Billionaire Peter Thiel helped fund plans to build the world's first floating city ' take a look at the designs

Nearly a decade ago, billionaire Peter Thiel cofounded a nonprofit calledSeasteading Institute, andcontributed seed funding toward what could become the world's first floating city.By 2020, the Institute aims to build a dozen floating islands in French Polynesia featuring homes, restaurants, offices, schools, and hotels.At first, the project's founders imagined the city asa libertarian utopia free of regulation.Joe Quirk, president of the Institute, told Business Insider that his team's vision has evolved beyond that. The group now sees the city as a way to live with rising sea levels, which areexpectedto increasemore than six feetby the end of this century.Earlier in 2017, the French Polynesian government allowed the Seasteading Institute to start testing in its oceans. Take a look at the ambitious plan below.SEE ALSO:The Netherlands is protecting its coast with an $81 million 'sand motor'In a 2009 essay, Thiel wrote, "Between cyberspace and outer space lies the possibility of settling the oceans."Seasteading Institute's city would float in French Polynesian waters.The team seeks to build a dozen residential islands by 2020, Quirk told Business Insider. Though Thiel provided initial funding for the project, Quirk said the billionaire is no longer directly involved."Peter was the most generous donor to the Seasteading Institute for the first few years and gets credit for financially kickstarting this great movement, which would not be happening without him," Quirk said.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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