Italian architecture firm Stefano Boeri Architetti has designed the world’s first Smart Forest City in Cancun, Mexico. Grupo Karim’s, a property developer and textile manufacturer, is responsible for developing the ambitious project. The city will be among many attractions in the State of Quintana Roo, including the best all inclusive resorts in Cancun for families.
Stefano Boeri Architetti proposed this novel plan to substitute a shopping district which was also planned on the site. Smart Forest City – Cancun seeks to help regenerate the delicate ecosystem of the region while creating urban innovation. The city is a rectangular lot of 557 hectares; about 1376 acres of forest land. Green spaces will take up more than half of that area; a whopping 400 acres.
A proposed state-of-the-art, self-sufficient infrastructure will integrate water, energy, and agriculture. Additionally, residents will be able to move around using electric and semi-automatic vehicles. The various green spaces will absorb an estimated 116,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. This also includes 5,800 tons of CO2 stocked per year. This is an initiative which could hopefully be incorporated in best all inclusive resorts in Cancun for families.
Plant-Life Inclusive
The heart of the urban design concept is a circular economy which reduces its total amount of waste. To do this, 130,000 inhabitants and 7,500,000 plants will share the vast area. In addition, surrounding agricultural fields will offer fresh food for the inhabitants.
The more than 7 million plants will include 400 species, hand-picked by botanist and landscape architect Laura Gatti. There will be roughly 260,000 trees, resulting in a ratio of 2.3 trees per inhabitant. Moreover, the city will support a greater balance through public parks, green roofs, and sustainable facades.
Center for Sustainable Research
The Smart Forest City will be an international hub for technological innovation in sustainability. As an example, the architects planned for an advanced research center which could host university departments worldwide. The city would welcome students and researchers from all across the globe. In addition, the center would serve as a setting for international companies and organizations to discuss and work on issues involving sustainability and the future of the planet.
More Innovation
The architects considered the harmful effects of pollution from conventional vehicles. Consequently, cars will be left out at the edges of the city in favor of a more efficient system. Inhabitants will travel using internal electric and semi-automatic forms of transportation, designed by New York-based firm MIC.
Climate engineering firm Transsolar devised a ring of solar panels to power the city. Likewise, a massive basin at the entrance to the city will collect water to use for irrigating the agriculture fields. Once desalinated, the water travels through a system of navigable canals and out to the fields through an underwater pipe. Water gardens designed to combat flooding will also be a model for resistant landscapes.
The site sits between Cancun City and Playa del Carmen, another popular tourist destination. Located among the best all inclusive resorts in Cancun for families, the Smart City will offer a sustainable vision for the future.