The world's first floating, sustainable city prototype was built for Busan in South Korea with the support of the United Nations.

 

Coastal settlements are among the places most affected by the climate crisis. According to the website climate.gov of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, global sea level has risen by an average of 20 centimeters since 1880. A third of this rise has occurred in the last 25 years. According to the latest IPCC report of the United Nations, "Sea level rise poses an existential threat to some small islands and some low coasts". According to the report, coastal electricity and transport infrastructure is at serious risk due to rising sea levels.

 

 

But could creating floating cities be the way to mitigate the effects of sea level rise?

 

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme and the floating city developer company Oceanix are trying to answer this question by creating a floating, sustainable version of the city of Busan in South Korea, one of Asia's key shipping hubs.

 

 

The prototype prepared for Busan with a population of 3.4 million covers a total area of 15.5 acres. Although a design for 12 thousand people has been made for the moment, it has the opportunity to expand up to 100 thousand people. Each floating modular platform in your city responds to a specific need, be it living space, research facility or accommodation. In this design, the bridges serve to connect the platforms to each other.

 

The prototype prepared is a wonder of sustainability and incorporates six integrated systems. While the energy is produced entirely with solar panels, each neighborhood purifies its own water. There are innovative agricultural areas in every neighborhood.

 

 

Three years ago, the United Nations officially started working on the floating city concept to adapt to climate change. "We live in a time when we cannot continue to build cities like New York or Nairobi." says Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. "We must now act knowing that the climate-related risks will be in the forefront when we build our cities."

 

Floating cities seem to be one of the solutions to combat against the climate crisis. Especially for countries like us surrounded by seas on all sides!

 

Photographs: Oceanix, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group