6 ms·

I think having a modern version of this would be kind of cool. Something that’s managed with laws and isn’t a slum. I’d imagine having everything you need in an

by yibg 7y ago

I think having a modern version of this would be kind of cool. Something that’s managed with laws and isn’t a slum. I’d imagine having everything you need in an enclosed space would be appealing to some people.

wyattpeak 7y ago
Are you imagining something different from a well-appointed apartment complex? I live in one, it's very convenient, and I could probably avoid ever leaving if I wanted to,* but I don't think it bears much similarity to a leaking, lightless slum. And it couldn't while being managed by laws (specifically, building codes). * I work from home, but there's plenty of employment to be found within the complex too, including a few office buildings.
- yibg 7y ago
  I looked at purchasing a condo in North York up in Ontario a few years back. The condo was connected to a shopping center with grocery, restaurant, movie theatre and other shops. In addition it was right on top of the subway station. At that time I worked downtown in a building also with direct access to the subway as well as to the PATH network. So in this scenario I literally could never go outside and get everything I need, which is both good and bad. I guess I had something like that in mind but minus the subway so things are in a smaller radius.
aasasd 7y ago
Firstly, afaik many high-rises are already set up this way, especially in China or Hong Kong where they get pretty dense. Also IIRC there's a settlement in Alaska or Canada that's just one apartment building, population of 200-something. Personally I wouldn't be able to live there, with everyone knowing who's sleeping with whom. Secondly, I don't know how enclosed you want the space, but in many European cities, you get everything you need and most of what you want in a rather short walking distance―instead of having to drive. Plus you get sun and fresh air, as opposed to what was there in Kowloon.
- mattkrause 7y ago
  Are you thinking of Begich Towers in Whittier, Alaska? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begich_Towers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begich_Towers
  - yibg 7y ago
    Huh learned the term arcology today. I think that’s a pretty fitting word to describe what I meant.
    - netsharc 7y ago
      Someone didn't grow up playing Sim City 2000... https://simcity.fandom.com/wiki/Arcology https://simcity.fandom.com/wiki/Arcology
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- yibg 7y ago
  China it depends as many cities things are a fair distance away, but core of HK is pretty dense. But that’s a plus for me, that I can go downstairs and get most of what I need from a small radius that’s very walkable. I agree with the 200 person complex, that’s too small. It needs to be something big enough and containing enough people that it feels like a small city, not a small school.
- saagarjha 7y ago
  > Also IIRC there's a settlement in Alaska or Canada that's just one apartment building, population of 200-something. Personally I wouldn't be able to live there, with everyone knowing who's sleeping with whom. I take it you never lived in a large college dorm?
- simbas 7y ago
  This is "le mur" / "the wall" in Fermont, Québec, Canada. https://youtu.be/_xG1YmOWrD8 https://youtu.be/_xG1YmOWrD8
- 7y ago
sneak 7y ago
A complex of connected (underground and/or skybridges) skyscrapers that encompass all types of common food/shops and a wide range of residential would be pretty awesome. I’d move into something like that. Bonus points if they built in a pneumatic delivery tube system for getting food from the restaurants to any of the homes/offices quickly.
- yibg 7y ago
  Yea I had something like that in mind too. Something like the PATH network in Toronto or the plus 15 up in Calgary.
  - sneak 7y ago
    Sadly the PATH is far from 24h, same for most of the businesses it connects.
- basementcat 7y ago
  Large parts of Downtown Minneapolis and similar northern cities are completely interconnected via basements and sky bridges.
- scarejunba 7y ago
  If you're ever in San Francisco, go wander around the Embarcadero Center buildings 1-3. You can live there, go to the movies, eat at top notch restaurants all without touching ground level. If you want to go to the gym or buy groceries, you'll have to go to the ground level but you'll still be in the complex.
  - sneak 7y ago
    There are no convenience stores or grocery stores. It’s also open to the elements, IIRC?
    - scarejunba 7y ago
      You're right. In my head EC and the nearby Gateway homes + the parks bleed together.
animal531 7y ago
Growing up I loved stories about arcologies. Break-away super high tech cities that became their own enclaves.
- valdiorn 7y ago
  The idea that the parent poster mentions is indeed referred to as an arcology, the idea being that you have a small city completely encapsulated within a single monolithic structure. Remember those weird giant buildings from Sim City 2000? Those were arcologies. Other examples would be Peach Trees, the mega-skyscraper setting of Judge Dredd, and the Cairo arcology from Deus Ex 2
  - bleuarff 7y ago
    Add to that The World Inside novel, by Robert Silverberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Inside https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Inside).
peteretep 7y ago
My condo-block has a 7-11, a gym, a hairdresser, and a massage place, and we get FoodPanda and groceries delivered. Some of my friends also live in the condo-block. I could easily go a week without leaving if I didn't make an effort.
- wprapido 7y ago
  Thailand is so convenient to live in
winkeyless 7y ago
> managed with laws The OG Kowloon Walled City became itself because of lawlessness and self-sustaining. With law and regulation in place it’s hard to build anything close to it.
tim333 7y ago
Something like a city without immigration controls so any of the world's refugees could go there would be interesting.
thanatropism 7y ago
There's a game, Tiny Tower. It's a silly click/wait game with no substance to it, but it's sort of fascinating to imagine a real building like that.
alisonatwork 7y ago
I live in what is called an "urban village" in China, and aspects of it are similar to Kowloon Walled City. That is: there are a lot of quasi-legal mid-rise buildings so close together that if you walk in the alleys between them you cannot see the sky. Most apartments do not have a window, and those that do mostly just look out on the opposite building. Migrant workers live in dorms on the ground level and squatters convert rooftop greenhouses to small living spaces. The wider streets are still technically walking streets, although there you will also find cyclists and electric scooter delivery drivers squeezing through. There are lots of rats and cockroaches, but because gentrification there are also buildings that have a concierge and occasionally spray pest control. The big difference between urban villages in the mainland top-tier cities and Kowloon Walled City is exactly that they are managed with laws. Although these villages are considered by middle class people as sketchy areas full of black society (mainland version of triads), in reality it's mostly just migrant workers trying to make a living. Plus, because mainland China, police (and informants) are everywhere, so it's relatively safe compared to the actual sketchy areas in low-tier cities. The good things about living in an urban village are that there is very cheap food, the people are very friendly and you can walk downstairs to get everything that you need without having to visit a chain store. The bad thing is that these areas are seen by the government as a necessary evil, and as soon as the surrounding areas get rich enough, they just clear the whole place out. Like, full on demolition bye bye. Because the vast majority of people living in urban villages are migrant workers, they have very few rights in the city (public schooling, healthcare, housing etc), so evicting them is easy. If you're interested in this kind of living a great blog to follow is Shenzhen Noted: https://shenzhennoted.com/ https://shenzhennoted.com/ Of course, you can also find a similar lifestyle in European cities, where most buildings are walking distance from a fruit shop, a kebab joint, a bakery and a pub. North American condo living is a totally different thing because it's dominated by shopping malls and chain stores. Even the working class towers in North America have fast food chains downstairs. The kind of local/community lifestyle we have here is something i really wish i could transport to the North American cities. It's so much better, imo.

