Internet goliath Tencent is building a city the size of Midtown Manhattan in China, complete with grass-covered rooftops, offices, and apartments. Here's what Net City will look like.

Tencent held an international design competition in 2019 to choose a firm that could develop a sustainable city from the ground up on a 320-acre peninsula in Shenzhen, China. NBBJ was chosen.

"In today's computer-driven world, we are free to imagine a highly integrated city that brings 'work, live, play' closer together to foster more synergy between people," NBBJ Design Partner Jonathan Ward said in a press release.

Construction is expected to kick off later this year, according to the Wall Street Journal.

There will be public spaces throughout the campus, and residents will be able to go into the nearby city via public transportation.

The buildings will also be outfitted with grass-covered rooftops.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

The urban innovation arm of Google parent company Alphabet, Sidewalk Labs, had a similar project in the works in Toronto. The company was working on constructing a $900 million internet-connected city complete with driverless cars, heated sidewalks, and sensors before backing out in early May due to "economic uncertainties," as Business Insider's Hugh Langley reported.

The coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent economic downturn have posed a threat to such grand developments around the world. But as Sarah Moser, associate professor of geography at McGill University, told the WSJ, we may see a rise in demand for master-planned cities as cities look to boost their economies and as land sits at relatively cheaper prices.