Masdar City, the world’s first zero-carbon city, won’t actually be zero-carbon, but it will be the greenest city ever built. Designed by British architect “Foster the City”, Masdar is a blend of the ancient and the high-tech. It is a low-carbon, skyscraper-free city built in the middle of a harsh desert, near the historic city of Abu Dhabi. It has a simple mantra “only use energy when you have exhausted design”
The city is powered by the sun. It is 90% solar powered, with the rest made up of wind, geothermal and even hydrogen. Recycling and composting is a high priority for the city. 80% of water will also be recycled and grey water being used for irrigation.
6 Interesting facts about Masdar city.
- It wasn’t the first project of its kind. Dongtan, a project to build a zero-carbon city in Chongming city was supposed to go ahead in 2006, but has since been put on hold indefinitely.
- Inspired by old Arab settlements, including the ancient Aleppo Citadel in Syria, the buildings are built on higher ground, shade each other and designed in such a way to keep the air as cool as possible. This also includes the funneling of the natural sea breezes into the Masdar streets via tall wind towers.
- Cars are banned, as Masdar will be the home of a new form of transportation called Personal Rapid Transportation, otherwise known as driverless cars
- Currently home to 120 Masdar Institute of Science and Technology students, it estimates that eventually it will be home to 50,000 residents & 4,000 businesses. A number of businesses and services have already opened in Masdar. These include restaurants, travel agencies, supermarkets, offices (e.g. Siemens and General Electric), a university and a library.
- Masdar is already available as a travel destination. You can read the reviews on Tripadvisor.
- Narendra Modi, Ban Ki Moon and Hillary Clinton are just some of the world leaders who have visited and been inspired by Masdar City. Narendra Modi has even buzzed around in a driverless car.
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