ABSTRACT
Artificial islands are expressions and icons of the Anthropocene, a term coined to denote the present epoch, in which many geologically significant conditions and processes are profoundly altered by human activities. This chapter defines artificial islands as a category of geographical features, and acknowledges the fluidity of the boundaries between artificial and natural islands. It considers how artificial islands have been caught up in distinct projects designed to reinforce sovereign rights in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. The chapter then interrogates the role of artificial islands in primarily the Western cultural imagination and the roots of their promissory, utopian potential. It also discusses why artificial islands continue to fascinate and inspire the geographical imaginations as humans face the accumulating consequences of global warming and further earthly change. An artificial island is commonly understood as "an island that has been constructed by human, rather than formed by natural means".
