Ghost Cities of the Future

It's strange to think about, but the landscape of our world won't always be the way it is now; it's easy to fantasize about technologies changing in the future, but what about the city you live in? Stranger still to think that, like Pompeii and other disappeared cities of the past, some of our comparatively sturdy urban areas might go the way of the Dodo as well; Detroit, as I've often blogged, is headed that way as we speak (its population now is 1/3rd less than in 1950 -- and shrinking). But what other metropolitai are starting to look like future archaeological digs? Here are some of the most surprising answers from Forbes.com's article.

Mexico City, Mexico

Mexico City is sinking, though not into the ocean. The city sits on an aquifer, which is also its main source of drinking water. Each time one of its 20 million inhabitants takes a drink of water, the city sinks a tiny bit more. By some estimates, parts of the city have fallen 9 meters in the last 100 years. Potentially even worse: The aquifer is thought to be running dry. Although Mexico City is currently growing at a rapid clip, a dwindling water supply on sinking ground could quickly reverse the trend.

Naples, Italy

Timbuktu, Mali