Green Cities of the Future

From Brazil to Korea, a whole new generation of sustainable communities is getting built from the ground up all around the world.

These 16 cities were selected by the Clinton Climate Initiative to participate in the Climate Positive Development Program, which will provide an open flow of information on green technology.

Click ahead to take a look at sustainable cities of the future.

Note: Completion dates and costs are estimates provided by the developers and may change.

Published July 1, 2009

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

East London, United Kingdom

Completion: N/A

Cost: N/A

Size: N/A

Population: N/A

Being built over a former brownfield, the site will have over 1,000 new homes and be a zero carbon development.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

Destiny, Fla.

Completion: 2032-2050

Cost: N/A

Size: 41,300 acres

Population: 200,000

Developer Anthony Pugliese calls it “the Silicon Valley of green tech,” with manufacturing and technology jobs and housing. The cost of the project could reach the billions, he says. Construction is expected to start in late 2011 or early 2012; people will work and live there immediately after the first phase is complete.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Completion: 2015-2016

Cost: $440 million

Size: 15 acres

Population: 2,500

Six residential buildings and one commercial one have already been built on the former abandoned industrial site. When complete, the site will have 26 builidings (with green roofs), a wastewater treatment plant and manmade pond-creek ecosystem.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

London, England

Completion: 2020

Cost: $2.5 billion  

Size: 173 acres

Population: N/A

Located in South London, Southwark Council is redeveloping poorly-designed, lower-income housing to house even more people while making sure that all new construction is enviornmentally friendly.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Completion: 2017

Cost: N/A

Size: 270 acres

Population: 100,000

The town, which will begin construction in the thrid quarter of 2009, will harvest rainwater and recycle its water supply.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

Toronto, Canada

Completion: N/A

Cost: N/A

Size: 2,000 acres

Population: N/A

The development is just one part of a major $30 billion (34 billion Canadian dollars) plan to redevelop Toronto’s waterfront. Lower Don Lands is still in the planning stages and construction is expected to start within the next five years.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

Magok-dong Gayang-dong, Seoul, South Korea

Completion: N/A

Cost: N/A

Size: N/A 

Population: N/A

It's expected that about half of the development will be made up of a park that will be maintained using collected rain water.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Completion: N/A

Cost: $7.2 billion

Size: 3,000 acres

Population: N/A

Using a filtering system, 66 percent of the city’s water needs will come from recycled water.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

Pretoria, South Africa

Completion: 2014-2019

Cost: N/A

Size: 33 acres

Population: N/A

The developers are using recycled products like steel, concrete and carpeting for their buildings.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

Panama

Completion: 2029-2049

Cost: $705 million (but expected to pass a billion dollars)

Size: 3,400 acres

Population: 80,000 to 100,000

Built over a former U.S. Air Force base, nearly half of the site will remain open space with wetlands and forests preserved.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

Palhoca, Greater Florianopolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil

Completion: 2016-2019

Cost: N/A

Size: 120 acres

Population: 30,000

Located next to a University and a light industrial area, the town is meant to be home to people who study or work there. The development is designed so that people can easily walk to many amenities, such as libraries and a cultural center, discouraging the use of cars.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

Stockholm, Sweden

Completion: 2025

Cost: $2.5 billion

Size: 660 acres

Population: 55,000

Located along the city's harbor area, the community being built on the former industrial site plans to be completely free of fossil fuels by 2030. Construction began on the site in 2008.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

San Francisco, Calif.

Completed: 2019-2023

Cost: $6 billion

Size: 550 acres

Population: 13,000 - 15,000

Final approval is still pending, but construction is expected to start at the end of 2011. The plans are to completely redevelop the island and neighboring Yerba Buena Island into a 6,000-home residential community with 300 acres of parks and recreational space and 235,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

Docklands, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Completion: 2021

Cost: N/A

Size: 74 acres

Population: 30,000

Transportation is a big part of the design for Victoria Harbour, which will offer light-rail trains and bicycle tracks to get residents to the city center.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

Completion:  2017-2021

Cost: N/A

Size: 840 acres

Population: 30,000

The site will produce its electricity locally, using new technologies like fuel cells, biogas and solar panels to cool and heat buildings.

» Story: Laying The Right Foundation

Johannesburg, South Africa

Completion: 2020

Cost: $1 billion (for first phase of construction)

Size: 540 acres

Population: 100,000

Located halfway between Johannesburg and Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, the development will take advantage of the highly trafficked area with a large eco-friendly shopping and commercial area.

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