{{short description|Type of design principles for human habitats}} {{Distinguish|Archaeology}} {{Sustainable energy}} An '''arcology''' or '''vertical city''' is a hypothetical mixed-use megastructure featuring high population density with the goal of autarky from the outside environment. The term was coined in 1969 by architect Paolo Soleri as a portmanteau of "architecture" and "ecology."<ref name="MatterSpirit">{{Citation| last1 = Soleri| first1 = Paolo| author1-link = Paolo Soleri| title = The Bridge Between Matter & Spirit is Matter Becoming Spirit; The Arcology of Paolo Soleri| publisher = Anchor Books| location = Garden City, New York| year = 1973| pages = [https://archive.org/details/bridgebetweenmat00sole/page/46 46]| isbn = 978-0-385-02361-0| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/bridgebetweenmat00sole/page/46}}.</ref> Soleri believed that a completed arcology would provide space for a variety of residential, commercial, and agricultural facilities while minimizing individual human environmental impact.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Grierson |first1=David |title=Arcology and Arcosanti: Towards a Sustainable Built Environment |journal=Electronic Green Journal |date=2003 |volume=1 |issue=18 |doi=10.5070/G311810506 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
The concept has been promoted by various science fiction writers. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle provided a detailed description of an arcology in their 1981 novel ''Oath of Fealty''. William Gibson popularized the term in his seminal 1984 cyberpunk novel ''Neuromancer'', where each corporation has its own self-contained city known as an arcology. More recently, authors such as Peter Hamilton in ''Neutronium Alchemist'' and Paolo Bacigalupi in ''The Water Knife'' explicitly used arcologies as part of their scenarios. They are often portrayed as self-contained or economically self-sufficient.
==Development== {{Original research section|date=August 2023}} An arcology is distinguished from a merely large building in that it is designed to lessen the impact of human habitation on any given ecosystem. It could be self-sustainable, employing all or most of its own available resources for a comfortable life: power, climate control, food production, air and water conservation and purification, sewage treatment, etc. An arcology is designed to make it possible to supply those items for a large population. An arcology would supply and maintain its own municipal or urban infrastructures in order to operate and connect with other urban environments apart from its own.
Arcologies were proposed in order to reduce human impact on natural resources. Arcology designs might apply conventional building and civil engineering techniques in very large, but practical projects in order to achieve pedestrian economies of scale that have proven, post-automobile, to be difficult to achieve in other ways.
Frank Lloyd Wright proposed an early version<ref>Wright, Frank Lloyd, "An Organic Architecture"</ref> called Broadacre City although, in contrast to an arcology, his idea is comparatively two-dimensional and depends on a road network. Wright's plan described transportation, agriculture, and commerce systems that would support an economy. Critics said that Wright's solution failed to account for population growth, and assumed a more rigid democracy than the US actually has.
thumb|Buckminster Fuller with a drawing of his domed city proposal Buckminster Fuller proposed the Old Man River's City project, a domed city with a capacity of 125,000, as a solution to the housing problems in East St. Louis, Illinois.
Paolo Soleri proposed later solutions, and coined the term "arcology".<ref>Soleri, Paolo, "Arcology: The City in the Image of Man"</ref> Soleri describes ways of compacting city structures in three dimensions to combat two-dimensional urban sprawl, to economize on transportation and other energy uses. Like Wright, Soleri proposed changes in transportation, agriculture, and commerce. Soleri explored reductions in resource consumption and duplication, land reclamation; he also proposed to eliminate most private transportation. He advocated for greater "frugality" and favored greater use of shared social resources, including public transit (and public libraries).
==Similar real-world projects== [[File:Arcosanti Cliff View.png|thumb|Arcosanti city]] Arcosanti is an experimental "arcology prototype", a demonstration project under construction in central Arizona since 1970. Designed by Paolo Soleri, its primary purpose is to demonstrate Soleri's personal designs, his application of principles of arcology to create a pedestrian-friendly urban form.
