In his article, Carl Abbott explores fictional cities in science fiction. Due to the shortage of resources, environmental degradation, and other problems. The concept of CyberCities reveals the modernity of technological advances and the industrial side of cities, giving birth to cyberpunk cities. From clay and wood. From bricks to concrete, cities gradually become large machines; as Le Corbusier said, “a house is a machine for living,” and technological advances meet every human need. The inhabitants of these cities have to create a new way of life to survive, which the author calls “migrating cities.” Their cities can move, walk

Continue reading[Reading Response: Carl Abbott]

The writer discussed about the imaginary cities in the science fiction movies and other kinds. The cause of the imaginary cities are usually built up due to the shortage of resources and environmental damage. The people  in the future have to build new city constructions and form new lifestyle, including the flying and movement of the whole city. However, the movies are the reflection of the modern social world and social problems instead of imagination, including the resource allocation failure and the capitalist. Also, the difference between people in different classes and different genders are reflected in the movie. For

Continue readingReading response: Carl Abbott

In science fiction, ‘migratory’ cities are defined as fictional yet partly-realistic cities, in which some characteristics are taken reference from real cities like New York. What stands out from the meaning of ‘migratory’ cities is the example from Flood (2009) where people walk to the unflooded area, forming a community of walkers, as known as Walker City. This also echoes the urban development nowadays since urban development is now emphasising the walkability of the city. Furthermore, CyberCities is a concept that shed light on the modernity on technology advancement and the industrial side of the city, spawning the kind of

Continue reading[Reading Response: Carl Abbott]

The idea of a machine city has always fascinated me because of how relatable it feels regarding personal interests. As an architecture student, I was especially excited to discuss Le Corbusier ‘A house is a machine for living in’ during the tutorial. I strongly stand by using efficient tools to provide for comfortable conditions and necessities of life, which at this day and age is inseparable from the advancements in technology we have experienced in recent years. This bring me to the point of virtual reality, constructions of virtual environments and recent developments of the metaverse has really shown possible

Continue reading[Reading Response: M. Christine Boyer]

Abbott introduces various imaginary cities featured in different films. All these cities have characteristics that are different from reality. For instance, the walking city, Armada, the ‘Earth’, etc. However, despite the difference in physical structure, all these cities relate back to our modern cities in some ways. Take Snowpiercer as an example, human activities cause Earth to enter a new ice age’, thus all left human beings were taken on a ‘self-sustaining’ train. The train is divided into different classes. The top train is for the rich and powerful people, while the lower cabin is for the people with lower

Continue readingReading Response: Carl Abbott

Reading introduces the cities in the movie, many of which have a clear hierarchical setting. I think a large part of how these cities work is based on hierarchy. In Snowpiercer, for example, class differences in trains are also an important part. I think in a lot of cases the imaginary cities in the film create this kind of hierarchal disparity that adds to the contradictions of the film. And more importantly, many times these contradictions change things. Although the class conflict in the film is more serious, it also reflects the situation faced by real human beings, so it

Continue readingReading Response: Carl Abbott