
The opening pages launch a sweeping critique of modern cities—crowded, noisy, and riddled with inefficiency—while hinting at a bold, collective yearning for a cleaner, freer way of living. The narrator frames the problem in vivid terms, from the suffocating walls of historic metropolises to the hollow comforts of suburban sprawl, setting the stage for a radical re‑imagining of how we inhabit space.
Against that backdrop, Mr. Chambless presents “Roadtown,” a straight‑line settlement that stitches together homes, railways, and utilities into a single, self‑sustaining ribbon across the continent. Concrete‑poured houses sit atop silent, high‑speed trains; mechanical services handle chores while residents work from compact workshops; fresh air, pure food, and affordable living replace slums and endless commutes. The proposal blends practical engineering with an idealistic vision, inviting listeners to contemplate a future where personal independence and communal harmony finally align.
Language
en
Duration
~2 hours (165K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Release date
2019-02-25
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
1870–1936
Best known for imagining the radical linear city of Roadtown, this American utopian thinker turned everyday problems of housing, transport, and food supply into big, provocative ideas. His work still attracts readers interested in urban planning, social reform, and offbeat visions of the future.
View all books
by Hugo Gernsback

by Freiherr von Ludwig Achim Arnim

by George Tomkyns Chesney

by Austin Hall, Homer Eon Flint

by Cyrano de Bergerac

by Edward A. (Edward Austin) Johnson

by Nelson S. Bond

by Various Authors