The First Floating City in the World Is Coming

Wondering what a floating city would be like? Maldives is building one. If everything goes well, we might be able to see it in 2027.

Beautiful seaside views, luxury resorts, and exotic vacations can all be associated with Maldives. In the middle of the Indian Ocean, composed of over 1100 coral islands, Maldives has long been a popular travel destination. However, as the nation with the lowest elevation, it has to face the threat posed by rising sea levels. By 2050, 80% of the Maldives would be uninhabitable if global warming continues at its present pace.

To deal with this problem, Maldives plans to construct a floating city. According to the Conde Nast Traveller, this project contains “5,000 housing units that are linked together and tethered to the floor of a 500-acre lagoon.” In this community, residential, hotel, retail, and dining establishments will all be included.

😮Would you ever visit a floating city? This is everything we know about the Maldives’ latest project… https://t.co/Ls43AxQcdw

— Condé Nast Traveller (@cntraveller) July 6, 2022

There is only a 15-minute boat ride from Malé and the international airport of this project, making it friendly for international travelers to visit. Meanwhile, the Maldives government wants to make this city an international community. As mentioned on their website, international travelers would obtain a residence permit once they purchase a house in the floating city.

😮Would you ever visit a floating city? This is everything we know about the Maldives’ latest project… pic.twitter.com/JLZvsmOdm7

— Devender Yadav Lawyer ♚ (@dev32682068) July 7, 2022

The unique design for Maldives Floating City is based on the concept of “brain coral.” Public transportation in this city would largely rely on nature-based canals. For in-land transportation, only biking and walking are permitted. Cars will not be present in the floating city.

According to Luxsphere, “Artificial coral banks would be attached to the underside of the city.” As described on their official website, such a design “will stimulate coral to grow naturally.” At the same time, those corals could become a natural wave breaker, providing residents with a safe living environment.

Maldives is building a floating city to accommodate 20000 people https://t.co/RuQMC9dy9C.

— TimesTravel (@TOItravel) July 2, 2022

This ingenious design also makes the architecture firm Waterstudio a finalist for the Best Futura Project at the 2022 MIPIM Awards, nicknamed “Oscars for Global Development.” In an ecosystem-friendly way, the floating city creatively solves the problem brought by rising sea levels. As Architecture&Design commented, “by doing so, the Maldivians will rewrite their destiny from climate refugees to climate innovators.”

In August, the public will be able to view the first floating house block in the lagoon. However, the formal construction will start later in January 2023. Residents will start to move in during 2024. According to the construction plan, we should be able to see the city that can support 20,000 people’s daily lives in 2027.

The floating city plan has become a model to deal with the cruel reality of climate change. Although global warming still continues, at least people managed to cope with it. As Mohamed Nasheed, a former president of Maldives, said, “in the Maldives, we cannot stop the waves, but we can rise with them.” Check out the video below to know more about the floating city in Maldives.