Episode 15: The future of the city
Detail from the cover of Ecotopia, by Ernest Callenbach
Cities lurk in the background of many futuristic stories, but they can also be characters in them. In this episode, we talk about how cities might evolve, and whether it's inevitable that they'll become cyber-noir dystopias. Also on our minds: Why social scientists are talking about the rise of "global cities," and how Wakanda is one of the few Utopian metropolises on screen. Plus: Sci-fi mapmaker Burrito Justice joins us and explains how he crunched the GIS data to make an accurate map of San Francisco after 100 feet of sea level rise.
Some links:
Saskia Sassen, The Global City
Fritz Leiber discusses megapolisomancy in “Our Lady of Darkness”
Tade Thompson, Rosewater
Ernest Callenbach, Ecotopia
Burrito Justice’s map of San Francisco + 200’ of Sea Level Rise