The Perfect City: Does it Exist?
For eternity, Man has dreamed of Utopia; a city where every waking moment is Life, in a Perpetual Dream.
A Beautiful Dream
Amidst the barren, harsh conditions of the desert lies a secret. For many, it’s the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s full of life. An ecosystem that thrives, when all else around it is desolate, dead. Just as an Oasis provides sanctuary amongst the dunes of the desert, the Perfect City offers respite in a world that’s crumbling before our eyes.
It’s a Global World 🌐
Yeah, I’m sure Dubai’s nice. It seems like everyone is moving somewhere these days. Whether it’s the Middle East, or across the continent, these conversations are at an all-time high.
While we certainly will never agree on what the “best place” is, the one thing most can agree on is: choosing where you call home is one of, if not the most important decision you make in your life.
And it’s interesting. For most people? It’s not conscious. By sheer luck, they find themselves born in a spot on the globe. They decide to call that home, for the rest of their lives.
Just like their fathers, and great-grandfathers did before them. Don’t get me wrong. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
But, we have to admit that we cannot escape reality. We are now living in a world more connected than ever before — so connected you can actually celebrate New Year’s twice.
It’s not even about how much the world has shrunk. It’s become congeneric. With mass immigration and cultural diffusion, it seems like everywhere is now the same. I’m no nihilist, but tell me you haven’t noticed?
Go visit any major city in the world. McDonald’s at the airport. Zara, H&M line the streets. The same chains. Just in a different location. They even smell the same.
Very slowly, local culture is being replaced with a sort of global culture, and it’s already happening in front of our very eyes. It cannot be stopped. Times have changed.
It is no wonder we are seeing more move abroad, severing the bonds that have tied them to their ancestral homes, for generations. Patriotism is waning, and more people are asking: What’s the best place to call home?
We’ve Never Been Closer, or Have We? ⚡
We’re almost a quarter through the 21st century, and it feels like if there was ever going to be a group of human beings to experience Utopia, it would have to be us.
I mean, just look at how much progress we’re making. In January 2023 alone, we made years of progress made in Artificial Intelligence (AI). The future’s already here. And growth seems to be parabolic.
All this technology will eventually be reflected in the infrastructure around us. This decade, we are poised to witness the creation of some projects you would call fiction just a few years ago.
One such example is Saudi Arabia’s NEOM, a visionary modern city that pushes the ideas of city design. The jewel in its crown is The Line, a revolutionary portion of the city that’s literally built in a straight line for over 170 miles. No roads. No cars. High speed rail. Clean air. Completely Sustainable.
It’s said to provide an“unprecedented urban living experience”, all with an immediate access to nature. Will Saudi’s NEOM become the Utopia we’re all searching for?
We’ll come back to that in 2025.
It’s not just established countries that are trying their hand at crafting Utopia. There are now community-centric projects like Praxis, that aim to create a whole new world.
Like I said, it’s true that patriotism is waning. We’re getting more similar than ever before, and so many of us don’t feel like we “belong” anymore. We find ourselves more aligned with our micro-internet circles, instead of the flags we see on our passports. And that’s where Praxis comes in.
“John Locke quotes Cicero: salus populi suprema lex. The health of the people is the supreme law. We aspire to live vital lives. As individuals, through beauty, strength, and virtue. As a society, by expanding the horizons of art, commerce, and technology.
With this moral primitive as our compass, we set out on the frontier to build a new city.”
— an excerpt from Praxis’ Master Plan
A culture optimized for vitality. A grassroots movement. Built by the people. For the people. Where Artist meets Flâneur. Where Beauty intertwines with Architecture.
And of course, who’s to say we haven’t achieve Utopia in the past?
Oh, how did they build the pyramids in Giza?
Was Atlantis real? How much gold did they have in El Dorado? Shambhala was real…
Artist’s Ideas For Utopia 💥
"Utopia is present in all conceptions, ideas, philosophies that want to change the world. (...) It is a distant project, but one that irrigates and nourishes hope at the heart of societies."
“Palmanova”, Georg Braun & Franz Hogenberg, 1572-1680.
Utopia Island, Thomas Mor, 1516
Broadacre City, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1932
Your Immediate Environment is All 🧨
While we all dream of a Utopia, as of 2023 such a state, or jurisdiction does not yet exist. But what if I told you, you could purposefully craft your own version of a mini-utopia? And no, you don’t need to build giant walls of reflective steel, or fly high-speed drones.
All you need to optimize for is a beautifully curated local environment.
That, to me is Utopia.
It’s about creating your own ecosystem that thrives on it’s own. Strategically plotting yourself on a node where the 1-mile, 5-mile and 10-mile radius is filled with everything you need.
The best produce in the world. World-class facilities to build athletic strength. Rehabilitation centres to maximize health. Fresh air. Beautiful skies. Zero chemtrails. Trees, flowers, nature, everywhere.
“Luxury is living within walking distance of everything you need”
Of course, exactly what you optimize for depends on your specific cirumstances, but here’s what I believe are crucial ingredients:
1 mile radius
Farmer’s markets, with fresh produce brought daily
Great cafés, restaurants with beautiful ambience
World-class gymnasium & fully kitted rehab facilities
No “ugly highways”
Elite schools
5 mile radius
Nature parks & reserves
Beaches & trails
State-of-the-art medical facilities
Beautiful museums
10 mile radius
Efficient, cozy, international airport
Marina services
Private clubs
Golf courses
What did I miss? Share your list in the comments 🥂
Eventually, you can come together with a group of other like-minded individuals and start building resources that benefit the community. Private schools made with an actual real-world curriculum for 2023 & beyond. Crowd-funded social clubs. Pooling resources together to create beautiful architecture. Eventually, a beautiful utopia will be formed, as a consequence of your actions; optimizing for what truly matters in this world. The Perfect City. It’s Possible.
“There is always a new continent, one where the people are given a chance to live within Eden rather than against it. If Atlantis sunk, America may also. Let every coast become the floor of a new sea.” — @mozartpalestine
reading this reminded me of the show on Prime right now called "Utopia." it's a very interesting show, very well written, exposes some very thought provoking questions like, who's utopia are we talking about? your utopia has to be even a little bit different then everyone else's. do you have to give up some of your freedoms to be in utopia? i also believe that everything we experience especially on TV that it has to go through a strict screening process before it aires. so i'm thinking what they talk about on the show, conspiracy's that are true, that the black nobility had approve it before it went on aire.