What are Arcologies?

Arcologies are large, self-sufficient structures that may one day help address the challenges of overpopulation and resource scarcity - but is this concept just a sci-fi pipe dream, or could it be a realistic solution?
Freshbooks message: Head over to freshbooks.com/techquickie and don’t forget to enter Tech Quickie in the “How Did You Hear About Us” section when signing up for your free trial.
Follow: / linustech
Join the community: linustechtips.com
License for images used: creativecommons.org/licenses/...

[@andresquezada121]

Hopefully this won't end in something like the vaults from the Fallout series.

[@gearandalthefirst7027]

Considering that's virtually the exact opposite of this...

[@itsdeonlol]

So does this mean that RGB is a waste of energy on the environment?

[@PuffyRainbowCloud]

Definitely.

[@crumbs182]

Deon Spates RGB was a mistake.

[@Officialllight]

Deon Spates certainly not....

[@marksoeplepel]

Deon Spates R is for red roses, G is for green leaves, B is for blue water. So if you put a red rose with green leaves in a pot with water, you have RGB!!!

[@rebelpoxy]

Pretty much. It's like ricing in cars.

[@AceMartinov]

LinusGeopoliticalTips

[@CattoRayTube]

"...a mix of residential, commercial, and educational spaces." Coming soon: SimArcology 3000

[@CattoRayTube]

That took far too many edits. Time for bed.

[@123woefie]

good night.

[@SuperSmashDolls]

They did that already, it's called SimTower.

[@Drogenopa1]

Look no further than SimTower or Project Highrise

[@ye6942]

I learned something new

[@williamburgoon1834]

for once

[@TheCrusaderBin]

And the key words are: Ideology, propaganda, dreams :P

[@alickzhang]

dont remember the word propaganda being used in this video

[@crispybacon4240]

+TheCrusaderBin Propaganda?

[@BEARWALKEN87]

NWO nice...

[@Juhuuu]

But does it have RGB???? But can it run crysis???? But can it run cinabench???? All of these questions unanswered.

[@YetAnotherAaron]

You'd probably have to run pretty far to work of Cinnabench

[@ZeldagigafanMatthew]

No, no, and no.

[@bepaque]

Juho Leiniö but what If you put an SSD on it?

[@Ultravore]

and does it beat the 7700K????

[@tarunmistry5204]

Juho Leiniö these are all the things i was thinking of and then i reach the comments section. you're a boss

[@darcassan]

I think I'm gonna go play some Sim City 2000.

[@RatelHBadger]

Steven Bringhurst Watch out for giant black & red robot spiders

[@CODMarioWarfare]

Do dee do da-do dooh, dooh, Do DEE do da-do dooh, dooh... I think you know what bassline I'm scatting!

[@monomoy100]

as an Architect, i can already see the realistic part of this ! going vertical can be a solution but at the same time the point of concentration of a huge amount of people will be a major challenge !

[@Bustermachine]

Six years late to the party! XD The biggest problem with arcologies, IMO, is that you're basically left with a monolithic structure that's expensive to adapt, renovate, and eventually REPLACE when it's operational life is inevitably reached. And honestly, all of that for not a whole lot of increase in density in the grand scheme of things. I mean, the Marina City complex in Chicago has basically been an arcology since it was built half a century ago, and it's been successful because the commercial facilities are broken out into the surrounding complex. So when the office building was no longer needed, it was easily converted to a hotel. When the ice rink proved a flop, it was easily replaced with a grocer. When the cinema was no longer needed, it's building could be altered efficiently into the house of blues. I am not an architect, so I can only give my outside perception, but architects as a profession seem to want to spin off these designs that turn out to not be very flexible or organic. Ecologies are constantly rebuilding themselves and constantly finding new equilibriums. That flexibility to rapidly reutilize space that's lost its purpose. That's what is needed in good civic planning. Not another envisioned mega structure.

[@johnnyreay7852]

Was that a reference to the Nihilist Arby's Twitter account at 0:19?

[@Blair.Piggin]

Check out Issac Arthur's channel for this type of thing.

[@JerryNordstrom]

"Linus" you have the chops to be a great media personality. Smart, informative and creative delivery - keep it up.

[@williamozier918]

Grrr! I lived at the Arcosanti Project for 4.5 years. What always ticks me off in Arcology discussion like this one, is no one ever mentions that the Arcosanti Project CREATED the concept of Arcology. It's always given a passing mention, but damn Arcosanti invented the idea, give it the credit it deserves! BTW Arcosanti is an awesome place, it has its problems, but I highly recommend visiting it for a concert or festival or something.

