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In a recently proposed 10-year development plan, Singapore aims to go from being "a garden city" to "a city in a garden." The proposal marks the latest milestone in the city's decades-long effort to become an eco-city. More »
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In the year 79 AD, Italy's Mt. Vesuvius erupted with superheated ash that rained fiery death on several Roman cities nearby. But none was hit harder than vacation town Pompeii, which was buried in a thick layer of broiling ash in a matter of seconds. More »
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In a study that screams to be wildly misinterpreted, people subjected to chaotic and disordered environments were shown to be more likely to discriminate against and stereotype others. More »
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Humans like to build cities that reach for the sky, but sometimes they also build downward. Whether for protection, or just because they can, we've created many cities beneath the Earth's crust - or dug deep into the rocky faces of mountains. Here are ten of the most awesome. More »
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A tiny human figure made of ice melts into the river where its body began. Elsewhere in the world, thousands of its brethren are melting on the steps of cathedrals, on park benches, and at the edges of crowded sidewalks. Where do they come from? Where will you see them next? We've got a gallery of these strange humanoids, and the poetic story behind their creation. More »
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The artificial island homes off the coast of Dubai are wonders of the world. Unfortunately, they seem to be eroding. More »
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Before he invented the safety razor, King Camp Gillette was a futurist. In 1894, he published plans for a porcelain, hexagonal city with transparent sidewalks. Why do so many innovators dream of building the perfect city?

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In scifi heist Inception, mind hackers build dreams where they con their marks into giving up valuable information. The most important mind hacker is the Architect, who creates dream cities. Where have we seen great scifi dream cities before? More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5591208&view=rss&microfeed=true A great essay over at Crosscut.com explains why two different schools of utopian city planning in Seattle both try to ignore the city's present-day realities and historical features: More »
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Photographer Bas Princen has a fantastic new exhibition, called "Refuge," up at Storefront for Art and Architecture. Storefront describes the show as a "photographic fiction". More »
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On a hot summer evening, it's tough to be the guy who guards the gas pump. Sometimes all the monsters who just got drunk at Horse With No Name come at you with knives and demand pints of petrol. More »
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John Berkey is famous for doing concept design for the original Star Wars movie, including a breathtaking poster of the Death Star. When he wasn't imagining space battles, he designed cities of the future - on Earth and in space. More »
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As the cities on Hawaiian islands grow larger, they'll start developing offshore, building underwater resources for residents. Already a plan is underway to cool Honolulu using ocean water; and offshore farming there could turn oceans into food production areas. More »
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Back in the 1960s, a group of UK design radicals got together and formed Archigram, an art collective whose creations (like this "walking city") have become synonymous with architectural futurism. More »
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It's as if we're witnessing the rise of the walled cities in Neal Stephenson's novel The Diamond Age, where neo-Victorians live in isolated, nanotech splendor while other people live in cardboard boxes. This image shows the stark contrast between the slums and the mini-city called Hamilton Court in Gurgaon, India. More »
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This gorgeous image of a floating city is one design team's idea of what New Orleans might look like in the future. Let me add to that: a better future, where urban design is graceful, humane, and forward-looking. Their idea is to create low-cost houses that are buoyant, and that survive floods by welcoming the Mississippi River into the city. More »
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