Re: Art, Environment and Architecture(was)Extropic Flare In NY Art ,

QueeneMUSE@aol.com
Thu, 23 Sep 1999 23:19:59 EDT

In a message dated 9/23/1999 3:52:18 PM Pacific Daylight Time, arkuat@idiom.com writes:

<< Also, people on the streets at all hours are an effective deterrent against crime. (ref: Jane Jacob's, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, 1962). This does not happen in the suburbs because of the low dwelling densities (and low business densities also), so people tend to stay indoors at night in most suburbs I've observed. This would be a very unpleasant lifestyle for me.
>>

That wasn't how I pictured his city. When thinking about nan, i remember that most of today's conditions will be far removed from what they are today. For example "underground" could be a light, airy, lucid place, due to the manipulation of matter. Right now, it is dark, dank, and oppressive. But so are today's cities!

In a fully developed nano technological society, matter will be almost synonymous with "thought.'" What you dream up, you can make. What "underground" looks like: that is up to your designers. Of course they will need to provide safety & comfort above and beyond that which surface dwellers enjoy - or else no one will move there.

I like the idea because it implies "roots", and possible reconstruction of the beauty & ecology above. I agree, my inital response was creepy, but if Nan provides growing, living -- highly mutable buildings, what matter if it be in sunlight or artificial light, they can still sparkle and wink.