[@baptistejanin9615]

Thanks for that

[@AFryingPan]

More of this stuff please!

[@Yourweebyneighbor]

Linus, I'm russian. Believe me, this kinda stuff just can not happen in my glorious motherland.

[@DumbSloth87]

They have to make one that looks like ne N1 Rocket, it'll be a blast! get it? blast? cause all the N1s exploded? I'm leaving..

[@PatrickKniesler]

Have you ever heard of Sepp Holzer? He does permaculture projects and I hear he is quite famous in Russia.

[@vebjsand]

Russia did some amazeballs shit with space that they don't get enough credit for. They'll be in history books for thousands of years to come and has achieved so many groundbreaking historical events. While the bear might be sleeping right now, but history has taught us that when it wakes up, you'll definitely notice it!

[@DumbSloth87]

Vebjørn Sandvik Dude, chill, I love the Soviet Space Program, I even have all the rockets and spacecraft in my Kerbal Space Program, just did the N1-L3/Soyuz 7K-LOK/LK Lander whole mission thing! Also, I prefer the UR-700/LK-700 over N1/Soyuz, looks way cooler!

[@ironzingotz]

hah nerd

[@TTaiiLs]

Another great video!

[@PixelGRID]

Hey Linus, I was wondering if you can explain video bitrates. Where do the diminishing returns start? How much data is overkill for bit rate? And what bitrate you should use to preserve the highest quality bit rate data for future editing? & how much bitrate one should use for highest quality distribution? (KZbin, client etc) Is there any calculation method for 2k. 4k. 8k footage? Please explain...

[@PixelGRID]

And what codec is best for preserving video for future edits & for watching content at highest quality?

[@conallfowler8085]

Keep up the great work!

[@techforged]

Thank you linus...i learned something new today...didn't even know there was a term for this.

[@2355marc]

Can there be a video that explains PCI express lanes? As in the way that GPUs can only be used in 8x or 16x if pcie can be run in different increments? What if you wanted it to run at 12x because you're using a 4x slot for an NVME SSD?

[@F4CEpa1m]

A bit distant from your usual content. But I love it. Do more please :)

[@NodokaHanamura]

It actually has been done before - there's a city where everyone lives in one building, in Whittier, Alaska, where they work, go to school, play, and shop. Although the population there seems to be dropping, it does seem to show hope for the arcology concept in larger volumes.

[@jasonlib1996]

love the dive into less conventional technology here. would love to see more of it. technology is everywhere and would love to see more of the less just PC related tech a more into the technology that is being developed and is in use for behind the scenes uses

[@JesusChristDenton_7]

Sarif was right about one thing. It's in our nature to want to rise above our limits. Think about it. We were cold, so we harnessed fire. We were weak, so we invented tools. Every time we met an obstacle, we used creativity and ingenuity to overcome it. The cycle is inevitable. - Deus Ex Human Revolution

[@vlaralte8819]

Dued could u please check gigabyte amd motherboard cuz there is a very high rate of ram slot damage... I buy 2 this month and out of 4 ram slot 2 of them is always damage and cannot used any ram please help me out...

[@Bobcat665]

Can you explain what exactly a *disk image* is (esp. In relation to an OS), Linus, as fast as possible?

[@tylernewman6503]

Skyways of St. Paul, Minnesota as well as the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Both allow most downtown to be accessed without going outside

[@h7opolo]

I didn't know this channel covers non-computer-related topics. That's awesome. Really. The world has yet to witness my concept to compact agricultural and living space with no power demand while running. I lack funds, if I were rich, I would be working on many projects and have many degrees.Money can help you achieve your full potential. But that's exactly what they want to suppress...

[@martinkarlsson1456]

Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong was a great success.

[@texasdeeslinglead2401]

MARTIN KARLSSON 😄

[@cedricgist7614]

Was introduced to concept by Simcity awhile ago, and yours is the 2nd source I've explored on the topic. While you suggested that arcologies, should they find traction, could become the refuge of the affluent, I go back to my Simcity speculations. What's to prevent an arcology from becoming a '60's-style "project " - the government housing experiment that concentrated poverty-stricken residents and devolved into miserable, crime-ridden, hope-dashing dead ends? The movie "Dredd" reminded me of that thinking. In other words, the external and internal governments will be challenged to balance order and individual liberty....

[@rob59214]

Good video. "Biomimicry" would be another good one for tech quickie.

