Norway is Planning a Sustainable “City for the Future”

Norway is planning a sustainable “City of the Future” and this prospective city, which will be built next to Oslo Airport, will utilize green technologies, producing its own renewable energy and making it the most sustainable city in the world.

The Sustainable Airport

Last year, Oslo Airport, wanting to set a new sustainable aviation standard, launched a new green terminal, certifying it as the world’s one and only. Their goal was originally to cut back at least fifty percent of the energy used by the airport. Now they’ve decided they also want a build an entire sustainable city surrounding the airport.

Building the terminal from natural stone and wood from nearby forests aided in its sustainability as well as the windows which were situated in order to give those traveling a look at the surrounding areas, but most importantly, maximized the use of daylight. These building techniques led to the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, or BREEAM, to give the terminal an excellent rating.

The Sustainable City

Now it seems that travelers who visit this Oslo Airport will also be able to venture into the sustainable city as well. Norway intends for the city, which will take up nearly a thousand acres, to consume less energy than it produces. Furthermore, it will act as a prototype for future cities running on renewable power and offering driverless transportation to the public.

Expected to create thousands of jobs, Oslo Airport City will offer hotels, restaurants, offices, event centers, recreational facilities, a public park, and much more. The city is already currently employing nearly twenty-three thousand contractors and other employees, with that number expecting to double once the city is complete, around the year 2050.

The City Plans

Haptic Architects (HA), along with the Nordic Office of Architecture, have recently released plans for their “energy positive airport city” and the director of HA says that this is a unique opportunity they’ve been given to design a city from scratch using the latest developments in green technology in order to create a futuristic sustainable city which hopefully others will follow in kind. Although the airport city is expected to take up to thirty years to complete, construction of the first phase will begin in 2019. Additionally, the airport believes it will have its first fleet of electric airplanes flying within a few years.

This new sustainable city will include as much green technology as possible and is intended to produce more energy than it uses. In order to do that, there are several ideas already in place. Let’s go over what all is planned for this futuristic city.

  • First and foremost, the airport city will be exceptionally walkable. Those who live there and visit will not have to use any type of transportation to get around. Instead, most places will be within walking distance with easy access to walking paths.
  • The center of the city will actually be completely vehicle-free. This will be possible due to the city’s walkability, but will also serve as an enforcement as well.
  • Oslo Airport City (OAC) also plans on hosting an immense amount of green technologies, pushing the boundaries thereof. Although all the tech hasn’t been specified just yet, it is known that OAC will use security tech, “smart” waste tech, auto-lighting, and driverless vehicles.
  • In addition, OAC will also only use the renewable energy which it produces. This will cut down, if not completely cut out, the use of fossil fuels and other energies used for transporting energy and fuel.
  • OAC, as mentioned before, intends to produce more energy than it uses, therefore being able to sell any excess energy which it produces. Some of this excess energy will be utilized in order to de-ice airplanes which will cut down on the fuel usage of the airport itself.
  • Inside OAC, only electric cars will be allowed; absolutely no gasoline or diesel powered vehicles which will not only cut down on non-sustainable energy being used, but it will also cut down on pollution almost entirely.
  • What public transportation that will be provided will be electric and extremely close-by. Furthermore, there will be a cycling route and a variety of outdoor activities which won’t require electricity.

The location of OAC may seem to be a bit random, but it’s actually an ideal location for the sustainable Utopian city which is being planned. It will be a perfect location for families of airport and city employees to reside in addition to being an impeccable place for visitors to take a break while in transit. OAC may seem like a fairy tale city, too good to be true, but it’s definitely going to become a reality one day. Hopefully, it will be the first of many sustainable cities yet to come.

Via Futurism

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