Ver$calnoirHistoriesofthefutureinurbansciencefic$on

StephenGraham

‘Wedon’tgointothefuturefromzero,wedragthewholepastinwithus.’(SydMead)

H.G.Wells’WhentheSleeperAwakes(1899):Graham‘simpression‘wasofoverwhelmingarchitecture.Theplaceinto

whichhelookedwasanaisleofTitanicbuildings,curvingspaciouslyineitherdirec$on.Overheadmightycan$leverssprang

togetheracrossthehugewidthoftheplace,andatraceryoftranslucentmaterialshutoutthesky.Gigan$cglobesofcool

whitelightshamedthepalesunbeamsthatfiltereddownthroughthegirdersandwires.HereandthereagossamersuspensionbridgedoMedwithfootpassengersflungacrossthechasmandtheairwaswebbedwithslendercables.Acliffofedificehung

abovehim..”

‘Forthepoorthereisnoeasydeath’;theyare,rather,condemnedtoa

lifeofhardlabour,brutalityandill-health

inthecity’ssubterraneanlabyrinths.

‘Wherearethepeoplewhosehandsbuiltyourcity?’,Frederasksdesperately.‘Offwheretheybelong!’,hisfatherrepliesscornfully.‘Inthedepths!’.Hisfatherthen

closestheblindstohispenthouse,shieldinghisgazefromthelowerdepthsofthecitybelow.

‘Thehymnofpraiseforoneman’,Maria,thefilm’sheroine—adaughterofoneofthe

workerswhocaresfortheirchildren—exhorts,‘becamethecurseofothers!’

‘Anisola$ontankfor2000people’RickMcGrath.‘the10th-floorshoppingmallformedaclearboundarybetweenthelowerninefloors,withtheir“proletariat”offilmtechnicians,airhostessesandthelike,andthemiddlesec$onofthehigh-rise,whichextendedfromthe10thfloortotheswimmingpoolandrestaurantdeckonthe35thfloor’.Centralfloors:‘madeupofself-centredbutbasicallydocilemembersoftheprofessions—thedoctorsandlawyers,accountantsandtaxspecialistswhoworked,notforthemselves,butformedicalins$tutesandlargecorpora$ons...’‘Abovethem,onthetopfivefloorsofthehigh-rise,wasitsupperclass,thediscreetoligarchyofminortycoonsandentrepreneurs,televisionactressesandcareeristacademics,withtheirhigh-speedelevatorsandsuperiorservices,theircarpetedstaircases.’Royal,thearchitectRoyalis‘well-to-do’,arrogantanddefensive.Heis‘determinedtooutstareanycri$cism’ofthebuildinghehelpedtoconceive.’Retrea$ngintoahermit-likeexistenceRoyalfeels,‘forthefirst$methatthewaslookingdownatthesky,ratherthanupatit.EachdaythetowersofcentralLondonseemedslightlymoredistant,thelandscapeofanabandonedplanetrecedingslowlyfromhismind.’

RidleyScoM‘afilmsetfortyyearshencemadeinastyleoffortyyearsago’

SydMead‘Thestreetlevelbecomesthebasement,anddecentpeoplejustdon’twanttogothere’,Meadsaidin2015.Meanwhile,hecon$nued,the700-storeypyramid-liketowers

inhabitedbycorporateeliteswereallequippedwithaskylobby,‘andnobodygoesbelowthe30thfloor,andthat’sthewaylifewouldbeorganized’.

Reeltoreal:urbanfactsandfic$ons

AnnaGreespan:‘spectralen$$esunleashedbythemodernmachinehauntdarkci$esteemingwithnocturnallife’.Culturalprophecy:MarkFisherstressesthat‘theirvalueliesinhyperbolicexcess,intheircapacitytoconvertrealpoli$caltensionsintomythicaltermsanddream-likeimages’.DarkoSuvin:Workthrough‘cogni$veestrangement’—theprocessoftakingviewersoutoftheireverydayworldsintoaworldwhichseemsstrangeanddisjointed,butbelievablyso.

WilliamGibson(2003):‘Thefuturehasalreadyarrived.

It’sjustnotevenlydistributed.’

(i)Gulf(Retro)Futurism:

‘Agenera$on[ofArabelites],forcedindoorsbecauseofintenseheat,’journalistNatalieOlahspeculates,‘developedaviewofthefutureinformedalmostexclusivelyby

videogamesandHollywoodfilms.’Endlesslyreworkedfuturismalso

saturatescorporateandlocalmediaintheregion.Al-Mariarecallsachildren’sTVshowintheGulf

‘wherethesekidsgetonamonorailinthemodernday,theytravel

throughalabandareteleportedto2030.Theycomeouttheothersideandthereareevenbiggerbuildingsandthetrainisflyingthroughthe

air.”