[@BWSSoldya]

Perhaps as a follow up you can explain something about off-grid homes and how they work and advantages etc

[@mstr-rptr]

Why was there a picture of Khan Shatyr amongst the pictures of Crystal Island?

[@TheManShel]

It is small scale, but I heard about Begich Towers in the town of Whittier, Alaska that houses the whole town and has its own Police Department and Post Office and B&B. I think that is close to a real-life Arcology.

[@brendansully12]

Neato, I really love learning about things like this and of course you are excellent at delivering information. I would love to see more like this, but I'm uncomfortable with how different it is from your usual video content. Would you be willing to consider adding something in the title (along the lines of "FutureTech: What are Arcologies") to signify the change in scope? Or if you really want to fill my life with delight and merriment maybe you could start a second channel devoted to Futurism and/or science in general. I'll gladly chip in what I can on Patreon if you do.

[@ThisCableGuy]

love u linus!

[@Felixkeeg]

I'm old enough to remember arcologies from Sim City 2000 EDIT: They are even in the video itself lol

[@GradyHouger]

I've been looking at building an arkology, since I'm a landowner in a place that allows unusual construction. To be sustainable though it would either need to be full of rich people, or take a lot of regular people willing to live in a tower surrounded by farmland where a lot of their time and or income goes into the maintaining the food system and utilities. Who is interested in joining?

[@AurumFaber]

I am

[@jamesvasel8941]

Check out the book. "Oath of Fealty". By Niven and Pournelle. It's all about an Arcology in Los Angeles that survives on a captured iceberg. It's tottaly sci-fi.

[@champagnepete3386]

Can we get an "As Fast As Possible" talking about what the effects would be of leaving your location on on your phone all the time and what the battery drain might be light as opposed to just turning on location to use maps then turning it off. And what about battery drain for leaving on NFC for things like android pay rather than just turning it on when you need it, costing more keystrokes (or fingerstrokes idk). Would it somehow be less secure? Just a though (:

[@serialexperimentsdave7213]

i don't see arcologies on newegg, when is the release date?

[@trickout42]

WAIT! The sim city thing! I remember seeing those on my Dad's computer! What version are those in?

[@themightyquinn1343]

Could you make a video on artifacting?

[@morganmc32]

WOW. I did not know there was a name for it, and I didn't know there was already projects in the works!

[@JL-dz8sj]

Can you explain downloads and uploads

[@many20350]

You got me at " Not having to go outside"

[@marcusberridge4960]

Thank you so much for helping my geography project

[@therightway7567]

Very interesting.

[@Duke00x]

The best and cheapest Arcologies would be underground. You have something like 4 times the amount of room to build as you do building above ground (cubed square law) in the same area and height/depth. And then mix that with insulation value of the ground and the fact that it starts at around 55 degrees just a few meters below ground meaning you need less energy to heat or cool the structure and that the temperature goes up a degree every so many hundreds of feet you go down. Also the fact that you don't have to worry as much about finding a building materiel strong enough to build something as big/tall as above ground Arcologies need to be. If built right and mixed with some above ground things like a wind tower and solar and some buildings and some glass domes for light and some solar light tube like tunnels. You will have a great one at less cost then building an equivalent one above ground.

[@rynieryarom4277]

While I'm a biotech student, i love all the self sufficient aspect but in practice trying to get people into it is hard. Not to mention when anyplace tries to build a super-structure It comes with a host of problems

[@LifeWulf]

This is the first I've heard of arcologies. Pretty neat.

[@luminusprotect]

Arcology X-4, your arcology, is located in a Free City in the middle of the ocean. It is a huge structure whose solar-panelled skin gleams in the sunshine, while verdant exterior hydroponics bays lend it an air of growth. Its shining bulk rises above the blue water all around it; it is part of a cluster of arcologies that form a Free City anchored over a seamount.The central plaza is a large atrium; a security drone occasionally flies across the open space

[@H0B0J03]

Oof. Shanghai Tower has recently been found to have massive construction flaws. It flooded last year- from the roof down (not like fully, like an aquarium, just like water damage on a lot of floors)

[@williamozier918]

Awww, I was hoping you would have done a little but more about Arcosanti when talking about Arcology projects that really exist.

[@rhoharane]

good topic

[@thomasslone1964]

Sounds like the beginning of a great journey to everywhere

[@joemowed5611]

Very interesting

[@108mohdsaifansari4]

guys can you do a videos about what is cuda cores

[@Knight_Astolfo]

Ever seen Battle Angel Alita? That's what arcologies would turn into. Not to mention the host of engineering problems which surround trying to build massive standalone buildings. Interesting concept with more than a few practical problems.

