South Korea has come up with an interesting way to deal with rising sea levels—by floating a city on top of them. Next year, construction should kick off on a small city that will rise out of the ocean off the coast of the country's second-largest city Busan—entirely on the water.
Known as “Oceanix Busan,” the floating community will serve as the “world’s first prototype sustainable floating city.” The goal of the project is to create a “flood-proof infrastructure that rises with the sea,” and will be capable of supplying its own food, energy, and drinking water.
The idea is simple: floating cities could be a way to mitigate the effects of sea-level rise caused by climate change. As the sea rises, so does the community that floats on top of it. Rising sea levels pose an existential threat to numerous communities, including small islands and low-lying coastal communities. This concept offers those communities an additional option instead moving to higher grounds.
The city will span 15.5 acres across three separate platforms, which organizers are designing with a specific use in mind.
The three areas will feature living space, public amenities like schools and theaters, and a third for research and development related to floating cities. Bridges will connect each of the areas to the shore.
Mock-ups of Oceanix Busan show large open spaces filled with greenery, public seating, and art. The project's organizers say that “innovate urban agriculture” will help supply food residents with food, and each neighborhood will “treat and replenish its water.”
Interestingly, there won’t be any traditional modes of transportation. The press release states that both residents and visitors will be required to travel by bicycle or on foot.
Project organizers claim that the city will be able to host 12,000 people, but potential expansion in the future might increase capacity to 100,000.
The project won’t be cheap. The project’s leaders, a sustainable design startup called Oceanix, estimate that the floating city will cost $10,000 per square meter. At 15.5 acres, the project's price tag is roughly $627 million.
Construction should begin next year and take two years—making completion unlikely before 2025.