At Idea Sandbox we talk about conducive space and planned space. I took up an interest in planned spaces as a kid... Not just spaces (like a room), or places (like a brainstorming center) but planned communities... I love the notion "if you're going to build something, build it right." Since I was a kid and learned about Walt Disney's designs for his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT), I've been fascinated by planned communities.

In fact, I built a website about Walt's original plans for EPCOT, called Waltopia. It isn't about the Epcot that exists today - but the true living city Walt had in mind. When I started the Waltopia site more than ten years ago, there wasn't much information readily available about his original plans. Now you can find all sorts of books and videos, etc.

While researching other planned cities I discovered the The Palm Island communities located off the coast of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. They are building planned communities - three of the largest man-mad islands in the world. The developers are declaring these the "Eighth Wonder of the World."

Each of the islands (Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali, and Palm Deira) are being built in the shape of a date palm tree and consist of a trunk, a crown with fronds, and are surrounded by a crescent island that acts as a breakwater. The islands will support luxury hotels, freehold residential villas, unique water homes, shoreline apartments, marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities, health spas, cinemas and various diving sites.

As if that project wasn't ambitious enough, a larger project called the World Island is also in the works. Basically, they're re-creating the map of the earth through the construction of small (and not so small) man-made islands.

The World Islands are a collection of man-made islands shaped into the continents of the world, located off the coast of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It will consist of 300 small private artificial islands divided into four categories - private homes, estate homes, dream resorts, and community islands. Each island will range from 250,000 to 900,000 square feet (23,226 to 83,613 square meters) in size, with 50 to 100 metres (164 to 328 feet) of water between each island. It will cover a total area of 9 kilometers (5.4 miles) in length and 6 kilometers (3.6 miles) in width, surrounded by an oval shaped breakwater. The only means of transportation between the islands will be by marine or air transport.

Wow.

Image Sources: