"The City of Darkness – The lawless high-rise where 33,000 people lived without government" explores the strange existence of the Kowloon Walled City. Until its demolition in 1993, this 6-acre patch of land in Hong Kong was the most densely populated place on Earth. Due to a diplomatic loophole, neither Britain nor China claimed jurisdiction over it.
Author David Block details the organic growth of this "architectural tumor." Buildings were stacked atop one another without blueprints, connected by a maze of dripping pipes and dark alleyways where sunlight never reached. Inside, triads ran opium dens next to unlicensed dentists and noodle factories. Yet, amidst the crime and squalor, a tight-knit, functioning community emerged.
"The City of Darkness" is a study of human adaptability. It shows how order can emerge from total anarchy and how a society functioned for decades without police, taxes, or building codes, creating a cyberpunk reality before the genre even existed.