[@RexKramerDangerSeeker]

I'm surprised that Jacques Fresco's Venus Project wasn't mentioned at all. He's project takes arcologies and adds the notion that robots will be making everything. Leaving people more time to create and invent stuff rather than turning screws.

[@HeatherWarner97]

Techquickie has really changed. Next thing you know they're going to tell you about the nutritional content of food.

[@mmppphhh1037]

Little Dashie The nutritional content of a stick of DDR4 RAM.

[@giuseppeb124]

Came in expecting to learn about CPU architecture. GJ Dyslexia, you got me again.

[@1niceEnte]

aahh i Luv techquickie

[@Droggelbecherbot]

As someone who loves hearing rain dripping against the window or a storm rattling at the window blinds, I think living inside a giant building all the time would be pretty depressing.

[@timcunkle4508]

Been to Arcosanti, absolutely beautiful place and an incredible experience. Would recommend it to anybody if you have a chance

[@danielsjohnson]

I heard of this concept for the first time on BBC radio (I live in the USA... I know) today so also watching this today was a cool coincidence.

[@bentoth9555]

Nah, arcologies seem great at first, but pretty soon a rogue Renraku AI has sealed off the structure and is performing insane experiments on the residents in pursuit of an unknown goal.

[@alexanderstankov459]

After watching this video I realised I need more Deus Ex in my life!!! Goddamit Eidos!!!

[@Mihnea729]

Interesting !

[@BroversXproductions]

With arcologies we will be one step closer to full sustainability and maybe even abundance. I quite like the ideas of the vertical city institute and the Zeitgeist movement which advocates a resource based economy.

[@dvdossbsvskfbdvav]

Keep double tapping the left of the screen at the start, for some reason I find it entertaining

[@hteekay]

Linus really like asking question and answer it himself

[@garrettplumstead6330]

im an arch major and i love this video

[@HyperDragon01]

I honestly think that these buildings where you can live your whole life without leaving may be where we end up or be the preferable outcome. Think of it as resource specialization rather than trying to face a scarcity problem. It is much easier to feed a population when the population is in a small area. And while it may be counter-intuitive it could be better on the environment because people won't need to travel as much and with everyone being confined to a small area it could be more energy efficient.

[@BlaastMaster]

Linus help me here, i have a Acer i3 3217U . 4GB Ram and on board HD intel graphics card 4000 , can i overclock this Laptop ? cause i cant run games on it . it has win 10 and all the newest updates , but doesnt even want to open games i get on steam ? i tried BF1 , GTA 5 , and so on, but nothing , it only runs CS:GO at a moderate FPS . what can i do ,?

[@BlaastMaster]

i know its shitty, but believe it or not, the normal going price for this shitty Laptop i bought here where i live, its almost the same price as a i7 1080i gamer pc in the US , EVERYTHING over here is almost 5x the price here than it is there by the US ,

[@jonathanangel209]

I like how you never mentioned The Veuns Project in this video . even though it's the most complete solution for all of our problems , specially accommodations

[@Bakbak321]

Hey, I hope you see my comment. I think it would be great if you did videos talking about the difference between different audio formats and video containers.

[@backauro6845]

I would also like to have something like they have in Blade Runner Like the Tyrell Pyramids

[@FallOfTheLiving]

why not mention Singapore and the vast interconnected underground network of shopping centers etc

[@briansgenius]

Got a lil chub when I read the title, glad he mentioned Sim City 2000 cuz that's what I was thinking. And I've actually filled all my available land with arcologies and then was like "what now". In all seriousness I think these structures might be one of only a few solutions to future living on Earth what's more these concepts can apply to other planets might even be able to create such universal structures that you could essentially cut and paste them. "Oh another Tesla Tortious I see"

[@pleasecallmetomato4924]

at 2:28 the building on the picture is actually a drawn picture of Khan Shatyr in Astana! I know it because i live in this city, and no Khan Shatyr is just a mall, nothing too special (apart from having pools on the top floor of it)

[@coffeen8128]

why do people says "time flys"? *i trouw my clock out my window and it didn't fly :-(*

[@Klaevin]

someone came up with this idea in the twentieth century: a single building where you live, work, grow up and are educated. it turned into what we now call "the mall". I don't care how well-intended the architects are when they design these, but companies looking to make a profit will buy all the living quarters to build shops, replace the hospitals with office sections and turn the schools into play areas where adults can drop off their kids to do some shopping. People living in a carbon-neutral utopia doesn't make as much money as a tribute to consumerism.

