2. Songdo International Business District, South KoreaOnce undeveloped mudflats 40 miles southwest of Seoul, Songdo is becoming a smart urban centre with an integrated network of utility, transportation, real estate and recreation systems. This manmade island, started in 2001, is a $35 billion project that will encompass 1,500 acres, house 65,000 residents and is slated for completion in 2014. Green transportation systems and underground pneumatic tubes for garbage collection are just a couple of the technologies being implemented for Songdo. It currently has more than 100 buildings, including a 7,800-person apartment complex, a 100-acre central park and a Sheraton hotel.
3. TianjinEco-City,ChinaThough China is not exactly known for being eco-friendly, it does have a number of eco-cities in the works, including the Tianjin Eco-City in northeast China. This $22 billion project covers 11.5 square miles and will include green public transportation systems and a power plant fueled by organic waste. The first phase of the city is scheduled to be finished by next year, with an animation center and a public housing project with 500 affordable units. The entire project is expected to take about 10 to 15 years to finish and will house around 350,000 people.
4. Dholera, IndiaLocated in the northwest part of India in Gujarat, Dholera is a new project on what is now largely rural land, and it will be part of a global manufacturing and trading hub. Dholera is also the first city in a series of cities across a larger project, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), a 93-mile stretch down the west coast of the subcontinent. With the DMIC, the Indian government aims to double the number of jobs in the region and quadruple its exports within just five years.
5. Hammarby Sjostad, SwedenWhile not brand new, this once-polluted former industrial site just south of Stockholm has risen from the ashes to become one of Europe's most eco-friendly towns. One of the most distinguishing features of the lakeside town is its waste collection system: an extensive series of hydraulic tubes that collects trash, recycling it to create electricity, heat or compost.Hammarby's city plan also enables and encourages citizens to walk or use public transportation rather than cars. Construction is on going, but the town is expected to house some 35,000 people and be completed by 2015.
6. Sejong City, South KoreaSejong City was originally proposed by the government as the location for South Korea's new capital in 2005. This year, however, the Korean government is planning to turn Sejong City into a hub of renewable energy and sustainability, education, science and business. This $14.6 billion project, 100 miles south of Seoul, is scheduled for completion by 2020 and will house a population of 500,000. It will also be home to the Korea Rare Isotope Accelerator and Basic Science Research Institute, which will be finished by 2015.
7. Energy Cities: Qatar, Libya, Kazakhstan, IndiaThe Energy City initiative is a series of cities being planned and built across several countries, with the dual goals of being energy-efficient and self-sustainable and also being business centres to global and regional energy companies. The first Energy City, which will be in Qatar, is scheduled for completion by 2012. The $2.6 billion project will encompass an area of about a half a square mile and will employ up to 20,000 people.
8. BedZED, U.K.Beddington Zero Energy Development, or BedZED, is the U.K.'s largest mixed-use sustainable community, located south of London in a town called Wallington. The project was completed in 2002 and includes around 100 homes.The BedZED community says it has reduced its energy use in heating by 81%, its car use by 64% and its water use by 58%. In addition, it recycles about 60% of its waste.
9. King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi ArabiaKing Abdullah Economic City, launched in 2005 by King Abdullah, is an $80 billion project that will take up about 67 square miles along the coast of the Red Sea. It will eventually have six main areas, including an "educational zone" and central business district. Education and research are some of the big themes behind the city, and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology will be built there. The city is also part of a plan to diversify the oil-based economy of Saudi Arabia, and to make it, among other things, a major industrial centre by 2020.
10. Iskandar, MalaysiaEstablished in 2006, Iskandar, Malaysia, is located on the southern tip of Malaysia and encompasses an area of about one square mile. The city was built to be a new metropolitan hub in the region, to attract businesses as well as residents with planned communities and environmentally friendly buildings. It includes five "flagship zones," including a financial district, technology park and port, and is scheduled for completion by 2025.
