Today’s Solutions: September 18, 2026

The city of Amsterdam is known for having beautiful homes along picturesque canals, but in the industrial north part of the city, a floating neighborhood has been completed that is unlike anything we’ve seen before.

The visionary neighborhood is called Schoonschip (Dutch for “clean ship), and it is made up of 30 individually-designed floating arks that are all interconnected in the way they share and produce energy. Solar panels (500 of them) and heat pumps provide heating, while wastewater from toilets and showers is converted back into energy. On top of that, many of the residents have a green roof where they can grow their own food.

The 30 floating arks have 46 homes, with a little over 100 residents living within them. But while the neighborhood may be small in size, it represents a new design template for a country that is dealing with population density and rising sea levels. Not to mention these homes are beautifully-designed and built to welcome as much light as possible, appearing like floating art pieces when you bike by (Our own Optimist Daily writer Marvin Lanes can confirm since he lives nearby).

If you want to get all the details about this floating village, you can take a look right here. Or if you just want to take a peek into one of these stylish homes, just follow the link here.

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