Why aren't we building home out at see?

[SleepingStandingUp]

There's a population crisis and a lack of affordable homes and space to build etc so how come more countries don't build out from their coasts, or actually out at see. Watching the world spin and virtually a solid half is just sea! Why aren't more countries claiming territory and building their own extensions?

In my expensive city they are going crazy & building loads of high rise flats
For years you rarely saw any high rise flats being built now there is one that’s 17 storeys high and plenty more to come and lots of office blocks that are no longer in use due to WFH are getting planning permission to turn in flats
Very few houses being built and when they are they are either tiny 2 beds or 4-5 bed executive type homes
Problem is a 1 bed flat in most of these developments are at least 250 - 275 k and a two bed 315k

We've hit on a weird pet hate of mine here

Surely if we get a piece of sea or river and make it so we can build on it we're claiming it - not reclaiming it.

Reclaiming makes it sound like it was ours, the sea nicked it and we're just taking back, what's ours - but as far as I'm concerend it was the seas to start with.

Weird little linguistical quirk that bothers me way more than it should! Ha ha

we build on hardly any of the land. The green belt is held up as this sacrosant thing but hasn't been around that long. also a green belt is a thin strip not the entire countryside. We need to build more houses fast to make them affordable. We can't just squash more into the towns we have with the roads we have - can't be sustainable. We need more new towns and if that means building on some of the unused countryside so be it. It can be done with care and in a controlled manner

@CeleriacOfTheNight

It's a bit too wet.

www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/02/there-no-shortage-land-none-zero-anywhere-national-housing-federations-david-orr

@Whammyyammy

We would all get this proof of delivery from My Heremes......🤔

It wouldn't still be floating though.

www.savills.co.uk/research_articles/229130/315140-0

Land Shortage or Land Banking?

Waiting for underwater houses. But how would you flush the toilet? 🤔😂

Half of England Is Owned by Less Than 1% of Its Population

www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/world/europe/england-land-inequality.html

Vaguely recall an informal Dutch? proposal to dam Doggerland. Might be able to build lots of homes and plant lots of trees. Not sure what the shipping and sealife would think.

You know building isn't exactly the same as in Minecraft, don't you?

@Thewindwhispers

🤣🤣🤣

Because the sea claims it back. Places like the Palm Island on Dubai have huge huge structural problems they’re just good at keeping it out of the press (I’ve seen some of the paperwork though).

Building on flood plains hasn’t worked out too well either, building on cliff tops has led to people trapped in unsellable homes.

Plus there is loooooads of room left inland. Could get rid of some of the billion golf courses around me for a start.

You can’t really think building in the sea is the answer. I assume you’re in the pub and have been drinking since lunch. Maybe turn that razor-sharp mind to the troubles in the Middle East and let us know what solutions you come up with?

Are you in Dubai, @Thewindwhispers? Did the islands of The World ever get finished? When we lived there, it was all falling apart and people kept going into liquidation.

www.theguardian.com/money/2019/apr/17/who-owns-england-thousand-secret-landowners-author

www.smf.co.uk/baby-shortage-could-spell-economic-stagnation-for-uk/

Birth rates in Britain are on the decline. In 2020, the total fertility rate (TFR) – the number of children per woman – stood at 1.58 in England & Wales, almost half the post-World War Two peak of 2.93. ... Britain could also face long-term shortages of working-age adults.20 Sept 2021

@MrKlaw

we build on hardly any of the land. The green belt is held up as this sacrosant thing but hasn't been around that long. also a green belt is a thin strip not the entire countryside. We need to build more houses fast to make them affordable. We can't just squash more into the towns we have with the roads we have - can't be sustainable. We need more new towns and if that means building on some of the unused countryside so be it. It can be done with care and in a controlled manner

Except most of that "Countryside" isn't "unused" - it is growing food.

the fish will get upset

On a serious note though, I really hate it when people bash someone for asking what they think is a stupid question!

This is a really interesting question, and ok it might not be feasible but its a good one to ask!

@EmpressCixi

In all seriousness, I do know OAPs that have retired to cruise ships. It’s apparently cheaper than a active retirement home plus the foreign travel is built in. So I do think there is a market for more OAPs selling up their land based homes, and sending them off in floating cities to travel the world in retirement.

Not to mention that a lot of them would never come back because cruise ships are floating bug hotels for norovirus and other old people decimating illnesses.

OP there’s an awful lot of space in central Australia with not many inhabitants, it’s a bit dry and deserty but if they dug some deep channels or canals then the sea could rush in and wet it a bit. Any thoughts?

This sounds like the sort of conversation I used to have as a drunk student. But even then I’d have been arguing against the idea.

@JauntyJinty

We've hit on a weird pet hate of mine here

Surely if we get a piece of sea or river and make it so we can build on it we're claiming it - not reclaiming it.

Reclaiming makes it sound like it was ours, the sea nicked it and we're just taking back, what's ours - but as far as I'm concerend it was the seas to start with.

Weird little linguistical quirk that bothers me way more than it should! Ha ha

On a point of pedantry, we were part of a larger land mass in the past so reclaiming isn't always the error it appears.

I'd say mainly costs, would be the primary factor, but I'd have to research that, to confirm it

Are you OK OP?

@Thoughtsarrivelikebutterflies5

Human species has wrecked the land on the planet, let's destruct the oceans as well

We’re doing that anyway 😞 Oceans have PPE in them and microplastics in everything 🤮

@CeleriacOfTheNight

It's a bit too wet.

We need to build on the land we do have before pie in the sky plans of building on water!

Less than 10% of the UK is currently built on.