Imagine a city with no carbon emission, zero-waste, and car-free. Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates is aiming for this goal. The project is called the Masdar Initiative, and it’s purpose it quiet simple: to build the greenest, most eco friendly city in history. The city is located next to the Abu Dhabi airport on a currently deserted patch of land. Set for completion in 2018, Masdar City is designed to completely eliminate the need for cars by building a walking and biking accessible city for a population of 47, 500. When a location is too far for either option, the Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) acts as a personal eco-friendly subway.
Dependent on only solar and wind power, the city will be carbon emission free. Buildings will be close together to create shade and prevent the need for air conditioning, and the city has been designed to make the most use of local wind patterns and sea breezes. The goal is to reuse 80% of water resources, recycle close to 100% of human waste, and eliminate as much of the carbon footprint of construction by planting trees. There is also a vast agriculture system planned to allow for locally grown food supplies, and help filter air pollution. Watch a video here.
Although skeptics are numerous, and the goals are lofty, Masdar City is definitely worth a try. Even if just a few tactics used by the city engineers is adopted into common international city development, it could make a positive impact on how the world becomes eco-friendly. It hopes to become a center for research, testing, and development, which means their failures, and successes, could help determine how we approach environmental building in the future. The project also gives publicity for environmental concerns and solutions, and is ironically coming from an oil-supplying country. I say, if Abu Dhabi has the drive and resources to complete such a dramatic project, why stop them.
No comments:
Post a Comment