When envisioning the infrastructure possible in a floating city, we discovered numerous projects that supported such futures. While ongoing, this document is a preview — straight from the pages of POLIS, the first of 6 one-shots in THE PROTOPIAS COLLECTION — to the best research that builds towards a sustainable city for generations to come. Buy POLIS today!

In The Future We Will…

… convert more sunlight into usable energy with bifacial perovskite solar cells, achieving the highest efficiency to date. Maximize elasticity and durability of such panels, allowing them to float reliably in any marine environment. Store more of it in mirror-adorned solar power towers that also generate electricity. Send mirrors to space to reflect sunlight, boosting electricity production even after dark. Enliven communities with concerts from morning to night, under structures with solar modules that also tell time.

Time every potential gust perfectly with kites that fly higher, creating electricity from every tug on the line. Deploy kinetic hawks and falcons that are less cumbersome than wind turbines. Transform these kites into dragons that swim, harnessing enough tidal energy to power a small town.

Equip more of our boats with ocean wings and fuel cells that can produce hydrogen by desalinating seawater. Ride our ocean’s natural waves and deep underwater pressure, activating reverse osmosis to provide ample access to clean and safe drinking water.

Attain carbon-neutral mining of minerals from seawater, such as magnesium, copper, and zinc. Turn this brine into a biodegradable material called Kaumera that looks even better worn as jewelry.

Filter more of our water with the most absorbent, pollutant-eating organisms. Add sponges to multi-trophic mariculture systems, improving water quality for our fish farms. Clean up oil spills, fight more types of cancer cells, and treat bacterial infections. Clear up microplastics with naturally forming balls of Neptune grass.Restore our seagrass meadows to capture carbon while also emitting 20 liters of oxygen per day per square meter. Feed our populations with Posidonia bread.

Improve the health of our populations. Grow more seagrass beds and regenerate coral farms at a larger and faster rate with the aid of robots. Make our reefs more heat-resistant by improving the tolerance of the algae that corals cohabitate with and protect. Imitate the structures of these naturally impressive organisms to inspire our own building infrastructure.Grow our own furniture. Engineer the next generation of stronger and lighter buildings, bridges, and more, modeled after the ingenuity of sponge lattice geometries. Make carbon-sequestering underwater sculptures to swim around and explore.

Bolster nature’s cleanup solutions with robust robotics. Send these robots out to reseed the land, countering the effects of deforestation while also delivering food and other essentials to all communities. We need to capture carbon fast, and we’ll be doing it full-throttle, at lightning speed

What else will we try in the future?