Many cities in the world have proposed projects adhering to the design principles of the arcology concept, like Tokyo, and Dongtan near Shanghai.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2005/nov/06/china.theobserver | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=British to help China build 'eco-cities' | first=Frank | last=Kane | date=November 6, 2005 | access-date=April 25, 2010}}</ref> The Dongtan project may have collapsed, and it failed to open for the Shanghai World Expo in 2010.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/apr/23/greenwash-dongtan-ecocity|title=Greenwash: The dream of the first eco-city was built on a fiction|author=Fred Pearce|newspaper=the Guardian|date=23 April 2009}}</ref> The Ihme-Zentrum in Hanover was an attempt to build a "city within a city".
[[File:McMurdo Station.jpg|left|thumb|McMurdo Station]] McMurdo Station of the United States Antarctic Program and other scientific research stations on Antarctica resemble the popular conception of an arcology as a technologically advanced, relatively self-sufficient human community.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Allison |first=Peter Ray |date=October 31, 2022 |title=Will we ever… live in city-sized buildings? |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20221028-will-we-ever-live-in-city-sized-buildings |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref> The Antarctic research base provides living and entertainment amenities for roughly 3,000 staff who visit each year. Its remoteness and the measures needed to protect its population from the harsh environment give it an insular character. The station is not self-sufficient: The U.S. military delivers 30,000,000 liters (8,000,000 US gal) of fuel and {{convert|11|e6lb|order=flip|abbr=off|sigfig=1}} of supplies and equipment yearly through its Operation Deep Freeze resupply effort,<ref>''Modern Marvels: Sub-Zero''. The History Channel.</ref> but it is isolated from conventional support networks. Under international treaty, it must avoid damage to the surrounding ecosystem.
[[File:Begich Towers, Whittier, Alaska (cropped).jpg|thumb|Begich Towers]] Begich Towers operates like a small-scale arcology encompassing nearly all of the population of Whittier, Alaska. The building contains residential housing as well as a police station, grocery, and municipal offices.<ref>{{cite web |title=Everyone In This Alaskan Town Lives In The Same Building |url=http://digg.com/video/everyone-in-this-alaskan-town-lives-in-the-same-building |work=digg.com}}</ref>
The Line was planned as a {{convert|170|km|mi|adj=on}} long and {{convert|200|m|ft|adj=on}} wide linear smart city in Saudi Arabia in Neom, Tabuk Province, designed to have no cars, streets or greenhouse gas emissions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Summers|first=Nick|date=2021-01-11|title=Saudi Arabia is planning a 100-mile line of car-free smart communities|url=https://www.engadget.com/the-line-neom-smart-city-saudi-arabia-mohammed-bin-salman-113539487.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112205924/https://www.engadget.com/the-line-neom-smart-city-saudi-arabia-mohammed-bin-salman-113539487.html|archive-date=2021-01-12|access-date=2021-01-12|website=Engadget|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2021-01-10|title=Top Global Oil Exporter Saudi Arabia Launches Car-free City|url=https://www.barrons.com/news/top-global-oil-exporter-saudi-arabia-launches-car-free-city-01610312707|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111070613/https://www.barrons.com/news/top-global-oil-exporter-saudi-arabia-launches-car-free-city-01610312707|archive-date=2021-01-11|access-date=2021-01-12|website=Barron's|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=What is The Line? All you need to know about Saudi Arabia's plan for a futuristic zero-carbon city|url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/what-is-the-line-all-you-need-to-know-about-saudi-arabias-plan-for-a-futuristic-zero-carbon-city|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111094409/https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/what-is-the-line-all-you-need-to-know-about-saudi-arabias-plan-for-a-futuristic-zero-carbon-city#bypass-sw|archive-date=2021-01-11|access-date=2021-01-12|website=The Free Press Journal|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=An Accelerator of human progress|url=http://www.neom.com/|access-date=2021-01-10|website=NEOM|archive-date=2020-12-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208190618/https://www.neom.