The study describes urban morphology and design strategies in the form of thoughts, imagination, and reality. It is a visual and verbal narrative that uses the metaphor of a Vertical Island as a viable tool. The criteria investigated relate to American cities, yet also to the city in general. The final design is the precise architectural translation of my first narrative For Elise and Forever / Repeating Islands: a Typology of a Living City, the story of a girl on a journey into her world of thoughts, fancying a city built at a right angle. The following work studies and reflects the urban qualities that are not only unique to European but also to American and, yet common to all cities. It represents a touchable and visible proposal of a healthy union of advantages and a living system where patterns repeat across time and scales. Participating in the world as a trade center, The Vertical Island PRAGMATOPIA: a Story of Translations, Real Dreams, and Other Cities brings a piece of the European city to the United States as well as a bit of the American city to Europe. / Department of Architecture