The perfect city doesn’t exist. The hypothetical apex is even hard to imagine. But The Ideal City, a new book by IKEA’s design and research lab, SPACE10, and published by Gestalten, scours the world to outline its core attributes: a city that is resourceful, accessible, shared, safe, and desirable. By providing examples ranging from affordable and sustainable starter homes in New Orleans, to a community library built of responsibly sourced in Indonesia, to a waste-to-energy power plant in Denmark, The Ideal City shows us how small-scale solutions can have universal effects. Read on for a look at just a few of the projects from the book, available to preorder and to be released March 10.

A Park That Acts as a Sponge in Northern China

Qunli Stormwater Park one step further, the architects introduced new ways to bring local residents closer to nature, including building a network of paths that wind around the ring of ponds and a skywalk that provides stunning views across the open landscape. " layout="wide" credit="Kongjian Yu" photoUserId=""/>

An Active Landscape in Copenhagen’s Harbor District

A Regional Market Built of Recycled Materials in Niger

A Waste-to-Energy Plant and Green Space in Copenhagen

An Urban Farming Office in Ho Chi Minh City

A Boat Barn Built With Construction-Grade Plywood

A Community Park in Port-au-Prince

Is a Sustainable Suburbia Still Possible Post Pandemic?