United Arab Emirates Plan a Zero Carbon Desert City - Masdar Initiative

A Zero Carbon City in the United Arab Emirates is the goal of the Masdar Initiative. The city will be car-free with most of the energy being provided by solar technology in temperatures where it can reach 50°C in the summer. The new city will be a seven kilometer square.

The city has been designed by British architect Lord Foster and his team. They believe the project is very ambitious and will be designed with a north-east to south-west alignment because this results in the best use of sunlight and shade. The buildings will be a maximum of five floors along narrow streets that are no more than 3 meters wide and 70 meters long. The purpose of this is to aid in the air flow. Wind towers will be utilized to provide additional air flow.

The city transportation system is designed on three levels. One level will contain a light rail connecting to nearby Abu Dubai. The second level will be for pedestrian use and the third will be for pod transportation. There will be a solar power plant that they hope to remove eventually as technology advances.

Construction has already begun on the $22 billion city in February, 2008. Abu Dubai officials also plan to locate an Alternative Energy Institute in the city. They also plan to have light industry and commercial buildings in the new city which they expect to be 82% powered by solar energy. The burning of food compost waste will provide 17% of the energy and the remaining one percent will be provided by wind turbines.

The modern, environmentally friendly and efficient new city is not a dream for the future. It is under construction at the present time.