Roughly two years ago, an ambitious group of engineers, builders, and architects crowded at the United Nations to discuss an aspiring concept: to build a floating city that will not only help people living in coastal areas survive the increasing rate of rising sea levels but also withstand natural disasters like tsunamis, category 5 hurricanes, and floods.
Although the concept of a floating city sounds straight out of a science fiction movie, it is set to become a reality in Busan, South Korea in 2025, reports DailyMail.
The idea of a floating city is not a hundred percent novel. For decades designers and developers have fantasized about building man-made islands and metropolises on water. However, these ambitious visions were hard to advance, local governments often wouldn't sign off on the projects, citing concerns for better use of waterfronts.
UN-Backed South Korea Floating City by Oceanix
On Thursday, the UN-backed project was cleared in the city of Busan, South Korea, after the local government agreed to host the floating city in collaboration with the project designer's UN Human Settlement Programme, and Oceanix. Like other coastal cities across the globe, Busan is threatened by the imminent rising sea levels.
Co-founder of Oceanix, Itai Madamombe tells Insider that Busan is the best place for the collaboration to deploy their prototype. However, they believe that their floating cities will be significantly useful to coastal cities across the globe, especially those who are facing the many challenges of sea-level rise.
The flood- and natural disaster-proof city set to be fully constructed by 2025 is a collection of vast hexagonal platforms sitting atop the water. In terms of architectural shapes, hexagons are considered by many the most efficient. Not only does it allow builders to conserve space but also material.
The platform of the floating city would be bolstered by limestone coatings significantly harder than concrete without sacrificing buoyancy. The materials to be used are created by exposing underwater minerals to electric currents. In the presence of a current, the minerals will become stronger in time and will be able to self-repair, allowing the city to withstand harsh weather conditions and the threats of natural disasters brought by climate change.
Increasing Threats of Natural Disasters due to Climate Change
As global temperatures soar, hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters are becoming more commonplace and intense across the globe. A recent study by Climate Central found that in the worst-case scenario a warming of four degrees Celsius, no less than 50 major cities across the globe would lose a majority of their population over the next 200-2,000 years due to rising sea levels.
Oceanix goal is to develop a fully floodproof city that can rise with the sea levels while producing its own energy, freshwater, and food. Cages underneath the city's platform can be used to house kelp, scallops, and other seafood while an aquaponic system can repurpose wastes from fish to fertilize plants.
The current design and cost of the project are not yet set in stone and are subject to change depending on the collaboration's final designs and materials, estimated at $200 million.
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