parasitopolisn.
/ˌparəsʌɪˈtɒpəlɪs/, /ˌparəsʌɪˈtɒpl̩ɪs/, U.S. /ˈˌpɛrəsəˈtɑpələs/, /ˈˌpɛrəˌsaɪˈtɑpələs/ A city that is overdeveloped and economically non-productive; a parasite city.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > city > [noun] > other types of city
kine-burghc1225
City of Goda1382
city of refuge (alsorefute)a1425
mother city?a1425
imperial city1550
city dwelling1613
second city1621
out-city1642
garden town1835
hoard-burg1895
garden city1898
cathedral city1902
parasitopolis1927
twin city1973
arcology1985
sustainable city1986
1927 P. Geddes in A. Defries Interpreter viii. 199 With its ample supply of ‘bread and shows’ (nowadays called ‘budget’) it was Parasito-polis, with degeneration accordingly.
1945 L. Mumford in Archit. Rev. 97 7/1 But one outstanding fact must first be frankly acknowledged: the Parasitopolis of the late nineteenth century has already become the spectral Necropolis of the mid-twentieth century.
1961 L. Mumford City in Hist. viii. 234 Parasitopolis had become Patholopolis; and even further, Patholopolis had turned into Psycho-patholopolis, with a Nero or a Caligula as absolute ruler.
1992 Jrnl. Hist. Ideas 53 106 Lest the sprawling modern city become ‘Parasitopolis’, a bloated, dysfunctional, and inorganic entity, Mumford and Geddes propose to implement..small-scale, low-density garden cities.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1927