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Babel and Babylon

Babel and Babylon

Aztec cities

Aztec cities

Heavenly Jerusalem

Heavenly Jerusalem

The Fujian Tulou

The Fujian Tulou

Utopia

Utopia

Romorantin, capital of a kingdom...

Romorantin, capital of a kingdom...

The city of brotherly love

The city of brotherly love

Saint Petersburg, Peter's great city

Saint Petersburg, Peter's great city

Industry, socialism and utopia

Industry, socialism and utopia

Taking technology to new heights

Taking technology to new heights

Home sweet home

Home sweet home

A towering challenge...

A towering challenge...

New towns

New towns

Conjuring capitals

Conjuring capitals

Auroville: "divine anarchy"

Auroville: "divine anarchy"

Private cities

Private cities

Dubai: miracle or mirage?

Dubai: miracle or mirage?

All eyes on the horizon

All eyes on the horizon

Taking technology to new heights

Other proponents of happier utopian societies chose to rethink the city with more of a fun feel. From Jules Vernes to Albert Robida, advances in technology led to some wild and whacky ideas!

Monsieur Duconnaud's proposal

A political candidate by the name of Duconnaud once made an electoral promise to extend Boulevard Saint-Michel as far as the sea. The idea was taken up by Ferdinand Lop who, in answer to the question of which end would be extended, casually replied that it would stretch to the sea from either end.

In another crackpot attempt to improve life in Paris, Albert Caperon, a candidate in the 1893 legislative election, backed by Georges Courteline and Alphonse Allais, proposed transforming Place Pigalle into a sea port... That idea, along with a number of other equally far-fetched plans, garnered Mr Caperon the grand total of 176 votes!

Although many of these inventions raised a few eyebrows, some found useful applications. For instance, the mechanical sidewalk, invented in the United States, was unveiled at the Universal Exhibition of 1900 as a new, fun form of transportation—nobody at the time imagined how it would change urban life... More recent technological wonders include the heliport on top of the Burj al-Arab Hotel.

Leaving the Opera in the Year 2000
Albert Robida

Albert Robida (1848-1926) was a brilliant illustrator and the graphic rival of Jules Vernes, with a healthy dose of humor! Robida provided illustrations for Shakespeare and Rabelais, and caricatures for the satirical magazine Assiette au Beurre, but he was also a visionary inventor. Drawing on the technical knowledge available at the time, he used his keen eye to sketch a remarkable view of the world. His work ranged from the esoteric to the oddball, with inventions including the telephonoscope (telephone with screen), transatlantic transportation through tubes laid on the sea bottom, a cloud vacuum, and even a brand-new continent. He was keen to explore the world of science fiction, as seen in the 1919 publication, L'Ingénieur Von Satanas, an apocalyptic novel drawing on the events of the First World War.

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