Name: Lok Shuet Ying Cherie
UID: 3036107505
In the book “Imagining Urban Futures,” author Carl Abbott discusses the works of science fiction writers James Blish and Stephen Baxter. It introduces the concept of mobile cities.
Abbott highlights Blish’s “Cities in Flight,” which introduces the idea of mobile cities, and Baxter’s “Walker City,” a more plausible but limited version of a mobile city that can adapt to significant geophysical changes without being tied to a specific location.
The passage presents a challenge: traditional cities are stationary, spreading from a center without moving. However, science fiction writers can imagine cities that can fly, walk, crawl, roll, and float. This raises questions such as why cities would move at all and what is gained and lost when a city relocates.
I think one possible reason for mobile cities could be the rapid urbanization and the need to accommodate a growing population. As cities become overcrowded, the concept of a mobile city that can relocate to less populated areas may offer a solution to alleviate strain on resources. Like the story in 2020 film Breach, directed by John Suits. Another reason for city movement could be environmental factors. If a city is located in an area prone to natural disasters, having a mobile city that can relocate to safer areas during times of crisis would be advantageous. These reasons are related to overpopulation and frequent natural disasters caused by global warming in recent years. It can be seen that the unconstrained creations of science fiction novelists can also trigger our philosophical thinking about the fate of cities.