5 Eco-Friendly Cities Built From The Ground Up
Big Dreams Songdo in South Korea already has 30,000 residents. SJ. Kim/Getty Images From Incheon, South Korea, to Osceola County, Florida Lavasa Maharashtra, India Planned population: 300,000 Projected completion date: 2021 Lavasa's designers are using biomimicry to transform an arid site in India's Western Ghats into a lush city. Building foundations will store moisture, as trees do, while a multitude of tiny channels, modeled after those that harvester ants use to protect their nests, will prevent flooding during monsoon season. Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan Planned population: 3,000 Projected opening date: Spring 2014 If Fujisawa succeeds, it could provide a template for designing cities with smart grids from the ground up. Each home will be equipped with solar arrays that will be wired to the grid. There will also be sharing services for electric cars and bikes. Destiny Osceola County, Florida Planned population: 250,000 Projected completion date: Unknown With plans for 200 miles of navigable waterways-complete with water taxis-and an expo center...