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Line is planned to be the first development in Neom, a $500 billion project.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Tangermann|first=Victor|date=2021-01-12|title=Saudi Arabia Is Building a Zero-Carbon City in a 100-Mile Straight Line|work=Futurism|url=https://futurism.com/saudi-arabia-line-city|url-status=live|access-date=2021-01-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113205516/https://futurism.com/saudi-arabia-line-city|archive-date=2021-01-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=McKay|first=Tom|date=2021-01-12|title=Saudi Crown Prince Asks, Answers What if a City, But It's a 105-Mile Line|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/saudi-crown-prince-asks-answers-what-if-a-city-but-it-s-a-105-mile-line/ar-BB1cHtXN|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113205742/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/saudi-crown-prince-asks-answers-what-if-a-city-but-it-s-a-105-mile-line/ar-BB1cHtXN|archive-date=2021-01-13|access-date=2021-01-13|website=Microsoft News|publisher=Gizmodo}}</ref> The city's plans anticipated a population of 9 million.<ref name="guardian 2022">{{cite news |title=Saudi Arabia plans 100-mile-long mirrored skyscraper megacity |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/27/saudis-unveil-eye-popping-plan-for-mirrored-skyscraper-eco-city |work=the Guardian |date=27 July 2022 |language=en |access-date=29 July 2022 |archive-date=29 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729004224/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/27/saudis-unveil-eye-popping-plan-for-mirrored-skyscraper-eco-city |url-status=live }}</ref> Excavation work had started along the entire length of the project by October 2022. However, the project was scaled down in 2024 to {{convert|2.4|km}} long, housing 300,000 people.<ref name="teleg">{{cite news |last1=Nolsøe |first1=Eir |title=Why Mohammed bin Salman has been forced to rein in his dreams of a mirror city |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/04/09/why-mohammed-bin-salman-has-been-forced-to-rein-in-his-drea/ |access-date=16 April 2024 |work=The Telegraph |date=9 April 2024}}</ref>
==In popular culture== Most proposals to build real arcologies have failed due to financial, structural or conceptual shortcomings. Arcologies are therefore found primarily in fictional works.<ref>Ash, Theodore (2014) ''Neoarcology''</ref><ref>Tate, Karl (July 5, 2013) [https://www.livescience.com/37993-inside-arcology-the-city-of-the-future-infographic.html "Inside Arcology, the City of the Future (Infographic)"] ''Live Science''</ref>
* In Robert Silverberg's ''The World Inside'', most of the global population of 75 billion live inside giant skyscrapers, called "urbmons", each of which contains hundreds of thousands of people. The urbmons are arranged in "constellations". Each urbmon is divided into "neighborhoods" of 40 or so floors. All the needs of the inhabitants are provided inside the building — food is grown outside and brought into the building — so the idea of going outside is heretical and can be a sign of madness.<ref>Silverberg, Robert (1971). ''The World Inside''. New York: Doubleday. pp. 3–4.</ref> The book examines human life when the population density is extremely high.<ref>Stableford, Brian "Silverberg, Robert" in Clute, John and Nicholls, Peter (eds.) (1995) ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' New York: St. Martin's Griffin. p. 1106. {{ISBN|0-312-13486-X}}</ref> * Another significant example is the 1981 novel ''Oath of Fealty'' by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, in which a segment of the population of Los Angeles has moved into an arcology. The plot examines the social changes that result, both inside and outside the arcology. Thus the arcology is not just a plot device but a subject of critique.<ref>Seed, David (2011) ''Science Fiction: A Very Short Introduction''</ref> * In the city-building video game ''SimCity 2000'', self-contained arcologies can be built, reducing the infrastructure needs of the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kotaku.com/the-real-story-behind-sim-citys-arcologies-5820230|title=The Real Story Behind Sim City's Arcologies|author=Luke Plunkett|website=Kotaku|date=11 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2013/03/depressing-suburbanisation-simcity|title=The depressing suburbanisation of SimCity|date=14 March 2013|website=New Statesman|author=Alex Hern}}</ref> * The isometric, cyberpunk-themed action roleplay game ''The Ascent '' takes place in a futuristic dystopian version of an arcology on the alien world Veles and prominently uses the structure and its levels to flesh out progression in the game, starting the player in the bottom levels of the sewers with the ultimate goal of reaching the top of the structure to leave the city.