Category Archives: World Cities

The City of the Singularity Part 1: You See Us

Posted on 2019/11/03 by herbertwright

What if machine intelligence was in complete control of the city and its citizens? Continue reading →

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A spotlight on Shenzhen’s Urban Villages… and the future of cities

Posted on 2018/02/04 by herbertwright

Shenzhen seems to be the ultra-modern super-scaled metropolis, but it also presents a very different urbanist model, one hidden in its urban villages. Continue reading →

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Letter from Tokyo

Posted on 2016/08/27 by herbertwright

The most advanced city on Earth isn’t just shaped by earthquakes and economics – animes and architects play out dreams there too. Herbert Wright seeks the big picture from above, and the future beyond the futuristic Two things not to … Continue reading →

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Open House launches in Lisbon- my amazing day

Posted on 2012/10/22 by herbertwright

Saturday 6th October 2012 was a big day for Lisbon: the launch of the city’s first Open House. This annual weekend which throws open the doors of places of architectural interest to the public, free of charge, started in London … Continue reading →

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Paris Stalingrad to the périphérique

Posted on 2012/04/15 by herbertwright

I woke up all moody in my hotel room at Barbès — Rochechouart, Paris. It had just gone 6am, it was still dark outside. I had to step out. I started walking, determined  yet without objective, like James Dean crossing Times … Continue reading →

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Long Live Chungking Mansions!

Posted on 2012/01/02 by herbertwright

The even-floors Block-A lift in Chungking Mansions wasn’t going to stop bleeping, let alone move. Not until the unfeasibly tall man in a suit stepped out. He knew the score and obliged. ‘That was a big guy’ I commented to … Continue reading →

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Sampling the Urban Future in Shenzhen

Posted on 2011/12/28 by herbertwright

It was as if I had woken into some distant future Utopian civilisation, a cityscape of strange, soaring shapes and great avenues, super-smooth transport channelling a new people towards unknown business, and language and symbols entirely alien. But this was … Continue reading →

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Mumbai Skyline- Going Up?

Posted on 2011/03/30 by herbertwright

The site of the future second tallest skyscraper in the world is easy to miss. Cut off by railway lines from the faded Art Deco glory of Mumbai’s Marine Drive, it sits tightly where a leafy sidestreet used by cab … Continue reading →

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Breakfast with Ken

Posted on 2010/06/25 by herbertwright

On Thursday (24 June 2010), I had breakfast with Ken Livingstone. Meeting one of your heroes can be a daunting experience, and even more so if you’re not a morning person, you haven’t had much sleep, and the temperature’s already … Continue reading →

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