‘IamherebecauseoftheuniqueexcitementofseeingthefuturecometrueinDubai’SydMead,

AdrianSmith,ofChicago’sSOMoffice:‘I

justrememberedtheglassy,crystallinestructure

comingupinthemiddleofwhatseemedlikenowhere’

In2013,meanwhile,legendarycyberpunkauthorNealStephenson,stungbythesensethatcontemporarysci-fiwriterswerenotasboldastheirforebearsonimaginingnewtechnologies,puthis

weightbehindatowerfully20kilometrestall—fully24$meshigherthantheBurjKhalifa—thatwouldhelplaunchcraninto

spaceCalledita‘somewhatplayful,somewhatseriousaMempt’tos$rthemindsofa

genera$onheconsideredtobestarvedofreallybig,step-changeinnova$onsbytechnologists’preoccupa$onwithbanal

ITandsocialmediaapps

‘Wecamesearchingforthefutureand

foundit’,JeffreyChernov,oneoftheStarTrekBeyond’s

producers

Retrosci-fiShanghai

‘Shanghaiisacityhungryforthefuture.Togetataste,headtotheheightsofthefinancialdistrictin

Pudong’sLujiazui.Atdusk,theviewfromtheninety-firstflooroftheShanghaiWorldFinancialCenterisfantas$callyalien.Outsidethe

enormouswindows,themetropolisstretchesoutlikeanoff-worldfantasy;afilmappari$onofa

science-fic$oncity’

‘Anappari$onofafuturethathasalreadypast’.

AnnaGreenspan

‘itwasjustlikeBladeRunner,withoutDarylHannahtryingtokillmewithherthighs’.

‘theonlythingmissingisflyingcars!

Itisimportant,though,tointerpretChina’sspectacularurbanfuturismasagreatdealmorethanmerelyanuncannyde´javuforWesterntouristsfiltered,nodoubt,throughthelensesofalonghistoryofWesternOrientalism.Suchaninterpreta$onispreytoaccusa$onsofacrassethnocentricism.AsphilosopherAnneGreenspanstresses,whilstnaiveutopianfuturismhaslongbeendiscreditedintheWest,weshouldnotseethesci-fifuturismofShanghaiorBeijingasmerelysomeChinesereplacementforlong-deadWesternmodernistcultures.Rather,sheargues,China’sdynamismandconfidence—linkedtoitsverydifferentculturesandsenseofhistoryand$me—relatepowerfullytoitsownfaith—oratleastthefaithofitselites—inanabsolute(ratherthanrela$onal)futurism.

Contes$ngsci-ficityscapes

PedroGadanho:‘youdon’thavetobeamyourselftoMarsto

envisageasci-fiurbanismthatisconceivedinthefaceofextreme

condi$ons’

‘Asimovgivesusabrilliantvisionofurbaniza$ontakentothemax,a

veritableutopia-cum-dystopia…Inmen$oningAsimov,Lefebvrealready

recognizedinthelate1960stheseedsofTrantorinoururbanmidst.

ThroughAsimov,heseemstocallonustoopenupourperspec<veonthinking

abouturbanlife,daringustobroadenittothelargestremitpossible.Hewants

ustograspthetotalityofcapitalisturbaniza$on—wholesaleandfull-scale—tolivewiththatstarlingimmensity,tomakeitourown.Wemightthenbeable

tothinkmoreclearlyaboutpoli$cs—aboutprospec<ve,progressivepoli$cs

underplanetaryurbaniza$on”

Butbeguilingpossibili.esaswell

ashellishnightmares.

Intheearly1980s,Westernplannerswereinthethroesofreplacingthecleanandsterilefunc$onalcityofmodernistutopiaswithvisionsofci$esrestoredwithdense,pedestrian-friendlyandvibrantstreetscapes.WhenthethrongedandteemingstreetlifeofBladeRunner’sstreetshitthecinemascreensin1982,tomanyurbanprofessionals,ratherthansomechillingdystopia,thefilmactuallybecameanorma$vemodelofadesiredcitytobeplannedfor.By1997,‘threeoutoffiveleadingplannersagreedthattheyhopedthatLAwouldsomedaylooklikethefilmBladeRunner’.Rathertongueincheek,AustralianplannerStephenRowleysuggests,‘ifvibrancyandvitalityarewhatwe’reaner,thereisalottolikeaboutthisfic$onalLosAngelesof2019.Ithasplentyofstreet-levelconvenienceretailingandrestaurants.’And‘thenightlifelooksfantas$c’.