by yibg 7y ago

wyattpeak 7y ago

Are you imagining something different from a well-appointed apartment complex? I live in one, it's very convenient, and I could probably avoid ever leaving if I wanted to,* but I don't think it bears much similarity to a leaking, lightless slum. And it couldn't while being managed by laws (specifically, building codes). * I work from home, but there's plenty of employment to be found within the complex too, including a few office buildings.

yibg 7y ago
I looked at purchasing a condo in North York up in Ontario a few years back. The condo was connected to a shopping center with grocery, restaurant, movie theatre and other shops. In addition it was right on top of the subway station. At that time I worked downtown in a building also with direct access to the subway as well as to the PATH network. So in this scenario I literally could never go outside and get everything I need, which is both good and bad. I guess I had something like that in mind but minus the subway so things are in a smaller radius.

aasasd 7y ago

Firstly, afaik many high-rises are already set up this way, especially in China or Hong Kong where they get pretty dense. Also IIRC there's a settlement in Alaska or Canada that's just one apartment building, population of 200-something. Personally I wouldn't be able to live there, with everyone knowing who's sleeping with whom. Secondly, I don't know how enclosed you want the space, but in many European cities, you get everything you need and most of what you want in a rather short walking distance―instead of having to drive. Plus you get sun and fresh air, as opposed to what was there in Kowloon.

mattkrause 7y ago
Are you thinking of Begich Towers in Whittier, Alaska? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begich_Towers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begich_Towers
- yibg 7y ago
  Huh learned the term arcology today. I think that’s a pretty fitting word to describe what I meant.
  - netsharc 7y ago
    Someone didn't grow up playing Sim City 2000... https://simcity.fandom.com/wiki/Arcology https://simcity.fandom.com/wiki/Arcology
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
yibg 7y ago
China it depends as many cities things are a fair distance away, but core of HK is pretty dense. But that’s a plus for me, that I can go downstairs and get most of what I need from a small radius that’s very walkable. I agree with the 200 person complex, that’s too small. It needs to be something big enough and containing enough people that it feels like a small city, not a small school.
saagarjha 7y ago
> Also IIRC there's a settlement in Alaska or Canada that's just one apartment building, population of 200-something. Personally I wouldn't be able to live there, with everyone knowing who's sleeping with whom. I take it you never lived in a large college dorm?
simbas 7y ago
This is "le mur" / "the wall" in Fermont, Québec, Canada. https://youtu.be/_xG1YmOWrD8 https://youtu.be/_xG1YmOWrD8
7y ago

sneak 7y ago

A complex of connected (underground and/or skybridges) skyscrapers that encompass all types of common food/shops and a wide range of residential would be pretty awesome. I’d move into something like that. Bonus points if they built in a pneumatic delivery tube system for getting food from the restaurants to any of the homes/offices quickly.

