Tech entrepreneurs have been suggesting that we should abandon the dregs of city living for a while now. To that end Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and homie of Donald Trump, created the Seasteading Institute, an organization focused on building giant floating cities.
Sound ridiculous? Well… you’re not wrong. However, it may actually closer to reality than expected. Via a report from the Daily Mail, the Seasteading Institute has reached an agreement of understanding with the government of French Polynesia to build the first floating city off the tropical island of Tahiti.
While the first floating city will only hold around 300 residents, the aim to eventually have tens of millions of people on board by 2050. The initial 300-person floating city is expected to cost $167 million, which is actually pretty reasonable compared to some things that governments spend their money on, like billions of dollars on a football stadium.
There are plenty of things that could go wrong in the next few years, including intervention from the French government, which owns the territory of French Polynesia. However, with rising sea levels expected across the 118 French Polynesian Islands, floating cities could be needed sooner rather than later.
Scroll through the galleries above to see concept designs for the cities. Anybody getting Atlantis vibes? What about Bioshock? Worst of all, Waterworld?
