Category Archives: Cities

Urban Planning: Will The Cities Of The Future Float?

A new industry of floating infrastructure is emerging to help adapt to rising sea levels. There are two distinct approaches that are being put forth as possible solutions: retrofitting homes to be amphibious and building floating cities.

Amphibious homes can preserve the accessibility of the house and maintain the congenial front porch culture in places like Louisiana, said Elizabeth English, founder and director of The Buoyant Foundation Project. English’s design places a steel frame beneath a house, and then below that, in the crawl space, buoyancy elements. Her team then recommends adding elements to prevent lateral movement so the home will not float away while on the surface of floodwaters.

She estimated that a contractor could do such a retrofit for about $20 to $30 per square foot, but cautioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency currently discourages this type of building practice. Modern floating cities are the brainchild of architect Bjarke Ingels. He told CNBC he hopes his Oceanix City, which is currently slated to be built in the harbor near Busan,

South Korea, will be “a city that is the most resilient city you can imagine, but at the same time, the most enjoyable city that you can imagine.” “We really hope that it will be a successful project and we would like to replicate it in other parts of the world,” Maimunah Mohd Sharif, executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, told CNBC of the Oceanix development.

She said the world must look more into adaptation and hopes that the project can help mitigate or even solve the problem of sea-level rise. Would you live in a floating city or retrofit your home so it floats during floods? Watch the video above to learn more about what life could be like in these innovative climate change adaptations.

Walking Tours: Side In Southern Turkey (4K)

Side is a resort town on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coast. An ancient port city, it’s known for long beaches and Greco-Roman ruins. In the center are the remains of the 2nd-century Antique Theater, which seated up to 15,000. The white marble columns of the Hellenistic Temple of Athena stand near the harbor. Other sites are sprinkled throughout, with finds housed at the Side Museum, a restored Roman bath complex. 

City Views: A Walking Tour Of Old Havana In Cuba (4K)

La Habana Vieja (Old Havana), declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982, is the historic center of the city of Havana. It is formed by a harbor and the official center, the Plaza de Armas. There you will find all kinds of picturesque monuments, fortresses, churches, palaces, etc. It is full of authentic architectural treasures from different periods and offers one of the most comprehensive collections of urban buildings in all America. This area of the city alone is home to more than a thousand buildings of historical importance with various examples of distinguished architecture ranging from Baroque to Art Deco.

Unlike typical colonial cities, Havana was developed on not one, but four main plazas: the Plaza de Armas, which was the military and defensive center as it had a fortress and a large courtyard used for military parades; the Plaza de la Catedral, which with its cathedral was used as the religious center; the Plaza Vieja, which was the commercial hub as it housed important markets; and the Plaza de San Francisco de Asís, which was the main point of exportation and importation as it had a port where Spanish ships docked.

Summer Walks: Košice In Eastern Slovakia (4K)

Košice is a city in eastern Slovakia, close to the Hungarian border. Its origins go back to the medieval period, and the central Lower Gate archaeological complex preserves fortifications from the 13th century. Hlavné námestie, the main square, is home to 2 Gothic churches: the huge St. Elisabeth Cathedral and the 14th-century St. Michael Chapel. Nearby, St. Urban’s Tower contains a museum of wax figurines. 

Filmed in September 2022.

Summer Walks: Le Marais In Central Paris, France

The fashionable Marais district in the 4th arrondissement, also known as SoMa (South Marais), is filled with hip boutiques, galleries, and gay bars. Once the city’s Jewish quarter, the area still hosts numerous kosher restaurants. The grassy Place des Vosges is home to elegant arcades and the Musée Victor Hugo, where the writer lived. Streets around Saint-Paul metro lead to the Maison Européenne de la Photographie. 

Filmed in September 2022.

Walking Tour: Maribor In Northeast Slovenia (4K)

Maribor is a Slovenian city set amid wine-region hills on the Drava River. On Glavni Trg, the old town’s main square, the Renaissance-style Town Hall (Mariborski rotovž) dates from 1515. On nearby Grajski Trg square, 15th-century Maribor Castle houses a frescoed Knights’ Hall and the Regional Museum of Maribor, with extensive displays of local artifacts. To the southwest, Mariborsko Pohorje is a prominent ski resort.

City Walks: Amsterdam In Western Netherlands (4K)

Amsterdam, city and port, western Netherlands, located on the  IJsselmeer and connected to the North Sea. It is the capital and the principal commercial and financial centre of the Netherlands.

To the scores of tourists who visit each year, Amsterdam is known for its historical attractions, for its collections of great art, and for the distinctive colour and flavour of its old sections, which have been so well preserved. However, visitors to the city also see a crowded metropolis beset by environmental pollution, traffic congestion, and housing shortages. It is easy to describe Amsterdam, which is more than 700 years old, as a living museum of a bygone age and to praise the eternal beauty of the centuries-old canals, the ancient patrician houses, and the atmosphere of freedom and tolerance, but the modern city is still working out solutions to the pressing urban problems that confront it.

Walking Tour: Leuven In Central Belgium (4K)

Leuven is a city east of Brussels, Belgium, known for its breweries. On a central square is the 15th-century town hall, with its tall spires. The building is decorated with hundreds of statues of local figures, biblical characters and saints. Opposite, the late Gothic St. Peter’s Church houses a “Last Supper” by the Flemish Primitive painter Dieric Bouts. Nearby, Oude Markt is a long square lined with bars and cafes. 

Ukraine Views: Inside The Recaptured City Of Izyum

Ukrainian forces have reclaimed large swaths of territory in the Kharkiv region. WSJ’s Stephen Kalin reports from the liberated city of Izyum, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to assess damage on Wednesday.

Izyum, also spelled Iziumcity, eastern Ukraine. Izyum is located 75 miles (120 km) southeast of Kharkiv on the Donets River. The earliest historical mention of it dates as early as 1571; it has been a city since 1639. Izyum is linked with Kharkiv and Luhansk by rail. Industries have included railroad repair, brick making, brewing, and optical equipment manufacture. 

Walking Tour: Szeged In Southern Hungary (4K)

Szegedcity with county status and seat of Csongrád megye (county), southeastern Hungary. It lies on the Tisza River, west (downstream) of its confluence with the Maros and a few miles from the intersection of Hungary, Romania, and Serbia.

Szeged was a military stronghold and trade centre in the time of the Árpád kings (10th–15th century) and was sacked by the Tatars and the Turks. Flourishing as a centre of commerce, it was one of Hungary’s largest cities in the early 16th century, though it suffered under Turkish rule in the late 16th century and under Austrian rule from the late 17th century.