The world is changing. Temperatures are rising along with the sea level. Living creatures that thrive on the planet do what they can to adapt to the life-changing phenomenon that nature has been going through.
Humankind has become more conscious and has begun to put a lot of effort into trying to heal what's left of the currently suffocating world.
While some have turned to alternative habitats for the distant future, architects, engineers, builders, and experts alike are on the case of providing a habitable but more sustainable ecosystem for the near future.
A conference held by UN-Habitat marks the First UN High-level Roundtable on Sustainable Floating Cities where partners from across the globe have come to work hand-in-hand on an innovative project that could potentially be the solution to one of the problems caused by the rising sea level.
As the Earth is getting warmer, glaciers are rapidly melting their way into the oceans around the world. This has been the cause of a rising sea level and the shrinking shorelines on a global scale. As a result, communities and wildlife that has been populating coastlines have started to face life-threatening difficulties on a daily basis.
As the Roundtable has observed this problem, the group has come up with a project called OCEANIX CITY. The cutting-edge project is spear-headed by the Roundtable in collaboration with OCEANIX, the MIT Center for Ocean Engineering and the Explorers Club, marine engineers, scientists, innovators, and explorers.
Maimunah Mohd Sharif, the Executive Director of UN-Habitat and UN Under-Secretary-General, reassured their duties as the UN agency responsible for providing humankind with better cities to live in, no matter where the cities are located. The executive director stated that dialogue is being held for the concept of sustainable floating cities has been successful and is being mobilized. He later explained that the project is for the benefit of the people.
Working towards the goal of UN-Habitat's New Urban Agenda, the project OCEANIX CITY was unveiled. Being the world's first sustainable floating city that can house up to 10,000 residents, the project is a huge step towards the said goal of UN.
Technology can help humankind live on floating cities without having to be destructive towards marine life as Marc Collins Chen, the co-Founder and CEO of OCEANIX, has explained. Chen further stated that floating cities should be accessible to all, especially to those in need by the coastal areas, and not just as a privilege for those who are well off.
Other features of OCEANIX CITY include being flood proof, and storm resistant, with the option to be relocated and towed as the need arises. The project is designed to be a human-made ecosystem that channels the flow of water, energy, food, and waste. Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, further explained that the project is designed as an additive architecture that can grow and organically adapt overtime with the possibility of scaling indefinitely.
