What Happened?
New development projects are being proposed in major cities worldwide where free space is scarce. These initiatives aim to construct new buildings and resources in unconventional locations such as over bodies of water or underground.
Off-Shore
In New York City, on the Hudson River, a 2.4-acre off-shore park has been proposed. The parkland would offer an amphitheater and other performance spaces through renovation of a dilapidated pier on the West Side of Manhattan, The New York Times reported.
The $170 million park would be built upon a platform that extends 186 feet off the Hudson River shoreline. The combined park-performance space would provide entertainment areas as well as natural greenery and walking paths.
About $130 million of the costs would be covered by Barry Diller, an entertainment industry billionaire. The remaining $40 million would come from New York City, the state of New York and the Hudson River Park Trust. Diller has also offered to cover the off-shore park’s operating expenses for 20 years, The New York Times reported.
Underground
Officials in London are looking to convert abandoned tube stations into urban development projects. The underground tunnels offer extensive, untapped space in the already crowded city. A proposal has been made to transform 26 tube stations into:
- Retail parks
- Entertainment centers
- Offices
- Cultural locations
The project is expected to cost $5.63 billion to develop. Private investors interested in the proposal believe the project could be worth billions as property values in London continue to rise.
The project is similar to the Lowline Lab proposed in New York City. The Lowline initiative would use innovative solar technology to light up an old trolley terminal on the Lower East Side of the city. The space would be used to create an underground park area that would mimic the outdoors with artificial sunlight and real plants.
The trolley terminal is just below an area of New York City with limited green space available to residents. The station has been abandoned since 1948 and offers an array of existing features to support the underground cultural development such as:
- Cobblestones
- Vaulted ceilings
- Crisscrossing rail tracks
Furthermore, a study from the U.S. National Research Council argues underground construction projects offer a promising option for continual urban development in dense, overcrowded metropolitan areas, CNN reported.
Underwater
In Japan, government ministries are working with energy providers to draw up plans for The Ocean Spiral, which would be an underwater metropolis to house up to 5,000 people. The underwater city offer Japanese ministries with the opportunity to expand urban development while taking into consideration rising sea levels and other effects of climate change.
The underwater metropolis would microorganism to convert carbon dioxide into methane which will create enough energy to power houses and amenities for its residents, CNN reported.
The underwater structure would reach 2.8 miles below the sea and be divided into three sections:
- The first section will be the residential zone along with businesses and hotels measuring 1,640 feet wide
- The second section will be a nine-mile spiral that connects the inhabited zone to third zone
- The third section will house a deep-sea submarine port and factory to create energy from microorganisms
In addition, the second section will have power generators that use differences in seawater temperature to create supplemental energy through thermal conversion technologies, CNN reported.
Preparing the Modern City
Gov1 has reported on a variety of proposed development projects designed to modernize economic growth amid climate change realities.