Plans for sustainable floating cities discussed at UN
The settlements are expected to power themselves and produce their own food
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Plans for sustainable floating cities that would power themselves and produce their own food were discussed in a recent meeting at the UN.
Designed with the threat of sea-level rise in mind, these nautical communities would be moored near to coastal cities that are set to be submerged in the future to accommodate for residents fleeing disaster.
They would be built of several connected hexagonal platforms with each serving as a village housing 300 people. Current plans account for a whole city to house 10,000 people.
Residents would grow their own food both above and below the surface, with underwater cages growing kelp and other seafood.
Oceanix, the company pitching the idea, claims its design is flood-proof and can withstand storms. If extreme weather makes life too hazardous, the entire city can simply be unmoored and towed to a safer location.
Co-founder Marc Collins Chen denied that the cities would be damaging to ocean life, saying: “It is not a question of one or the other. The technology exists for us to live on water, without killing marine ecosystems.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments