VIRTUAL: Livable Cities – New York

Abstract

Throughout history, architectural discourse and practice have oscillated between two antipodal instantiations of urban visions on livability paradigm: utopias and dystopias. The former depicts an ideal city, acutely solving the complex requirements of urban life via architectural and urban fantasies, while the latter is the antithesis of it, ushering in architecture as a panacea. Both ‘topias’ are the exaggerated apotheosis of urban and architectural images, delineating pernicious or salubrious living contingencies with the exclusion of the other, ineluctably promoting a phantasmagoric derivation. Etymologically, the topia comes from the word topos in Greek, which means a ‘place’, accommodating an ontological and corporeal manifestation. Since both ‘topias’ could not advance beyond the mere incorporeality and predictions, they contradict the immanent springboard of the word ‘topia’, causing them to be impractical for palpable urban and architectural executions. To realize them in urban scenery and obtain a livable city, many have endeavored to mediate the concept. Ecotopia, techno-utopia, cyber-utopia, and many other ‘topias’ have been introduced to architectural discourse and theory, aiming to avail the merits. Unfortunately, all these ‘topias’ dominantly instantiate either the dystopic or the utopic features, failing to stay in between the pendulum shift and resulting in unrealistic reifications. In search of a new ‘topia’, the metaverse offers a contemporary digital metatopia, interpellated by both real and virtual. Within that sense, the paper aims to critically inquire how the evolving metatopia could entail a novel and operable medium, amalgamating livable virtues of ‘topias’ while avoiding being restricted by one.