Arcology

An Arcology is a massive self-contained city, usually within one hyper-structure.

Most arcologies rely only slightly on surrounding territories for resources and food, producing most of what they need internally through genetic engineering and sophisticated hydroponic farming. However, almost every arcology is surrounded by at least some measure of urban development, some by a simple conventional city which has sprung up since construction on the arcology began; others by large walled city complexes that predate the arcology itself. In 2280, there are numerous true arcologies each home to tens of millions of people and countless forms of industry. The arcologies should stand as humanity’s crowning achievement in design, construction, and cooperation. However, they have equally come to represent much of humanity's self-interest, shortsightedness and coldness.

History
The arcologies of the New World are attributed to visionary architect Paolo Soleri's fusion of architectural design with ecology in the form of large hyper-structures. However, the concept of self-contained cities built vertically to minimise impact on the surrounding environment never truly found the economic backing it needed. As such, his flagship project "Arcosanti" was never finished. However, the potential applications for arcologies experienced renewed interest in the years following his death. In particular, the promise of "insurgency proof" cities became increasingly attractive as the threat of terrorism became infused with urban life in the 21st century.

In 2035, several corporations worked together to create Max-plex, the first truly massive arcology project. Many thinkers and designers embraced the notion of arcologies, resulting in construction taking one of two forms. Either arcologies were raised as "warehouses" to gentrify, order and monitor urbanites in order to shackle them as factories for capital (and easily pacify sections of them with minimal economic disruption if necessary), or they formed gated community enclaves for the super-rich.

To learn more about Paolo Soleri and Arcology, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Soleri