Living with climate change

OUR planet’s population is increasing and so too are the many problems presented to humanity caused by population increase and climate change.
Rising sea levels could devastate coastal cities.
How and where will the food needed to feed our planet’s population come from?
Since 1880, the worlds average sea level has risen by 20-2cm, one third of that increase over the past 25 years.
Rising sea levels are eroding the coasts at an alarming rate.
Rising sea levels are flooding coastlines and contaminating freshwater supplies.
An estimated 41 per cent of the world’s population live within 100km of the coastline.
In addition, cities built on the coastline tend to sink over time.
Regions like New Orleans, Kolkata, Bangkok, Ho Chi Min city, Jakarta, London, New York city face an increasing pressure from flooding and saltwater intrusion.
The earth is drying up.
Drought has spread throughout our planet, especially in those area’s that mass produce/grow our food due to climate change.
Drought has taken away our precious fertile land masses giving us desert in return.
The earth’s underground aquifers are being depleted at an alarming rate.
Three quarters of the planet is covered by water, yet 96.5 per cent of this water is undrinkable.
Three point five per cent of our water is found in the form of ice, in our polar regions, but it to is melting.
What to do?
Do you remember a movie with Kevin Costner as the lead, Water World?
The planet was covered in water, and the surviving population live on boats and artificial floating devises.
The possible solution to the world’s problems can be found in this movie’s premise, that we can use the water that surrounds us.
Floating cities could combat this problem, but no one has ever built such a marvel before.
Well off the coast of South Korea, such ambitious project is underway. Known as “Oceanix Bruan”, this collaboration between the United Nations, the Port of Busan and the Contract Firm are building such a city.
Oceanix was founded in 2018 with the goal of designing and building a prototype sustainable floating city.
In 2022, the United Nations unveiled the programme to the world.
Neighbourhoods would be connected to one another and the mainland via bridges.
A living area will be developed, creating living space, lodging platforms, areas for community activities such as retail and food vendors and recreation.
Employment would be centred upon research and development of the project and fulfilling their neighbourhood’s needs.
A temperature-controlled atrium at its centre, the floating city would have its own centre for hydroponic agriculture.
Each neighbourhood would be secured firmly to the ocean floor with enough slack to consider the movement of the ocean.
Biorock will be used to make the buildings, surfaces of this city.
Biorock is a material that is produced using low electric currents applied to materials that become stronger than concrete yet are buoyant.
The floating city is pedestrian friendly, with no roads.
Electric vehicles will be used.
Each neighbourhood will have its own water treatment and recycling plants.
Turning salt water into drinkable water will fulfil the new city’s needs.
The first segment of the neighbourhood will be built by 2026, with a cost of approximately US$630 million (about K2.2 billion).
Estimates of US$10,000 (about K35,150) per square meter have arisen, but with further development and research the project will present to the world a far more affordable living option.
Imagine a liveable, prosperous island, a neighbourhood that is self-supporting in every way.
Such imaginative and bold projects will hopefully pave the way to earths transformation into an all-inclusive living space.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario