How my CAJ topic might affect the life of an
average Joe in 2039
Joe Average lives
in the United Arab Emirates near Abu Dhabi, in Masdar City. He moved there in
2020 when Masdar I finally completed its residential buildings. Joe had been studying
at the University of Oxford when he was offered a full tuition scholarship in
Masdar. After his scholarship ended, he decided to stay in the City, because he
was amazed at how it operates. Today he works at the Masdar Institute of
Science and Technology as the head of the Water and Environmental Engineering
programme.
Joe lives in one
of the symbolic terracotta apartments of Masdar on the third floor. However, he
never has problems with the Arabian heat. Thanks to the orientation of the
streets and the smart architecture, such as the tall buildings on the other
side of the narrow street, his apartment is perfectly protected from the heat
of the blazing sun. The solar panels on the roof produce additional energy,
which can be used for air conditioning as well. His apartment is just as smart
from the inside as from the outside. It is equipped with various appliances,
for example smart water meter, which measure the amount of energy used and they
warn, whenever a certain amount is reached. The water Joe uses is 100%
recycled, mainly for irrigation.
Joe does not have
any cars, nor do the other residents of Masdar. The city’s pedestrian-focused
design enables people to walk along the shaded streets enjoying the cool breeze
and the sight of the masterpieces of creative high-tech architecture. For those
who still prefer travelling other than on foot, they can order small,
computer-guided, driverless electric cars called personal rapid transport, PRT
for short. The cars wait for the passengers in front of the entrance of their
house and transport people to the desired destination within Masdar. Outside
the city, various means of public transportation are available, the system of
which is so developed that cars has become unnecessary.
Although Joe
Average had lived in the city where the Industrial Revolution emerged, he would not leave the world’s first
zero-carbon city anymore. He believes that the next such revolution can only be
the Revolution of Sustainability. Now, as the development of Masdar II is about
to finish and Masdar III’s plans are lying on the desk of the architect, it
seems that Joe’s dream is just about to come true.
[394 words]
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