New technologies and frontiers: Sustainable floating cities for China's coastlines and BRI

Does the idea of floating cities seem surreal?

"Floating cities are no longer science fiction — the technology to build human habitation on the ocean exists today," Collins Chen explained at the opening of the first United Nations roundtable on sustainable floating cities. He said several countries and companies are in a fierce race to lead this frontier field and shape the course of history.

The United Nations is taking notice. UN-Habitat convened on April 3 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City with ambassadors from UN member states. The Roundtable was co-convened by OCEANIX, the company founded by Collins Chen, the MIT Center for Ocean Engineering, and the Explorers Club. Tencent also co-hosted a luncheon with UN ambassadors in support of the day.

This is the first High-Level Roundtable at the United Nations exploring sustainable floating cities as an adaptation strategy to deal with sea level rise and the devastation caused by land reclamation.