Masdar City
The predictions say that by 2030, 60 percent of the population - 5 billion people - will live in cities.* Masdar City is being developed in order to be a model for future cities and to set an example, how to operate sustainably.
How?
Masdar City is also referred to as "a laboratory for hi-tech environmental technology" (The Guardian, 2011). Perhaps the first and most eye-catching feature of Masdar is its smart urban planning. Elements of the traditional Arabian architecture are in perfect harmony with the state-of-the-art modern buildings. |
| Masdar master plan |
The first step in order to achieve the goal of being one of the most sustainable cities worldwide is the planning and design. The city is oriented on a southeast-northwest axis, so that the streets are shaded throughout the day. As a result, building walls do not warm up that easily. Not only the sun but also the prevailing winds were taken into consideration. Due to this orientation and the wind towers built across the city cooling breezes can flow easily among the buildings. The difference in temperature between Abu Dhabi and Masdar City can be as high as 20°C. All these factors contribute to the fact that the city is also called a "pioneer in sustainable design".
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| Wind tower |
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| Photovoltaic solar plants |
Energy management is the next factor, which has to be seriously considered. The goal is to minimise energy consumption by building efficiency, for example by insulation, low-energy lighting, optimizing natural light and by using smart appliances. The production of onsite renewable energy is supposed to be as high as 20%. The solar photovoltaic plant is built across 22 hectares and solar panels are placed on the roofs as well, the task of which is to generate electricity. The tube solar collectors are in charge of producing domestic hot water. Finally, concentrated solar and geothermal heat is being tested as possible air conditioning. In addition to these, offsite energy is imported to the city.
- dry recyclables (cans, plastics, cardboard, papers, etc.)
- wet recyclables (food and organic waste)
- residuals (not clearly one of the two)
- hazardous waste, bulky waste, batteries
Waste management begins with separation and continues with transportation to local or regional reprocessing facilities. Wet recyclables are composted and used for landscaping.
Further information on Masdar's sustainable landscape design (with pictures)
Masdar City in 60 seconds:
(longer version from Fully Charged on YouTube available)
Masdar City's master plan aimed to create a pedestrian-focused community. According to the plan the main means of transportation is the PRT (personal rapid transit), an electric car system consisting of computer-guided, pilotless vehicles running via magnets and fibre-optic cables. The company 2gettehere's system at Masdar features 1.1 miles of guideway, five stations and 13 vehicles.
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| PRT (personal rapid transport) |
Video: Masdar City in 2013
Unfortunately, the Masdar City master plan is in constant change as a result of the constant change of the world economy and the technology. The world's first zero-carbon city has had to make compromises because of the recession the global clean tech market. Although groundwater was supposed to be desalinated with solar energy, now water is piped in from a gas-fired desalination plant. The original plan would have only used on-site energy.The original plans were more costly and the head of Programme and Strategy at Masdar City has made a point when he stated that "Building something that is too expensive for anyone to live in, is not sustainable".
*Source: Masdar.ae
Further posts on topic: Introduction, What? Where?, When?, Who? Why?
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