Cities Under Watch

Origin

Why we started Cities Under Watch

This project began with a simple question: what would London look like if every sytem of control we see emerging today was fully realised? The answer demanded illustration.

A designer sketching a dystopian city from a desk overlooking a surveillance-heavy skyline.

Pillars

Three ideas that shape our work

We build from observation and research. Every detail — the watchtower placement, the propaganda grid, the transit routes — comes from studying how power actually operates in cities today.

A research board of city sketches, surveillance references, and planning materials.

Observation

We study the architecture of control in real cities.

A speculative future city plan combining surveillance routes, maps, and architectural projections.

Extrapolation

We imagine what comes next if current systems continue unchecked.

A dystopian city artwork overlaid with surveillance networks and control-system diagrams.

Critique

We make the invisible visible through graphic art and design.

A surveillance-controlled city with hidden groups gathered in shadowed corners beneath the regime skyline.

Lore

Each city tells a story of resistance

Our collections document different cities at different stages of control. Some are fully realised regimes. Others show the moment before the system locks into place. All contain traces of those who refuse to disappear.

The regime

Monumental architecture, surveillance networks, propaganda systems, and total transit control.

The resistance

Hidden in the margins, coded in the streets, waiting in the dark.

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Cities reimagined