Engineering an Empire
The History Channel

Last October, The History Channel launched Engineering an Empire, a weekly series of hour-long shows chronicling the architectural marvels of past civilizations. The series premiered with ancient Egypt and went on to showcase the engineering triumphs of Ancient Greece, Greece in the age of Alexander the Great, the Aztecs, the Maya, the Chinese, the Russians, the Carthaginians, the Persians, the Byzantines, Great Britain, the Renaissance, and Napoleon's Empire. The making of ancient empires planted the seeds of city planning which survive today. The grid system implemented in Ancient Greece, for instance, influenced Roman city planning, which in turn informed the modern European and American city.

If you missed the series, you can still order the Engineering an Empire DVD set, which gives an intriguing visual introduction to the history of city building. DVDs on individual civilizations are also available. The DVD on Rome includes a CD-ROM lesson plan set.

The City of the Future: A Design and Engineering Challenge

As part of the Engineering an Empire series, The History Channel held The City of the Future: A Design and Engineering Challenge, a competition to design the city 100 years from now. Semifinals were held in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. In each semifinal, eight architectural firms submitted design ideas for their respective cities in 2106. One finalist from each city was selected to take part in a national competition.

UrbanLab of Chicago won the grand prize with their Growing Water concept, based on the premise that water will be the most critical resource to manage in 100 years. UrbanLab proposed an innovative system of "Eco-boulevards" and other water management techniques that would allow Chicago to treat and recycle 100% of its water through natural processes.