Planet City

The statistic that a hyper-dense metropolis housing 10 billion people could occupy just 0.02 per cent of the planet's surface is central to the film's provocative premise. This number highlights the sheer potential for spatial efficiency in urban design, suggesting that our current sprawl is not a necessity. By visualising such extreme density, 'Planet City' challenges conventional notions of urbanism and land use. It underscores the film's core argument that a concentrated population could unlock vast swathes of the planet for ecological recovery and the return of natural landscapes.

While directed by architect Liam Young, 'Planet City' is presented as a fictional film. It explores a speculative future, using cinematic means to present a bold hypothesis about urban living and planetary stewardship. The film doesn't claim to be a factual account of current possibilities but rather a thought experiment visualised on a grand scale. It uses its fictional narrative to provoke discussion about our collective future, the potential of extreme urban density, and the environmental implications of such a paradigm shift.

'Planet City' posits that by consolidating the entire global population into one immense, hyper-dense urban centre, an unprecedented opportunity arises for ecological restoration. The film's premise is that this concentrated urban footprint frees up 99.98 per cent of the Earth's surface. This liberated land could then be dedicated to extensive rewilding projects, allowing natural ecosystems to flourish once more. It also opens the door for the repatriation of lands, addressing historical injustices and ecological damage caused by widespread human habitation.

Liam Young's 'Planet City' envisions a radical architectural and urban planning solution for Earth's burgeoning population. The film proposes that humanity, all 10 billion of us, could reside within a single, hyper-dense metropolis. This colossal city would occupy an astonishingly small fraction of the planet's surface, specifically 0.02 per cent. The film's central argument is that such a concentration of people would allow the vast majority of the Earth to be reclaimed for nature, facilitating rewilding and the return of lands previously occupied by human settlements.