Learning from new millennium science fiction cities

Abstract

Fiction, and particularly current science fiction, (1) reflects, gives voice to, and may shape popular images of the city; (b) provides models of 'world building' whose methods may complement and critique other methods of informing the design of cities; and (3) plays out poetically rich thought experiments -cities of feeling -that can help designers understand nuances of current urban design and architectural theory. This paper examines the urban landscapes of three 21st-century award-winning science fiction novels. These cities of the fictive imagination can inform the creation of cities of the design imagination.