The Floating City will become the first floating nation on Earth–a Libertarian utopia free of regulation and taxes. It will feature offshore housing, use its own cryptocurrency, and operate ‘outside of government regulations’.
The plan to create the first floating city started off a decade ago when Peter Thiel, an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, philanthropist, political activist, and author co-founded a nonprofit called Seasteading Institute.
In a 2009 essay, Mr. Thiel wrote, “Between cyberspace and outer space lies the possibility of settling the oceans.”
Since then, the project has taken a long leap, and as things stand now, the institute is set to embark on a pilot project with the Government of French Polynesia.
Image Credit: Seasteading Institute
The world’s first independent floating nation will soon launch in the Pacific Ocean and will operate outside of government regulations, using its own cryptocurrency called ‘Vyron’.
The floating city, a sea-bound city-state featuring around 300 intricately designed homes, a number of hotels, restaurants, offices and other buildings is being built in the Pacific Ocean near the island of Tahiti.
The floating city-state was a project never attempted before.
Its founders imagined the floating city as a Libertarian utopia free of regulation and taxes.
But the plan developed beyond that.
Image Credit: Blue Frontiers
Speaking to Business Insider, Joe Quirk, president of the Institute said how he and his team now see the floating city a way mankind can coup with rising sea levels, which are sadly expected to increase by more than six feet by the end of the century.
Nathalie Mezza-Garcia, a political scientist and researchers from the Floating Island Project say how the islands residents will be free of ‘fluctuating geopolitical influences and trade issues’ and claimed the independent sea nation could one-day house refugees displaced by climate change.
“There is significance to this project being trialed in the Polynesian Islands. This is the region where land is resting on coral and will disappear with rising sea levels. Once we can see how this first island works, we will have a proof of concept to plan for islands to house climate refugees,” said Mr. Mezza Garcia in an interview with CNBC.
Image Credit: Blue Frontiers
The independent floating city is expected to cost around $50 million, and will float in international waters, while operating within its own laws, and will ‘liberate humanity from politicians’, according to the Seasteading Institute.
The floating city is a massive project in today’s radicalized society.
The floating island’s non-residential buildings are designed to operate as business centers, which will offer a number of companies to work ‘outside government regulations’.
“This means there is stability, outside of fluctuating geopolitical influences, trade issues, and currency fluctuations – it’s the perfect incubator,” Ms. Mezza Garcia explained.
“If you don’t want to live under a particular government, ‘people will be able to just take their house and float away to another island,” added Ms. Mezza Garcia.
The Journey to make the floating city-state happen was a long one. The Seasteading Institute, co-founded by Mr. Thiel has worked for the last five years designing and testing ‘permanent, innovative communities floating at sea’.
Their journey has seen them team up with Blue frontiers– a startup that specializes in building floating islands.
Image Credit: Blue Frontiers
The design of the floating city took inspiration from the Polynesian culture, in particular from their traditional navigation, based on observation and vast knowledge of natural elements.
The designers of the floating city-state reflected mountains and hills, the shape of ocean reefs and numerous different underwater landmarks, as well as the rising and setting of the moon, the sun and stars in the design.
Interestingly, the small platforms featuring the villas are set to be aligned with the path of the stars of Sirius according to the plans.
As explained by the Daily Mail, “Larger platforms with mixed-use buildings aligned to the celestial pillar Pou, starting from the main platform, the ‘star headlight’ or Ta’urua, and ending by the guide star Avei’a, passing through the zenith of the floating island.”
Image Credit: Seasteading Institute.
“During several visits to French Polynesia and after getting acquainted with the environment and the local contexts, one thing was sure, the project has to blend into its environment. To achieve this, local environmental characteristics, climate, ecology and cultural context have all been studied and play a major role in the process.”
“The project, however, doesn’t only want to not hurt the existing environment, the vision of the Blue Frontiers [is to] facilitate the development of more conscious and balanced settlements at sea where humans can peacefully coexist with the environment and with each other,” explains a written statement by the Seasteading Institute.
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