---
title: "See the United Nations’ Floating, Hurricane-Ready City Concept"
description: "The United Nations plans to help build a prototype of a floating city concept designed to withstand the impact of climate change."
date: "2019-04-04"
modified: "2019-04-04"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/united-nations-floating-city-concept"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "floating city"
  - "oceanix"
  - "the digest"
  - "urban planning"
---

# See the United Nations’ Floating, Hurricane-Ready City Concept

![The United Nations plans to help build a prototype of a floating city concept designed to withstand the impact of climate change.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/united-nations-floating-city-concept.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Oceanix–Big Bjarke Ingels Group\</em\>*

## Float On

With the threat of climate change looming, the United Nations is now considering [floating cities](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-un-climatechange-cities/as-sea-levels-rise-u-n-climbs-aboard-floating-cities-push-idUSKCN1RG1X6>) as one way to protect coastal populations from rising sea levels.

On Wednesday, the intergovernmental group [unveiled](<https://www.businessinsider.in/The-UN-just-unveiled-a-design-for-a-new-floating-city-that-can-withstand-Category-5-hurricanes/The-villages-wouldnt-allow-any-high-emitting-cars-or-trucks-/slideshow/68713981.cms>) Oceanix City, a concept for one of those floating cities developed as a partnership between architect Bjarke Ingels and Oceanix, a company that specializes in building floating structures — and it's a stunning vision of the future of urban living.

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Oceanix1-1200x637.png>)
*Image Credit: Oceanix–Big Bjarke Ingels Group*

## City Living

Each Oceanix City would consist of several hexagonal platforms, each anchored to the sea floor. The platforms would fit together to form a completely self-sustaining floating city of 10,000 residents.

The city's design would allow it to withstand floods, tsunamis, and Category 5 hurricanes — the types of extreme weather events increasing in both [severity and frequency](<https://futurism.com/extreme-weather-events-frequent>) due to climate change.

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Oceanix3-1200x638.png>)
*Image Credit: Oceanix–Big Bjarke Ingels Group*

## Real Shot

Unlike countless [city concepts](<https://futurism.com/1-evergreen-take-a-look-at-these-futuristic-concept-cities>) before it, Oceanix City might actually come to fruition — thanks to backing by the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat), the UN's agency for sustainable urban development.

During the unveiling on Wednesday, UN-Habitat's executive director Maimunah Mohd Sharif said the agency plans to work with Oceanix, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and The Explorers Club to [build an Oceanix City prototype](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-un-climatechange-cities/as-sea-levels-rise-u-n-climbs-aboard-floating-cities-push-idUSKCN1RG1X6>) docked on the East River near the UN's headquarters in New York within months.

"Everybody on the team actually wants to get this built," Oceanix CEO Marc Collins [told *Business Insider*](<https://www.businessinsider.in/The-UN-just-unveiled-a-design-for-a-new-floating-city-that-can-withstand-Category-5-hurricanes/The-villages-wouldnt-allow-any-high-emitting-cars-or-trucks-/slideshow/68713981.cms>). "We're not just theorizing."

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/oceanix2-1200x625.png>)
*Image Credit: Oceanix–Big Bjarke Ingels Group*

**READ MORE:** [The UN just unveiled a design for a new floating city that can withstand Category 5 hurricanes](<https://www.businessinsider.in/The-UN-just-unveiled-a-design-for-a-new-floating-city-that-can-withstand-Category-5-hurricanes/The-villages-wouldnt-allow-any-high-emitting-cars-or-trucks-/slideshow/68713981.cms>) \[*Business Insider*\]

**More on futuristic cities:** *[Architects Reveal What They Think “The City of the Future” Will Look Like](<https://futurism.com/1-evergreen-take-a-look-at-these-futuristic-concept-cities>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)