Monuments of architecture and creators of the transcendence - Doomsday Structures (Part 4) - Arctic City

We may have, within the digital world, smoothed out the ideologies of environmentalism, more so the impact on population growth on our cities, with expansion and global trade markets maintaining the ebbs and flows of capital investment and human traffic.  Hashtag activism offers an emotive tone in its participation of discord and attempt at change, yet, particularly with cities expanding too fast with too many people.  Despite Western fertility rates declining, the overall increases in population growth as a global phenomenon after the 1950s has been astounding.  And this can be seen in the growth of cities in the last 20 yrs, particulay in the West.  The topic of overpopulation and effect on the environment is not a new concern, but seldom correlated as a contributing problem in favour of managing fertility rates, when the baby boom of 50's data was added to the United Nations global statics of the time, it came in at 2.6 Billion, by 1987 5 billion.  In 2011, it hit a milestone of 7 billion, which is expected to spike at 11 billion by 2100.  Despite the forecasts, the problems of fertility spikes are already here, with uneven birth rates from Western countries to the developing countries – which are continuing to rise.  However, when we look at some of data, more so the urbanisation of Western cities, there is clearly the immigrant intake that has contributed to the rise in population, but, there is something else.  The local inhabitants of cities, which are the people that were born there, within the West are still having children and this appears, within the statistical gauges, as disproportional in population growth.  With some Western cities such as London, Berlin and Sydney beginning to overshadowed the overall immigration intake as the birth rates rise.  In turn it is fuelling the belief of economic stability and prosperity that can offset the ire of overpopulation, very similar to the 1950s.  Except, the heavy reliance of international investment and trade has fractured the urbanisation as a concept of sustainable living.  It now, as a directional policy to aim for higher fertility rates, has solely focused on its economic purpose as a solution to the problems that may manifest.  We know climate change is a science, that is not disputed – yet, with the news feeds via digital feedback loops, the crisis at this point in time, seems afar.  But nevertheless a pending worry for many.  Thus, there are advocates on both sides of the political spectrum that firmly believe that an increase in population is not a contributing factor to climate change and/or population increases and its widespread urbanisation, which adds pressure on local resources.  Rather they see this is good policy, as long as there an availability to technology.  A belief that will assist in the sustaining a growing middle class.  As mentioned, this is not a new ideology, from extended periods in time from the last 200 years when industrialisation and technology advancement was sold as a liberation of the working class.  But, this explanation of infinitum human growth and urbanisation as a benefit via technological sustability, is all but a fallacy.  With the curse, from an economic perspective that is always tied to environmental issues, inflation becomes an ever growing spectra of doom for urban expansion.  Which, if you look at costs today, they are rising.  The uneven aspects of an expansive city, which may not reveal obvious signs of inflation, but, living has become more expensive.  The basic tenets of accommodation, food, electricity and clothing are all now moving closer towards hyperinflation.  

In 1968, the biologist Paul Enrlich released what was deemed, even at the time, a controversial book. Stating that the core issue of all environmental crises were due to overpopulation, with too many people and too few resources, a tipping point would lead to a societal collapse, starvation, global disease outbreaks – that in tune will instigate a breakdown of law and order in the major cites of the world.  The book was called 'The Population Bomb', which later became a best seller and also was credited for the beginnings of ground roots environmental movements, more so the zero population growth concepts. It also had an impact on designers and architects, who amongst other environmental disasters throughout the 1960s and 1970s, began to draw up plans to separate humanity and our cities from the natural systems.  Their proposal were these domed mega structures, self contained habitats, that uses internal energy sources, a self contained system of recycled resources.  These enclosed cities would be a considered eco-structures, which, would offer a migration away from overcrowded cities. Except some architects, particularly Frei Otto, the famed German architect offered his idea of a domed mega-city environment to be situated in one of the inhospitable places for human living – The Arctic City.