Stefano Boeri has taken his forest city concept to Mexico, with the new 557 ha (1,376ac) Smart Forest City Cancun to incorporate 400ha (988ac) of green space, 7,500,000 plants and 2.3 trees per inhabitant.

In addition to public parks and private gardens, greenery will feature in green roofs and façades, helping the city to absorb 116,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

The city is designed for developer Grupo Karim's and with input from climate-responsive engineering firm Transsolar to be entirely food and energy self-sufficient.

It will be surrounded by a ring of solar panels for providing power and by irrigated agricultural fields for growing food.

Water is to be collected in a basin at the edge of the city with desalination facilities before being distributed via navigable canals and underwater pipes, while water gardens around the city will be used in part to combat flooding.

An electric and autonomous mobility system proposed by Mobility in Chain will allow individuals to leave their vehicles at the edges of the city and be transported around an internal system of smart paths, minimising transport emissions.

The aim is also to run a fully circular economy within the city, with waste minimised and resources continually reused.

A centre for advanced research will be built for exploring sustainability issues and the future of the planet.

Construction of Stefano Boeri Architetti's Liuzhou Forest City in China began in 2017 and is scheduled to be completed next year.