Satellite Images Showcase New Floating City in the Maldives

Of course, floating cities are not quite normal yet, but they might be in just a few years. In fact, the Maldives and development company Waterstudio from the Netherlands just announced the first floating city will be ready for new residents by the end of 2025.

Because of its location and topography, the Maldives’ citizens live on and with the sea. In fact, fishing is the country’s largest industry, with tourism coming in a close second.

Only 187 of the islands are inhabited, and many are becoming dangerously overpopulated due to increased tourism in the region. 

Of course, because it’s an island, there is truly nowhere else for the growing population to go, and those living in the region are worried that soon the islands will become overpopulated, placing significant stress on public services. 

That’s when the government connected with the Netherlands-based architectural firm that focuses on “confronting challenges of urbanization and climate change,” Waterstudio.

Waterstudio’s plan for what they call the Maldives Floating City was released to the public in April 2024, and it is really quite amazing.

Each and every home will face the sea in some way, and instead of roads, internal waterways will connect the homes so residents can boat to and from.

The plan is to create modular floating platforms placed into a hexagonal grid that mimics the shape of a “brain coral” and use barrier islands as wave breakers. Building the first floating city would have been ingenious in itself, but the unique design is amazingly innovative, too.

Each and every home will face the sea in some way, and instead of roads, internal waterways will connect the homes so residents can boat to and from.

“They are attached to the seabed by a telescoping pile to ensure that the whole city can move up and down with the tides by up to two and a half meters.”

While the city will be free of cars, residents will be allowed to commute using bikes and scooters. 

However, the new builds will be slightly more expensive than the average price of current homes in Male. 

Still, they hope it will be a diverse city with people from everywhere, which could result in a melting pot of cultures in the region. 

They believe that reasonably priced houses, proximity to Male, and ample space will be quite the draw for anyone currently living in other regions around the Maldives. 

If this plan goes as imagined, it will immediately create a functioning workforce and subsequent economy for the city, one that could help its growth. 

The idea behind the island city is that it will protect the natural landscape of the waters around the Maldives, as well as provide safe, affordable, and beautiful homes for thousands of people who need them.

One of the many terrifying effects of climate change is that the world’s sea levels are rising quickly because of the topography of the Maldives. 

As the former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, explained, “In the Maldives, we cannot stop the waves, but we can rise with them.”

However, the Maldives Floating City has been under construction for only 10 years and is already almost done, which showcases how serious the government is about establishing a new city for the islands’ residents. 

Along with the photos, the Maldivian government announced that the city will be ready for its first residents in just 14 months.

There was a “bit of delay because of some political way finding between Indian and Chinese-oriented economic interests,” he said. 

They expect all construction to be completed by 2027, and if the city is a success, which it seems like it will be, it could be the first of many. 

According to Nasheed, the project has been a success even from the beginning, as it would not affect any of the surrounding corals, and no land reclamation was needed. 

With the effects of climate change intensifying every day and overpopulation alarming governments around the world, floating cities might just be the future, especially in regions like the Maldives.