4 ms·

I wonder why we don't make floating cities. The rising ocean isn't a problem anymore. Storms probably aren't if the cities is big enough?

by tiku 3y ago

Dylan16807 3y ago
For what purpose? You have to be stuck somewhere where you're exceptionally short on land for expansion into water to make sense.
- twic 3y ago
  The Netherlands has joined the chat Seriously, though, a lot of big cities are or were ports, have centres near the coast, and are constrained from growing further inland by geological features or transport time. Extending those cities out to sea, by reclamation or on floats, is at least superficially appealing.
  - bdamm 3y ago
    Reclamation is a non-starter if sea-level rise is the concern. Basically we're talking about making boat cities. To me this seems nuts since there's nothing stable about it. The largest passenger boats we have today are cruise liners, and they have relatively brief lifespans, very expensive upkeep, and suffer catastrophes on a regular basis. Thinking that the future for human development is living on boats seems desperate.
  - s1artibartfast 3y ago
    reclamation is very different than floats. I'm not sure what you mean by superficially appealing, or probably more critically, to whom you think it appealing. Most people with any familiarity with engineering or marine environments would find the concept of floating cities as a terribly impractical idea, at first look, do the cost and complexity. It would make far more sense to build a city in a desert and build a megaproject to bring it water from the ocean. I would agree floating cities has some sci-fi fantasy appeal. cool setting for a book or cartoon, where one could ignore the real implications. Not unlike space stations or moon bases in that respect.
  - yurishimo 3y ago
    The Netherlands does not have that many houseboats. Amsterdam is famous for them sure, but the city is not handing out any more permits and afaik has no plans to. Reclamation could be interesting in a limited number of circumstances but realistically we would be better served by improving transit inland. Even in Europe, there is a ton of room for improvement to connect rural areas to cities which would alleviate much of the burden that people feel to live closer to work and commerce.
- helpfulContrib 3y ago
  [dead]
chrisfosterelli 3y ago
My city has an area of town that's got a bunch of semi-permanent floating houses attached to three or four boardwalks. Essentially house boats but far more house than boat. They are a good tourist attraction and cute cozy houses but from what I understand they cost a small fortune in upkeep and insurance compared to a regular house.
- Vvector 3y ago
  Like a riverboat casino loophole?
elric 3y ago
I suspect you're underestimating the cost and complexity of such an operation. Artificial islands exists, but need constant upkeep (adding more material as it's eroded/reclaimed by the sea). Those don't float, they're anchored to the sea bed. Things that do float need even more upkeep, because a larger part of their surface area comes in contact with saltwater, which is very good at ruining everything it touches. Ship maintenance is expensive. Floating city maintenance would be staggeringly expensive. I can imagine it being nearly as complex as building a city on the moon.
- manvillej 3y ago
  there's a reason that the saying "a boat is hole in the water you throw money into" exists
Terr_ 3y ago
It's like that old joke about the two happiest days in a boat-owner's life: When they first buy the boat, and when they finally sell it. An exaggeration, but the point is that floating-stuff has a whole bunch of maintenance headaches and extra-expenses which most people don't anticipate, and I imagine the problem will be _even worse_ when it comes to floating city houses/blocks.

I wonder why we don't make floating cities. The rising ocean isn't a problem anymore. Storms probably aren't if the cities is big enough?

by tiku 3y ago

I wonder why we don't make floating cities. The rising ocean isn't a problem anymore. Storms probably aren't if the cities is big enough?

Dylan16807 3y ago

For what purpose? You have to be stuck somewhere where you're exceptionally short on land for expansion into water to make sense.

twic 3y ago
The Netherlands has joined the chat Seriously, though, a lot of big cities are or were ports, have centres near the coast, and are constrained from growing further inland by geological features or transport time. Extending those cities out to sea, by reclamation or on floats, is at least superficially appealing.
- bdamm 3y ago
  Reclamation is a non-starter if sea-level rise is the concern. Basically we're talking about making boat cities. To me this seems nuts since there's nothing stable about it. The largest passenger boats we have today are cruise liners, and they have relatively brief lifespans, very expensive upkeep, and suffer catastrophes on a regular basis. Thinking that the future for human development is living on boats seems desperate.
- s1artibartfast 3y ago
  reclamation is very different than floats. I'm not sure what you mean by superficially appealing, or probably more critically, to whom you think it appealing. Most people with any familiarity with engineering or marine environments would find the concept of floating cities as a terribly impractical idea, at first look, do the cost and complexity. It would make far more sense to build a city in a desert and build a megaproject to bring it water from the ocean. I would agree floating cities has some sci-fi fantasy appeal. cool setting for a book or cartoon, where one could ignore the real implications. Not unlike space stations or moon bases in that respect.
- yurishimo 3y ago
  The Netherlands does not have that many houseboats. Amsterdam is famous for them sure, but the city is not handing out any more permits and afaik has no plans to. Reclamation could be interesting in a limited number of circumstances but realistically we would be better served by improving transit inland. Even in Europe, there is a ton of room for improvement to connect rural areas to cities which would alleviate much of the burden that people feel to live closer to work and commerce.
helpfulContrib 3y ago
[dead]

chrisfosterelli 3y ago

My city has an area of town that's got a bunch of semi-permanent floating houses attached to three or four boardwalks. Essentially house boats but far more house than boat. They are a good tourist attraction and cute cozy houses but from what I understand they cost a small fortune in upkeep and insurance compared to a regular house.

Vvector 3y ago
Like a riverboat casino loophole?

elric 3y ago

I suspect you're underestimating the cost and complexity of such an operation. Artificial islands exists, but need constant upkeep (adding more material as it's eroded/reclaimed by the sea). Those don't float, they're anchored to the sea bed. Things that do float need even more upkeep, because a larger part of their surface area comes in contact with saltwater, which is very good at ruining everything it touches. Ship maintenance is expensive. Floating city maintenance would be staggeringly expensive. I can imagine it being nearly as complex as building a city on the moon.

manvillej 3y ago
there's a reason that the saying "a boat is hole in the water you throw money into" exists

Terr_ 3y ago

It's like that old joke about the two happiest days in a boat-owner's life: When they first buy the boat, and when they finally sell it. An exaggeration, but the point is that floating-stuff has a whole bunch of maintenance headaches and extra-expenses which most people don't anticipate, and I imagine the problem will be _even worse_ when it comes to floating city houses/blocks.