Arco-Engineering was arguably the first movement with application in Arcology (Science), a response not to climate disaster itself, but to the SustainabilityMarketIncentives instituted in response to it. As a result they were often not sustainable, meeting bare minimums in regards to the living standards of their millions of residents as well as carbon emission reduction goals.
Origins
Welfare Arcologies were often built by public-private partnerships and government subcontracting. This had mixed results, often disastrous but some almost reaching the level of acceptable.
Aesthetics
This movement is considered to be aesthetically nihilistic, often preferring simple pyramid or dome structures and utilitarian interiors.
Design
This school has an atomistic approach to its modules, often segregating functions and structures in a sense barely divorced from the design of the cities it sought to supplant.
Indeed, many examples of this school (like those within the Architectural Arcology movement) are conglomerations of existing independent structures. In the example of Bentonville City Center, the original All*Mart campus & environs were simply retrofitted into the ground level of a greater superstructure. The result was functional but uninspired.
Criticism
Critics of the results of Arco-Engineering dubbed the structures "Welfare Arcologies," citing the often miserable living conditions inside the structures' public levels.