“Circular City concept” by Jacque Fresco, image/information source: The Venus Project
The Venus Project proposes a comprehensive redesign of human settlements through the Circular City, a blueprint for a sustainable urban environment that operates within a Global Resource Based Economy (RBE). Founded by industrial designer Jacque Fresco and Roxanne Meadows, the project advocates for declaring Earth’s resources as the common heritage of all people, moving beyond monetary systems to solve problems like war, poverty, and ecological destruction through intelligent resource management.
The Circular City Proposal
The circular configuration is chosen for its geometric elegance and efficiency. By dividing the city into radial sectors and circular belts, the design minimizes the energy required for transportation and construction. This layout allows one-eighth of the city to be designed and then replicated to form the entire structure, drastically reducing resource expenditure.
The city is organized into specific concentric zones, each with a distinct function:
• Central Dome (Theme Center): The core houses the cybernated system (a central computer network managing city operations), educational facilities, computerized communications, and health and child care services.
• Research & Access Rings: Surrounding the central dome are eight “access center” buildings, followed by three rings of structures dedicated to research and scientific advancement.
• Cultural Band: This sector provides community amenities, including arts centers, theaters, exhibition halls, gyms, and dining facilities, fostering cultural and physical development.
• Residential Belt: This zone features unique, free-form architecture surrounded by lush landscaping to ensure privacy. The housing is designed to be modular and flexible to meet individual needs.
• Skyscrapers: Beyond the residential houses, these structures contain apartments, restaurants, educational facilities, and hobby areas.
• Agricultural Belt: Food production is localized here, utilizing outdoor organic farming alongside indoor hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic facilities. This zone is surrounded by a circular waterway used for irrigation and filtration.
• Energy & Recreational Perimeter: The outermost belt is reserved for renewable energy generation (wind, solar, geothermal, heat concentrating systems) and recreational activities like hiking, biking, and golfing.
Architectural Innovation and Materials
The structures within the Circular City are designed to be fireproof, impervious to weather, and resistant to earthquakes and hurricanes.
• Materials: Homes and buildings are prefabricated using a new type of pre-stressed, reinforced concrete with a flexible ceramic external coating. This creates a thin-shell construction that is relatively maintenance-free.
• Self-Sufficiency: Dwellings are designed as self-contained units with their own thermal generators and heat concentrators. Windows and building “skins” feature integrated photovoltaic arrays for power generation, while thermopanes provide variable shading to regulate sunlight and reduce cooling loads.
• Construction: The use of prefabricated extrusions and modular components allows these structures to be mass-produced rapidly, potentially in a matter of hours.
Societal and Economic Context
The Circular City is not merely an architectural concept but a transitional mechanism toward a new civilization. The city is envisioned as a university for global resource management, where citizens are engaged in the continuous evolution of the social structure.
• Resource Based Economy: The city operates without money, barter, or debt. Automation and technology are integrated into the social design to maximize quality of life rather than profit.
• Evolutionary Design: The city serves as a testing ground. Residents provide feedback on the reliability and serviceability of structures, allowing the city to continuously modify and improve its systems for maximum efficiency and safety.
• Environmental Restoration: A core aim is to reclaim and restore the natural environment, treating cities as metabolic entities that integrate cleanly with nature rather than static collections of buildings.
Project Phases
The Venus Project has outlined a four-phase strategy to realize this vision:
1. Phase 1: Construction of a 21-acre research center in Venus, Florida, featuring experimental buildings and scale models to demonstrate the proposals.
2. Phase 2: Production of documentaries (e.g., Paradise or Oblivion, The Choice is Ours) and literature to raise global awareness.
3. Phase 3: Development of a Center for Resource Management (CfRM). This facility is intended to act as a stepping stone and a testing hub for the protocols required to build the circular cities.
4. Phase 4: Construction of an experimental research city and a network of cities to implement the Resource Based Economy globally