[@shanehanson6013]

These futurist structures are very interesting, but it should be noted we are very long way from overpopulation, or any risk of resource scarcity. First, overpopulation, if you look at examples of the maximum number of people we can house in a given area you would see numbers up to and over 100,000 people per square mile. But I think if we go with the top most population dense cities in the U.S. we find a much more comfortable number of around 50,000 per square mile. Which mean the entire population of the world could live in an area the size of Montana. Second for resource scarcity. Several studies have been done and it is estimated that in the U.S. (probably Canada too) we need about 1 to 1.2 acres per person for food. And an argument could be made that we could do with less, but lets go with the 1.2 acres. After excluding unfaramable regions you could grow all the worlds food in an area about the size of North and South America. Off the top of my head, the worlds population would have to hit something like 3 times it current size to even begin to make the arguments of overpopulation or resource scarcity. And in truth the research into arcologies is going to show us even better ways to house people and grow food in even smaller areas. Just lets not waste good money on building any of them yet.

[@timothyblazer1749]

Always remember...efficiency is the enemy of resilience. If we break this then into the smallest possible autonomous unit, the family, then provide technology and resources for those autonomous units to voluntarily participate, it will be less efficient than a perfect arcology, but much more efficient than our current modalities, AND will be more functionally resilient in the face of unknowns. In other words, it has to be easy to get out, so that the administrative body can be kept honest.

[@autarchprinceps]

People were complaining about overpopulation since the 18th century (at least those are the once I know of, could be earlier). I think you see my issue. If we were overpopulated then, why is it that fewer people are starving today than ever before, even though we massively increased in size? At best overpopulation is a local problem due to the different distribution of people, but there are large parts of the earth, that we are not using or at least could use more or better / more efficiently.

[@kajokiko]

But can it run Crysis?

[@TheNicaragua1979]

but does it beat the 7700K?

[@LETHALF90]

Kajetan Ciesielski stfu

[@kajokiko]

I'm just curious, no need to be upset :-:

[@whyitr1ot]

I quickly glanced at the title, and I thought it read "What are Apologies?"

[@stilldasayme]

Great video, thank you guys ! To the color grading guy: doesn't Linus look a bit orange ?

[@enderman6777]

But does it have RGB lighting and can rune Crysis?

[@louishenn3028]

I played SimCity 2000 just the other day. love arcologies

[@krraman666]

This is cool

[@Ice-lb4ov]

Accidentally read the thumbnail as "Apologies Explained"

[@vebjsand]

Fossil fuel use stands for about 84% of CO2 emissions. If we can solve that problem, we'll probably be fine in terms of global warming. Other emissions that have effects on peoples health and the local nature can be tricky, though. I think it's important to safe guard large areas of wild land and help nature recover where ever we exploit it in a better way than we're doing today.

[@elijah_9392]

Vebjørn Sandvik we still have the concern of methane.

[@wheresmymuffins]

Wait did Linus just make a Nihilist Arby's twitter account reference at 0:20?

[@TigerXGame]

Let's not pretend that the way the Las Vegas Strip is laid out is anything other than a way to keep people inside casinos for as long as possible. It has the added benefit of staying cool indoors. But that's probably the entire point. Draw people into the casinos with the promise of cool air and guide them along as many shops and slot machines as possible while they're there.

[@mnm2083]

Do a video on quantum computers!! 😁😁

[@theoneyoudontsee8315]

One of the biggest issues to solve linus is how much forest has been cut to build homes and building. so basicly the plan of building up rather than out will save farm space and reduce the need to cut down forest witch is accused for being the real reason why its our fault for global worming. We are not only producing greenhouse gases but also reducing the planets ability to recycle it.

[@WeldoYT]

do a video about atomic hard drives

[@doggo__usa]

I wish Disney would've been able to build Epcot. It's the oldest Arcology I can think of.

[@JL-ug1up]

Lol @ 2:26 is the khan shatyr entertainment center in Kazakhstan.

[@Mandurath]

Didn't Spain just institute a new Sex minister of some sort due to population decline? Other countries are supposedly having similar issues. Would be interesting to see the population increase/decline rate for each country over a period of 20 years or so. Though, this did remind me of the old Pauly Shore Bio-dome movie....