Treasure Island's transformation to green is just another shade in its colorful history. The 400-acre (1.5-square-km) man-made island was built in the middle of San Francisco Bay for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition. The ¬land was intended to hold an airport after the Expo. Plans for the commercial airport never took off, though, after the Navy acquired the island during World War II. In 1996, the base was decommissioned, and since then, the island has been home to a deteriorating landscape and about 3,000 residents.
The Treasure Island project will be a test bed for eco-friendly urban ideas. Some of the proposed green features include LEED-certified buildings, the reduction (or elimination) of storm water runoff, alternative forms of water treatment including artificial wetlands called Living Machines and a transit system that favors clean air vehicles over fossil-fuel chugging cars. A 20-acre (0.08 square-km) city-operated organic farm is planned in walking distance from the city center and will supply the projected 13,500 residents with locally produced foods. Solar and wind-farm power will provide energy; and by 2020, solar panels will cover 70 percent of rooftop space and will provide about 30 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
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