If you heard there were plans to create a shadow city of a major city, in the event of the major city being destroyed during a natural disaster, which country could you most imagine implementing such a plan?
Would it be uber-efficient Japan? It seems the innovative nation indeed has plans to investigate the potential of a backup Tokyo, which is pretty much just like it sounds. In the event of disaster, the (ostensibly remaining) people of Tokyo may get a satellite city 300 miles west of actual Tokyo which the press has dubbed “backup Tokyo.” The city will be stashed near Itami Airport and has been “codenamed IRTBBC (Integrated Resort, Tourism, Business and Backup City).”
According to Wired UK, backup Tokyo is conceived as a fully functional stand in city:
The site, which is approximately five square kilometres in area, will contain facilities for parliament and ministries, so that government will be able to continue in the event of a disaster. However it will also include office complexes, resort facilities, casinos and parks, as well as a 652-metre-high office building.
However, it won’t be nearly as big as Tokyo proper, nor will it be capable of sustaining the city’s entire population:
The infrastructure has been planned for a population of 50,000 residents (which we should note is some way short of Tokyo’s population of 13 million) and a workforce of 200,000 — most of whom will commute from Osaka, Japan’s second city, which the site lies to the north of.
As of now, backup Tokyo is just a concept, but a group of planners has requested 14 million yen to investigate its potential.
