Alexandra Zoupa

 

Introduction – Slide 1

 

• The title of my essay is

 

 

 Utopian Cities: What makes people design them and the role of technology in their realisation.

 

 

• When we hear the word Utopian, we think of different ideas of different concepts.

•  The word utopia has dual meaning and this creates more confusion.

 

• To make things more clear, the word ‘Utopia’ comes from a combination of two Greek words;

 

‘eu-topia=good place’ and

 

‘ou-topia=no place.

 

As you can see; for some, it is an ideal place, while for others it is a non-existent and imaginary place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slide 2

 

In search for the meaning of Utopian cities I will be looking at the wider context of utopia, i.e. as this manifests in literature, philosophy, etc. "In Brave New World", Aldus Huxley sets such a context. Within this understanding, the idea has been explored in architecture as well.

 

• Firstly, it can be claimed that a utopian city is designed as the ideal city regardless of whether it will be realized or not.

 

• It is important to know however that utopian cities are by definition unrealisable. And so the idea of constructing a utopian city is a paradox.

 

• Secondly, Utopian cities can be seen as entirely imaginary cities I will try to tie this idea with Benedict Anderson's thinking on imaginary communities.

 

• However, behind all this, what needs to be looked at is; what is the driving force behind the need for utopian cities?

 

 

I will also look at the reasons behind the construction of utopian cities,

 

1.  What makes people design them?

 

•  When people design different cities from the ones they live it is because they understand how necessary such a critical change is to the present conditions.

 

• By designing Utopian Cities some designers tried to show what they were dreaming of. They wanted to escape from the reality and design the ideal place to live.

 

• Others try to respond to some of the most common problems that our world is facing.

 

-such as the problem of Overpopulation with its consequences

 

-like the reduction of habitable land, 
 

-the reduction of available spaces to cultivate
 

- reduction of available fossils fuels...

 

 And also the climate change with its consequences such as water rise

Thus, people are trying to design utopian ecological cities in order to save our planet 
from certain disasters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topic/Problem – Slide 3

• People started designing Utopian Cities a long time ago and they are still designing them.

 

 

•  The difference is that in the past people didn’t have the appropriate technology in order to build them. Today technology is advanced enough in order to allow some of utopian cities to be realised. 

 

So it is clear that technology can affect the realisation of the cities and as a result they are not utopian anymore.

 

Many of these cities might never be build, while some others have been build or are planning to.

The problem is that without the right technology these cities cannot be build.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above I have examples of three Utopian Cities.

One from the Past, one from the Present and one of the future.

What they all have in common is that without technology they would have never been realised or they will never be realised.

 

• Brasilia is an example of a Utopian city which was designed in the past, but because today it is built (thanks to the appropriate technology-as you can see from the slides), it cannot be considered anymore as a Utopian City.

 

• , today there are cities which are being built at the moment and some people call them Utopian and others don’t.

 

The point is that they cannot be considered as Utopian cities after the time they are built, because the appropriate technology is available.

 

An example of cities like these is Masdar City, in Dubai.

 

Despite the fact that it started as a Utopian City, the advanced technology made it possible to happen. 

 

 

• There are also Utopian cities like the Inflatable Ice City on Mars, which can still be called Utopian City, since we do not have the technology which is needed in order to build it. It is still something imaginary, something utopian.

• However, the idea that is utopian today given that the technology needed to construct it is not available, does not exclude the possibility to be materialized in the future.

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To conclude with, taking into account the above examples of Brazil and Masdar City, as Utopian Plans of a whole City which came true, isn’t it a little bit dangerous to believe that a single plan can anticipate the needs of million people who are going to live there?

Because history taught us that real cities have grown organically they reflect the variety and complexity of society. The evolution and the progress of a city happen gradually.

And finally, taking into account the example of a Utopian City on Mars we should also consider and ask ourselves whether is a good idea to build cities there.

Sooner or later we will have the technology to do it but is it a good idea?

Should we do it?

 

Thank you.

 

 

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