Cities Floating on Water

One could say that, in a sense, in places like Bangkok, floating cities (or at least markets) already exist. And the famous new ship known as “The World of residenSea®” could also be called a floating city. But in the future, there may be true floating cities, although the environmental ramifications of such constructions remain unknown.

R. Buckminster Fuller produced a model of his “Triton City,” a floating city exhibiting the stability functions of a typical bell buoy. In addition, its outward-sloping walls would reduce the danger of falls for its inhabitants, who would merely slide down the exterior if they fell out of a window or off of a porch. With the above-water part having essentially the shape of a tetrahedron (a square-based pyramid), this design would provide the largest possible external surface for apartments to have garden terraces and an unimpeded view of the city’s natural surroundings.

Fuller envisioned three types of floating cities – one for protected waters, one for semi-protected areas, and one for deep-sea locations (somewhat like the oil rigs of today). His Triton City concept was reviewed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as well as the U.S. Navy’s Bureau of Ships and its Bureau of Yards and Docks. All apparently agreed that the concept was feasible and cost-effective, and even relatively inexpensive compared to much conventional urban housing at the time.

But when the Lyndon Johnson administration lost power, the project was dropped by the U.S. government (see http://www.netaxs.com/~cjf/fuller-faq-5.html)

Perhaps part of the reason was that residents of a city floating on water could avoid paying terrestrial property taxes!

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