Places where pleasure, architecture, and urban planning go hand-in-hand
In Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution, famed anthropology and geography professor David Harvey writes, “The right to the city is not merely a right of access to what already exists, but a right to change it after our heart’s desire.”
His use of the word desire, while not explicitly referring to sexual pleasure, offers an intriguing possibility: what if tomorrow’s cities were designed and built to be as arousing as they are efficient and comfortable?
Not necessarily explicitly so, but rather with the understanding that for many people, sex is an essential part of life and, therefore, shouldn’t be shunned, hidden away, and instead should be accepted and, dare we suggest, openly celebrated.
Sound like a more-than-somewhat radical idea? You might be surprised that these sorts of sex-affirming cities have been around for hundreds of years—and might become more sensual, playful, and innovatively sex-tech-integrated in the future.
Right here, right now
Restricting ourselves to Europe, though other countries and continents have their fair share of pleasure-recognizing cities, Amsterdam and Hamburg’s sex work districts are often considered models for balancing a city’s needs with its citizens’ sensual passions.
In fact, when faced with a number of growing, predominantly tourist-related problems relating to its red light area, Amsterdam began planning the construction of a single, high-tech structure to protect sex workers and their clients.
If approved, The Erotic Center will take nearly seven years to complete, and, in addition to providing spaces for hundreds of sex workers to ply their trade, it would feature a dedicated police presence, on-site medical care, and other support services.
Similarly, Hamburg’s Reeperbahn has expanded dramatically, currently occupying a sizable section of the City. Mirroring Amsterdam, police are on hand, up-to-date healthcare facilities are available, and sex workers are licensed, which involves participating in mandatory, state-sponsored health counseling every year.
Cities of love
Creating erotically stimulating living environments is also far from new. Several 1960s-70s avant-garde architects envisoned a wide scope of fascinating and frequently intentionally provocative or, depending on who you ask, playful, architectural concepts. Of these, Superstudio, based in Italy, and the UK’s Archigram are arguably the most recognized.
While Superstudio tended towards chilling, monolithic, Brutalist-inspired ideas, Archigram took a different, deconstructive approach like their Walking Cities, a self-contained, self-propelled ambling metropolis.
RECOMMENDED READ: Sensual Spaces: When Architecture, Sex, and VR Move In Together
Their Plug-In and, notably, Instant Cities put forward an interesting model for a possible sex-inclusive city by swapping fixed structures like buildings for individual, easily combinable or recombinable living units.
Meanwhile, Instant Cities are extra-modifiable via inflatable structures and extra-transportable by airship. Think of them like swarms of mini-Burning Man festivals, drifting apart or coming together whenever or however their residents wanted or, better yet, desired.
Close your eyes and picture—
Echoing Archigram’s modular thinking, let’s put together our own pleasure-positive City, starting by taking Amsterdam and Hamburg’s intelligent, conscientious, approach to consensual sexwork by constructing a safe space for our residents to enjoy themselves.
While we’re at it, we might as well equip it with a bevy of cutting-edge sextech possibilities, from sexbot brothels and on-site shops selling super high-end models to specialized virtual reality experiences—the latter accessible either on-site or from the comfort of anyone’s home.
So why not take a page from Archigram’s book and give people the option to mix and match their accommodations or add any number of sex-related add-ons?
Want your own BDSM playspace or luxuriously-sensual boudoir? Merely purchase whichever one you want and snap it to your home, just like clicking a couple of Lego bricks together.
Naturally, our City must be fashioned out of low-impact, infinitely recyclable materials, be as energy and resource-self-sufficient as possible, and be designed from the ground up to be effortlessly upgradable so that when technologies improve, or situations change, we won’t have to tear everything down and start from scratch.
Brilliant, bright, and joyous
The author Amit Ray put it well, writing, “A smart city is a city where humans, trees, birds and other animals can grow with all their glories, imperfections, freedom, and creativity. They are not just cities of technology but cities of love, life, beauty, dignity, freedom, and equality.”
Image Sources: Depositphotos
