Ecumenopolis (from , meaning "world", and πόλις
polis meaning "city"), thus
a city made of the whole world; pl.
ecumenopolises or
ecumenopoleis) is the hypothetical concept of a planet wide city. The word was invented in 1967 by the
Greek city planner
Constantinos Doxiadis to represent the idea that in the future urban areas and
megalopolies would eventually fuse and there would be a single continuous worldwide city as a progression from the current
urbanization and
population growth trends. This concept was already current in science fiction in 1942, with
Trantor in the Foundation series.