skycity

Skycity is a term used in urban design and speculative fiction to describe a high-density, vertically integrated city that concentrates housing, employment, and services within a compact, multi-layered footprint. In many depictions the city rises as a cluster of towers and platforms linked by skybridges and elevated transit. The concept emphasizes reducing land use, shortening travel distances, and enabling efficient, adaptable infrastructure through modular construction, intelligent systems, and sustainable energy networks.

In such designs, daily life blends living, working, and recreation across stacked neighborhoods and suspended promenades. Public transit, energy, and waste management are often highly automated, with vertical farms and mixed-use blocks to support resilience and self-sufficiency. Governance models vary but commonly assume polycentric or municipal authority with data-driven planning and participatory processes to manage density, mobility, and resource flows.

Skycity also appears in real-world contexts as a reference in architectural and urban planning discussions. A notable real-world use is the Sky City project announced in 2013 by Broad Group for a megatall skyscraper in Chongqing, intended to house offices, residences, and amenities within a single structure. The project did not progress to completion, but the name and concept have persisted in design literature as an illustration of vertical urbanism.

Related concepts include the vertical city, megatall skyscrapers, and sustainable urbanism, which explore high-density living, multi-layer mobility, and resource-efficient infrastructure.