Global Network Archipelago: Thoughts on Proposal

Abstract:

The new world I propose is a world where a super-fast Global Subway Network joins mega cities to create one unified Global Metropolis. The parameters of this proposal are Global Cities--initially London, NYC, and Tokyo, with opportunity for expansion to include other mega cities. (Wikipedia's definition of a global city will be used--a city that has a "direct and tangible" impact on global affairs or significant cultural, political, and economic influence.)

Questions to be addressed (adapted from project statement):

1. How is my research an argument for my proposition?
I infer from my mappings that in "time space," larger, more influential cities, such as London, NYC, and Tokyo are significantly closer to each other than other smaller, and less-influential cities. This seems to be related to the number of direct flights to the cities and the frequency or volume of flights to the cities. I also speculate that this nearness in time space is a visualization of the cities relatedness in terms of politics, commerce, and culture.

2. How does it define site, program, strategy, and speculation for design?
I speculate that in the future, these global cities will become closer and closer in time space as the close relationships between the cities allow them to develop technology that will allow faster travel. Thus, my proposal is a prediction of a future world where economic and political centralization (maybe a World State) allows for the organization of mega-scale projects connecting cities across the globe.

3. What are the social, cultural, economic, political or other realities of this new world?
I envision a Global Metropolis where subways provide direct connection to cities across the world. For example, a person in NYC would take the subway to Time Square and from there switch over to the Global Subway (which is integrated into the existing infrastructure) towards Tokyo and arrive within, say, 45 minutes--enough to give the feel of leaving the country (at least in our present perspective of travel time). This would mean that business would be streamlined and cultural interchange could occur-- most likely resulting in a highly efficient economy, but a greatly homogenized culture. (My vision is of dystopia.)

4. What is the program-form and how is its generation a reaction to your research and how is it generated?

The program consists of a massive tunnel network that connects London, NYC, and Tokyo. The tunnel is drilled directly through the Earth's crust (and possibly its mantle and core), in a straight line to decrease travel-time. The tunnel consists of a hard shell that protects two train shafts. Pipelines fill out the rest of the shell as well as a maintenance shaft. This tunnel would possibly break up into smaller tunnels as needed to be integrated into the city's metro systems. A project of this scale could only occur under the organization of a centralized government or union (of the concerned nations) that would be able to maximize and implement the resources needed for completion.

Next Steps:

Research:

• tunnels,
  
• earth's interior structure,
  
• high-speed trains

Strengthen weak areas:

• jump from time map to Global Subway proposal (what do global cities have to do with travel time? why the shift from air travel mapping to a subway?),
  
• research of factors that affect travel-time (jet streams, air embargoes, others?)

Critique: are there other, better proposals or speculations that could be revealed from the mapping?