7 mega projects that are remaking the world's greatest cities

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Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Tim Fields / Flickr

All over the world, real estate developers and local governments are trying to find ways to cram people into denser and denser cities. 

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In many cases, they're relying on mega projects, ranging from $4 to $40 billion dollars in cost, that are reconfiguring the layouts of places like New York, Sydney, and Tokyo. 

"It's a migration of workers and companies to cities, and a flood of capital into marquee addresses," MIT real estate professor Steve Weikal tells Tech Insider. 

Here are seven of the most mega of mega projects, according to Weikal. 

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Hudson Yards in New York City, US.

hudson yards
Visual House

Real estate heavyweights Related Companies and Oxford Properties are teaming up to create Hudson Yards, a brand new neighborhood on Manhattan's far west side.

Due to be completed by 2024, the $20 billion, 28-acre mega project will have nearly 20 million square feet for offices, retail, and residential.

It's reportedly the largest real estate project in American history

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Roppongi Hills in Tokyo, Japan.

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Wing1990hk / WikiMedia

Roppongi Hills opened in Tokyo's swank Roppongi neighborhood in 2003. 

The 27-acre project cost $4 billion, and features offices, residences, an art museum, and lots of retail. 

"My vision is to create a city within the city with everything you need for daily life," property developer Minoru Mori told BusinessWeek in 2002.  

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Barangaroo in Sydney, Australia.

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Chris Hood / Flickr

Sydney's 54 acre, $6 billion Barangaroo project is aimed at redeveloping the westernmost side of Sydney Harbor. 

Due to be completed in 2023, it will be host a park and a waterfront plaza, plus lots of residential and commercial real estate. 

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Clark Green City in Manila, Philippines.

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Youtube

Clark Green City is a sustainable mixed public park and business district that's projected to generate $36 billion and host over a million residents when it's complete.

The development, which started construction in 2012, would also help unclog Manila, home of some of the worst traffic on Earth. 

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Canary Wharf in London, UK.

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Robert Pittman / Flickr

Currently in development, Canary Wharf has turned into London's second financial center after The City of London.

It's already one of the hottest neighborhoods in London. One residential tower saw 200 apartments worth a combined $196 million sell in four hours, the Guardian reports.

Canary Wharf itself sold for $3.95 billion to the Qatar Investment Authority and the Canadian firm Brookfield Property Partners in January 2015, the Wall Street Journal reports

 

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Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

titantic quarter
Tim Fields / Flickr

The Titanic Quarter is the redevelopment of the Harland and Wolff shipyard — which built a ship by the name of Titanic that you may have heard of. 

The development includes the Titanic Belfast museum, the Northern Ireland Science Park, a marina, and apartments. Belfast City Council says it'll cost over $9 billion and take until the 2030s to be completed. 

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New Songdo City in Seoul, South Korea.

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Connie / Flickr

Located an hour away from Seoul, South Korea's capital, Songdo is a $40 billion master-planned city right next to Incheon, the country's main airport and an East Asian hub.

Boasting a central park and an underground trash delivery system, it's touted as a business center of the future. Although reports indicate that it's really just a nice place to live. 

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