. Probably not gonna do great view-wise but I'm leaving a like and a comment to help the algorythm a bit

[@josebasgil4339]

There were some other scifi examples like Startrek Voyager (some proyect in the earth in the past), the corporation building in bladerunner, and many others

[@BIFLI]

Star Trek Voyager S05E23 also has a fun example of that thing you're talking about...

[@ascensionindustries9631]

Where I live I see multiple high rises along a ridge line. During the day you can see the individual buildings, but at night it looks like one massive superstructure that stretches over a mile.

[@scubacuba5127]

Amazing video! A good book I read about arcologies was called “The World Inside”, it’s an anthology of various short stories which take place on a future earth where 99% of the population lives in giant towers throughout the world with a small group of people who live on the outside for agriculture and resource gathering

[@hansigasus2006]

An Aircraft carrier is kinda self-sufficient accept of food, which comes from the outside.

[@leonardomoda9559]

Cmon lads, this thing screams dystopia