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Ijburg: First-Ever Floating City

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam is running out of land. Nearly 70% of its land, which comprises half of its population, lies below sea level. Experts at fending off floodwaters, the Dutch have built thousands of miles of dikes, dams and floodgates. As climate change brings more frequent floods, engineers are radically altering their battle strategy. Rather than fight back the sea, they are making it an ally, using it to create real estate where none exists.

Their plan: build the first-ever floating city - a $2 billion investment called Ijburg, in the heart of Amsterdam: a combination of eight man-made islands, which several thousand people already call home. When complete, 8 islands and more than 150 floating structures will add over 1000 acres of real estate to the capital, housing 45,000 people in 18,000 new homes. Other floating neighborhoods are already being considered. If this $2 billion radical experiment works, it could forever change how coastal cities build in the future.

Build It Bigger travels to Amsterdam, where engineers have set a new standard in floating building construction. Danny dives in with crews building the world's most advanced floating structures in a dry-dock, floating them out and installing them on the man-made islands.