yibg 7y ago
Yea I had something like that in mind too. Something like the PATH network in Toronto or the plus 15 up in Calgary.
- sneak 7y ago
  Sadly the PATH is far from 24h, same for most of the businesses it connects.
basementcat 7y ago
Large parts of Downtown Minneapolis and similar northern cities are completely interconnected via basements and sky bridges.
scarejunba 7y ago
If you're ever in San Francisco, go wander around the Embarcadero Center buildings 1-3. You can live there, go to the movies, eat at top notch restaurants all without touching ground level. If you want to go to the gym or buy groceries, you'll have to go to the ground level but you'll still be in the complex.
- sneak 7y ago
  There are no convenience stores or grocery stores. It’s also open to the elements, IIRC?
  - scarejunba 7y ago
    You're right. In my head EC and the nearby Gateway homes + the parks bleed together.

animal531 7y ago

Growing up I loved stories about arcologies. Break-away super high tech cities that became their own enclaves.

valdiorn 7y ago
The idea that the parent poster mentions is indeed referred to as an arcology, the idea being that you have a small city completely encapsulated within a single monolithic structure. Remember those weird giant buildings from Sim City 2000? Those were arcologies. Other examples would be Peach Trees, the mega-skyscraper setting of Judge Dredd, and the Cairo arcology from Deus Ex 2
- bleuarff 7y ago
  Add to that The World Inside novel, by Robert Silverberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Inside https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Inside).

peteretep 7y ago

My condo-block has a 7-11, a gym, a hairdresser, and a massage place, and we get FoodPanda and groceries delivered. Some of my friends also live in the condo-block. I could easily go a week without leaving if I didn't make an effort.

wprapido 7y ago
Thailand is so convenient to live in

winkeyless 7y ago

> managed with laws The OG Kowloon Walled City became itself because of lawlessness and self-sustaining. With law and regulation in place it’s hard to build anything close to it.

tim333 7y ago

Something like a city without immigration controls so any of the world's refugees could go there would be interesting.

thanatropism 7y ago

There's a game, Tiny Tower. It's a silly click/wait game with no substance to it, but it's sort of fascinating to imagine a real building like that.

alisonatwork 7y ago

I live in what is called an "urban village" in China, and aspects of it are similar to Kowloon Walled City. That is: there are a lot of quasi-legal mid-rise buildings so close together that if you walk in the alleys between them you cannot see the sky. Most apartments do not have a window, and those that do mostly just look out on the opposite building. Migrant workers live in dorms on the ground level and squatters convert rooftop greenhouses to small living spaces. The wider streets are still technically walking streets, although there you will also find cyclists and electric scooter delivery drivers squeezing through. There are lots of rats and cockroaches, but because gentrification there are also buildings that have a concierge and occasionally spray pest control. The big difference between urban villages in the mainland top-tier cities and Kowloon Walled City is exactly that they are managed with laws. Although these villages are considered by middle class people as sketchy areas full of black society (mainland version of triads), in reality it's mostly just migrant workers trying to make a living. Plus, because mainland China, police (and informants) are everywhere, so it's relatively safe compared to the actual sketchy areas in low-tier cities. The good things about living in an urban village are that there is very cheap food, the people are very friendly and you can walk downstairs to get everything that you need without having to visit a chain store. The bad thing is that these areas are seen by the government as a necessary evil, and as soon as the surrounding areas get rich enough, they just clear the whole place out. Like, full on demolition bye bye. Because the vast majority of people living in urban villages are migrant workers, they have very few rights in the city (public schooling, healthcare, housing etc), so evicting them is easy. If you're interested in this kind of living a great blog to follow is Shenzhen Noted: https://shenzhennoted.com/ https://shenzhennoted.com/ Of course, you can also find a similar lifestyle in European cities, where most buildings are walking distance from a fruit shop, a kebab joint, a bakery and a pub. North American condo living is a totally different thing because it's dominated by shopping malls and chain stores. Even the working class towers in North America have fast food chains downstairs. The kind of local/community lifestyle we have here is something i really wish i could transport to the North American cities. It's so much better, imo.