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pcgamer.com/the-ascents-cyberpunk-metropolis-is-way-cooler-than-night-city/ | title=The Ascent's cyberpunk metropolis is way cooler than Night City | website=PC Gamer | date=29 July 2021 | last1=Kelly | first1=Andy }}</ref> * In the movie ''Dredd'' Mega blocks are massive, self-contained high-rise buildings in Mega-City One, each housing tens of thousands of residents in a single structure. These arcologies serve as isolated communities, often plagued by poverty and crime, with entire criminal gangs controlling certain blocks such as Peach Trees, which is prominently featured in the film.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.popmatters.com/dredd-architecture-of-oppression | title='DREDD', Peach Trees, and the Architecture of Oppression | website=PopMatters | date=21 July 2025 }}</ref> * In the action role-playing game ''Cyberpunk 2077'', Megabuildings are colossal, self-contained residential superstructures in Night City, designed to house tens of thousands of people in stacked apartments above layers of shops and services. Functioning as vertical cities, they reflect extreme urban density and social stratification, with cramped lower levels, more luxurious upper floors, and distinct internal communities.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://aftermath.site/cyberpunk-urban-design/ | title= What Cyberpunk 2077 Can Teach Real-World Cities | website=Aftermath | date= 14 August 2025 }}</ref>
==See also== {{div col|colwidth=22em}} * {{Annotated link|Autonomous building}} * {{Annotated link|Bionic architecture}} * {{Annotated link|Domed city}} * {{Annotated link|Earthship}} * {{Annotated link|Kowloon Walled City}} * {{Annotated link|Megastructure}} * {{Annotated link|List of visionary tall buildings and structures}} * {{Annotated link|Regent International Center}} * {{Annotated link|Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid}} * {{Annotated link|Underground city}} * {{Annotated link|Urban ecology}} * {{Annotated link|Vertical farming}} {{div col end}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == * Soleri, Paolo (1969). ''Arcology: The City in the Image of Man''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
==External links== {{commons category|Arcology}} * [https://www.organism.earth/library/document/arcology ''Arcology: The City in the Image of Man'' by Paolo Soleri] (full text online) * [http://www.arcology.com/ Arcology.com] – useful links * [https://web.archive.org/web/20001212092700/http://eserver.org/fiction/nightland/default.html ''The Night Land'' by William Hope Hodgson] (full text online) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050519074234/http://www.victorycities.com/ Victory City] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060207061859/http://www.globalvillages.info/index.php/ArcologyWiki/ArcologyWiki A discussion of arcology concepts] * [https://arcosanti.org/arcology/ What is an Arcology?]
'''Usage of "arcology" vs. "hyperstructure"''' * [http://www.arcology.com/ Arcology.com] ("An arcology in southern China" on front page) * [http://e314j.pbwiki.com/Arcology Arcology] ("An arcology is a self-contained environment...") * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120805163345/http://reality.sculptors.com/cgi-bin/wiki?WholeFuture%2FArcologies SculptorsWiki: Arcology] ("The only arcology yet on Earth...") * [https://web.archive.org/web/20000229012512/http://sfsite.com/08a/ren62.htm Review of Shadowrun: Renraku Arcology] ("What's an arcology? A self-contained, largely self-sufficient living, working, recreational structure...")
{{Emerging technologies|topics=yes|architect=yes}} {{Real estate developments}} Category:Exploratory engineering Category:Environmental design Category:Human habitats Category:Planned communities Category:Urban studies and planning terminology Category:Cyberpunk themes Category:Architecture related to utopias Category:Proposed arcologies Category:Proposed megastructures