The United Arab Emirates will soon go from being associated with their rich oil fields to being juxtaposed with funding arguably the most ambitious sustainability project in history. That project is the construction of the most eco-friendly city in the world. Despite the clear irony of the situation, the project, known as Masdar City, will be a landmark in sustainable living and hopefully a model for widespread greener living overall.
Masdar City, which is still under construction and not scheduled to be complete until 2010, is a 2.5-square-mile walled-in city located 11 miles away from Abu Dhabi. Because it will be powered solely on renewable energy and all of its waste will be compacted, the city will leave no carbon footprint. As no more than 200 meters will separate any point in the city from public transportation, gasoline-powered cars will be banned. The city plan will encourage pedestrians, who will have easy access to a fast-moving public transportation should they prefer not to own an electric car. Many of the plans utilize outdoor space and are centered around plazas, which lend themselves to pedestrians. Once it is complete, Masdar City is expected to be able to support the 50,000 people who are expected to work there.
Masdar and the German chemical group BASF have teamed together to work on this city. BASF is the general supplier of construction goods for the project and the architect of many of the systems that will be implemented there. In addition, they plan to open an office in Masdar City once construction is complete. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the chief executive of Masdar, told The Engineer Online, "BASF will be an invaluable partner for Masdar and the development for Masdar City. We've made a bold commitment to advance the use of sustainable materials in urban developments; tapping into BASF expertise in this field takes us one step closer to this goal." The city of Abu Dhabi has also pledged more than $20 billion to the cost.
Groundbreaking sustainable technology, as well as materials, will be used in this new city. Masdar will also be conserving its water supply by using leak-detecting sensors, recycling dew, and collecting ambient moisture in the air. The building materials used in the project are not only picked based on how energy efficient they are, but also if they work toward the emission-free goal of the project. Subsequently, the list of the materials that fit both of these criteria are slim. Some that do are phase-change materials, which are a green alternative to air conditioning. This is a new type of heat storage placed within gypsum or drywall, and which is used to absorb, store, and give off heat with maximum efficiency. Black pigments on roofs made by BASF will most likely also be used to keep the buildings cooler by absorbing as little solar radiation as possible.
The city is to be a hub for clean technology research and development, and is drawing the best minds of the sustainability world to work on this project and to live in the city. In fact, the International Renewable Energy Agency has made the decision to move their global headquarters there once the city is created. This is the first time that such a global organization has chosen a city located in the Middle East to be its home base.
The city also is the home of the Masdar Institute, which recently held classes for its very first students earlier this month. This is the only university dedicated solely to sustainability and green technology and the students studying for their masters are experiencing firsthand the type of sustainable living now possible.
The ultimate goal of the city, aside from doing its part in preserving the environment, is to be a blueprint for future cities to follow. If the city is as much as a success as many hope it will be, urban cities can be expected to factor sustainability into their development plans in the coming years.
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