Session 7A: The Evolution of Megaprojects and Multi-Dimensional Cities

30 October 2019
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM

The vision of a truly 3-D city, one which has substantial planes of habitation above the ground level, and which would reduce the requirement for city-dwellers to descend from their towers for education, horizontal transport, and community services, has been elusive. Meanwhile, in recent decades, increasingly complex mixed-use towers, megaprojects billed as “cities within cities,” have risen. Although skybridge-linked clusters of towers, with flying personal vehicles, have been a mainstay of science-fiction for more than 100 years, it is only now that the construction, transportation, and digital technologies are converging to make the 3-D city a palpable reality. Given the pressures of climate and urbanization, the convergence of the megaproject “city within a city” and the vision of the connected 3-D city may soon become a necessity in some densely populated areas. This raises questions of constructability and operational viability, the answers to which can be found through integrated, cross-disciplinary inquiry, informed by solid experience. Learn more from some of the leading researchers, constructors and practitioners behind the next generation of megaprojects-as-cities.