Masdar City folks, will be the centre of attention in the next ten years. Masdar city is going to be Abu Dhabi’s green metropolis- a zero pollution, zero waste, car-free city based on sound sustainable architecture. On the public transit front, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi is going to install an electric light-rail system that will be linked to the centre of Abu Dhabi. The expectation is that every single city resident will be using the light-rail system or other forms of public transit because cars or vehicles are simply not allowed within the city limits. For more details see here.
Abu Dhabi`s ambitions get even better. They plan on installing a desalination plant for their main water supply system, and all of their wastewater will be purified and recycled to grow plants for biofuels. Remember, this city is geographically located in a desert, growing plants for biofuels sounds pretty ludicrous and unnatural to me. All of this development and construction is going to take place over the next ten years. How is Abu Dhabi paying for all of this? Mostly with oil revenue.
Unlike other green cities including San Francisco, Curitiba, Portland and Minneapolis, Masdar will be created and manufactured from the Emirate in a completely top-down approach. Some of the aforementioned green cities have progressively incorporated greener governance which has brought about more sustainable policies. Citizens of these green cities also play an indispensable role in terms of civic engagement and decision making power.
This city is going to operate on renewable resources and energy from wind farms, solar photovoltaic modules, and geothermal plants. It cannot be overlooked that cheap oil, natural gas and power will still be used for Masdar. Emission intensive industries will rely on this energy and consumption of these renewable resources will still be profligate. This is not a green city because the citizens are not contributing to the environmental policy options. In addition, green cities contain a substantial population nucleus, together with adjacent communities having a high degree of social and economic integration at the core. Bringing about shopping malls, artificial ski hills and Formula One tracks are great for tourism but serve an economic impetus, not an environmental one.
Like Dubai, Masdar will develop numerous entertaining complexes for tourist attractions like a Formula One track. A mall is eventually going to be constructed along with a massive aluminum smelter. Worse yet, the purpose of designing this ``green metropolis`` is to improve Abu Dhabi`s green image. Masdar would also export excess electricity to Abu Dhabi which is growing rapidly. This will eventually put more pressure on Masdar City to supply more electricity which runs contrary to smart growth and green urbanism, two things that Abu Dhabi is striving for.
Key message: Green cities are not centred on massive urban growth and entertainment. They focus on practical and achievable ways to work with citizens to bring about social cohesion. Moreover, they identify what the citizens want, and involve them in the planning process. There is no plan for density with Masdar, it is being created to enhance Abu Dhabi`s green image and to supply them with electricity from renewable energy.
No comments:
Post a Comment