What will the world’s first floating city look like?

The United Nations, the company that develops a floating city called Oceanix, and the South Korean city of Busan have just launched a prototype of a floating city located here.

Floating cities are seen as a solution to mitigate the impact of rising sea levels caused by climate change. “Sea-level rise poses an existential threat to some small islands and low-lying coastlines,” according to a recent IPCC report from the United Nations. Rising sea levels also threaten coastal transport and power infrastructure.

Since 1880, global sea levels have risen by an average of 8-9 inches, according to Climate.gov, a climate change science and information portal run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Busan is home to 3.4 million residents and is an important port city. To adapt to sea level rise, Busan signed a partnership with Oceanix and the United Nations Human Settlement Program in 2021 to develop a floating city.

Here are some renderings of the project:

The prototype of the floating city will be made of interconnected architectural blocks, with a total surface area of ​​15.5 acres. Each modular part of the city is designed for a specific use such as a living space, research facility or accommodation. These modules are connected by bridges.

It could be home to a community of about 12,000 people, potentially expanding to more than 100,000 people.

This floating city also aims for sustainable development with solar panels, the water used in the city is also treated and recycled.

Three years ago, the United Nations began to consider floating cities as an adaptation measure to climate change. “We have to build new cities that are not like the way New York or Nairobi was built,” said UN Under-Secretary-General Amina Mohammed.

“We must build cities with the goal that they will be on the front lines against climate-related risks like rising seas or hurricanes. Floating cities can be part of our solutions. “.