Atlanta, For Immediate Release: Domed structures have rapidly become a dominant feature in today’s urban environments. Further underscoring that architectural dominance, Houston’s Astrodome has being ranked as the “top new urban form” in recent decades in noted futurist McKinley Conway’s new book, Global Super Projects: Mega Ventures That Are Shaping Our Future.

Urban forms, however, comprise only a single element within the wide range of mega-endeavors in which Conway has selected the most significant projects in recent decades. In addition, the author of several dozen other books has chosen the top projects in 19 other important categories, ranging from environmental and conservation undertakings, to new airports, highways and other infrastructure elements. (To access all of Conway’s selections, as well as the Conway Global Super Projects Registry, look for the online version of the entire book that will be available by Jan. 16, 2006, at www.sitenet.com/books/superprojects. To go directly to the Conway Global Super Projects Registry, go to www.sitenet.com/books/superprojects/registry.)

Conway, a pioneer in the economic development field, made his selections from what he calls “Super Projects, the billion-dollar babies that are changing the face of world development.” A Super Project, he explains, “represents a cost of US$1 billion or more and/or a represents a technological breakthrough of worldwide significance.” Conway’s Atlanta-based research firm, Conway Data Inc., maintains a global Super Project database that now includes some 2,000 ventures.

Just how did Conway, who has studied major global projects for decades and brought together leading Super Project experts in a series of historic worldwide conferences, choose the crème de la crème? The winners, he explains, “were those deemed to be most significant in improving the quality of life for large numbers of the world’s citizens.”

Here, for example, is how the author explained his choice for the world’s most significant new urban form:

“ Houston’s Astrodome takes the stage as the world’s top new urban form. The pioneering dome built in the 1960s provided proof of the practicality of an indoor stadium. It was followed in 1975 by the Super Dome in New Orleans and the Silver Dome in Pontiac, Mich. These venturesome projects launched a wave of dome construction at such sites as Syracuse, N.Y., Minneapolis, Indianapolis, St. Petersburg, Fla., and Atlanta. It is becoming clear now that any city that wants to be a part of a top sports league had better start building!

Dome construction technology is also spreading beyond the sports field. Domes are planned for super shopping malls and activity centers. Futurists predict new domes will cover entire communities.”