What is Artificial Island?

An artificial island is an island that has been man-made rather than formed by natural means. They are created by expanding existing islets, construction on existing reefs, or amalgamating several natural islets into a bigger island.

Early artificial islands can be floating structures in still waters, or wooden or megalithic structures erected in shallow waters (e.g., crannógs and Nan Madol discussed below). In modern times artificial islands are usually formed by land reclamation, but some are formed by the incidental isolation of an existing piece of land during canal construction (e.g. Donauinsel and Dithmarschen), or flooding of valleys resulting in the tops of former knolls getting isolated by water (e.g. Barro Colorado Island).

Some recent developments have been made more in the manner of oil platforms (e.g., Sealand and Republic of Rose Island).

Artificial islands may vary widely in scale, from small islets reclamed solely for supporting a single pillar of a man-made building or structure, to those which support entire communities.

History

Despite a popular image of modernity, artificial islands actually have a long history in many parts of the world, dating back to the crannogs of prehistoric Scotland and Ireland, the ceremonial centers of Nan Madol in Micronesia and the still extant floating islands of Lake Titicaca. The city of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec predecessor of Mexico City that was home to 250,000 people when the Spaniards arrived, stood on a small natural island in Lake Texcoco that was surrounded by countless artificial chinamitl islands.

Many artificial islands have been built in urban harbors to provide either a site deliberately isolated from the city or just spare real estate otherwise unobtainable in a crowded metropolis. An example of the first case is Dejima (or Deshima), built in the bay of Nagasaki in Japan's Edo period as a contained center for European merchants. During the isolationist era, Dutch people were generally banned from Nagasaki and Japanese from Dejima. Similarly, Ellis Island, in Upper New York Bay beside New York City, a former tiny islet greatly expanded by land reclamation, served as an isolated immigration center for the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century, preventing an escape to the city of those refused entry for disease or other perceived flaw, who might otherwise be tempted toward illegal immigration. One of the most well-known artificial islands is the Île Notre-Dame in Montreal, built for Expo 67.

The Venetian Islands in Miami Beach, Florida, in Biscayne Bay added valuable new real estate during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. When the bubble that the developers were riding burst, the bay was left scarred with the remnants of their failed project. A boom town development company was building a sea wall for an island that was to be called Isola di Lolando. but could not stay in business after the 1926 Miami Hurricane and the Great Depression, dooming the island-building project. The concrete pilings from the project still stand as another development boom roars around them, 80 years later.

Modern projects

Some contemporary projects are much more ambitious. Kansai International Airport is the first airport to be built completely on an artificial island in 1994, followed by Chūbu Centrair International Airport in 2005 and the New Kitakyushu Airport and Kobe Airport in 2006.

Dubai is home to some of the largest artificial island complexes in the world, including the three Palm Islands projects, The World and the Dubai Waterfront, the last of which will be the largest in scale.

The Israeli government is now planning for 4 artificial islands to be completed in 2013, off the coasts of Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Netanya and Haifa. Each island will house some 20,000 people and bring in 10,000 jobs. The islands should help with overcrowding in Israeli cities and even be employed to do the same in Gaza.

Political status

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea treaty (UNCLOS)[1], artificial islands have little legal recognition. Such islands are not considered harbor works (Article 11) and are under the jurisdiction of the nearest coastal state if within 200 nautical miles (370 km) (Article 56). Artificial islands are not considered islands for purposes of having their own territorial waters or exclusive economic zones, and only the coastal state may authorize their construction (Article 60). However, on the high seas beyond national jurisdiction, any "state" may construct artificial islands (Article 87).

Some attempts to create micronations have involved artificial islands such as Sealand and Republic of Rose Island.

See also

• List of artificial islands
• Crannog