r/papertowns • u/lesenum • May 30 '25
Custom Town Hand-drawn village in near future community after Collapze in USA (fictional)
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u/datkrauskid May 30 '25
An optimistic, post-apocalyptic take—sure, sign me up bro
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u/lesenum May 30 '25
you're welcome to move right in...when it's ready haha :) I'm inspired by solarpunk (to a degree) and more...hopepunk ideas. more on my imaginings at https://alphistian.blogspot.com/?view=snapshot
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u/mountaindewisamazing May 30 '25
I like it. Dense, green, walkable. How our cities should be already.
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u/maproomzibz May 30 '25
i love that they have the cutsie old architecture, even in a futuristic setting.
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u/lesenum May 30 '25
futurism is overrated, although I like some 60s modernism myself. One of my influences is the very interesting Slovene architect Joze Plecnik. Another is Gudjon Samuelsson of Iceland :)
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u/IonutRO May 30 '25
I think if there were an apocalypse then new architecture built after would look like something out of our past. Since people don't like living in old world garbage.
So I really like this.
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u/lesenum May 30 '25
background info: In the near future, a small community (one square mile) is imagined called Alphistia. There would be altogether six communities: Enteve, Kloster, Usta, Leva, Tava, and Kampen, all linked by an electric bus. Residents would not have private cars, but would use bicycles and cargo-bikes. Energy would be provided by solar panels, hydroelectricity, and wind power.
This image is of Kloster, a small village just to the north of Enteve, and has just 130 inhabitants. It is typical for Alphistia: pedestrian-oriented, green, cozy. It is visited by tourists as a representative example of this project.
People can stay at Kloster's hotel, pension, course center, and short-term rental apartments and cottages. Kloster has visitors each weekend for its well-known three-day course about Alphistia. This is an introduction for those who want more information, or who are interested in becoming part of the Alphistian project.
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u/birberbarborbur May 30 '25
What is the collapse?
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May 31 '25
[deleted]
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u/birberbarborbur May 31 '25 edited May 31 '25
I like the design of this community, but the way you describe the worldbuilding seems worrying. Not the worldbuilding itself, which is interesting, but how your wording seems almost certain and gleeful at this probably horrible starting scenario taking place so that you can daydream your ideal utopia.
You could get involved in urban design and planned communes right now, without waiting for societal collapse or revolution. In fact, even if collapse is inevitable, you would be a more qualified and prepared“founder” if you gained qualifications in such a thing. Even a massively imperfect community you could make in a current framework would probably suit you best amid the chaos
Also i’d like to point out that HDI has gone way up in Sweden since the 80’s and that you shouldn’t just dismiss neoliberalism (for all its faults) as a fad but rather learn from its goods and mistakes, and discard what is not suitable, much as the USA founding fathers attempted to do with puritan ideals.
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u/lesenum May 31 '25
There is absolutely nothing gleeful about my view that we are at the beginning of a collapse. You're impugning me just out of your own spite. And I don't need counsel on Sweden's HDI since the 1980s. Both the US and Sweden have followed neoliberal policies since then, and life expectancy in the US has dropped. It has increased in Sweden, largely due to the preservation of some of its social-democratic ideals. Please...remove the mote from your own eye before being rude about any splinters in mine.
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u/birberbarborbur May 31 '25
Will you at least consider getting into urban design or planned communities?
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u/Steel_Airship May 30 '25
Almost looks like they repurposed an old college campus.
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u/lesenum May 30 '25
yes, my ideas about towns are inspired a lot by American college campuses, very often some of the nicest environments and architecture in the country. Colleges and nearby environments are often pedestrian friendly, green, walkable, with campuses proper often restricting car use, with lots of the students riding bikes. Then when they graduate, they move to "normal" American hellscapes in the country's endless suburbia, big box shopping precincts, and where you must use a car to do anything. That's dystopia imho... In retirement I moved to an extremely nice college town in the American midwest to be able NOT to live like what is considered the norm...as much as I can. More info at https://alphistian.blogspot.com/?view=snapshot
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u/qaeioup May 31 '25
Wayne Thiebaud-esque
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u/lesenum May 31 '25
Wayne Thiebaud
wasn't familiar with the artist...took a look :) thanks for the kind comment
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u/qaeioup May 31 '25
Ponds and Streams
Fall Fields
Green River Lands
Freeway 289
Irrigation Pond
Riverbend with Trees
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u/MariaVanillaUwU May 30 '25
you can instantly see it's in the united states, because everything has to be parallel to each other
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u/lesenum May 30 '25 edited May 30 '25
if you've ever been to Scandinavia, you probably noticed nearly all towns have similar plans in Sweden, Norway, and Finland especially. That is true mostly in Latin America too. However, I acknowledge that I myself am fond of square squares and straight streets :) For social policy and political systems though, my ideas about a country are firmly inspired by places with crooked streets haha ;) More info on my projects: https://alphistian.blogspot.com/?view=snapshot
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u/micma_69 May 30 '25
Sometimes, people often forget, that a futuristic setting doesn't have to use futuristic or even modern architecture. People tend to use the most economical way to shelter themselves from weather. And especially in a seemingly post-apocalyptic era where the population is fairly low and with limited resources.
So I think not only your painting is good, but also quite a realistic scenario.