It’s always been a dream of mine to visit the UAE, more specifically Abu Dhabi and now after reading this paper, I have even more of a reason to want to travel there. Masdar, the world’s first zero carbon, zero waste, zero car city seems almost too good to be true. I like that the article explained from the beginning that it would be evaluating the Masdar Initiative based on the three E’s of sustainability: environment, economy, and equity. From what I took from this article was that for how groundbreaking and innovative the Imitative is, in terms of environmental benefit, it is that behind in regards to promoting equity and economic stability. There were parts of the effort or project that were especially notable to me but there were other aspects of the plan that were a cause for concern.
For starters, I like how proactive Abu Dhabi is in carrying out sustainable and techniques to move away from traditional practices that harm our environment. Although one of the main reasons Abu Dhabi moved forward with this initiative is based on economic factors (mainly an economy heavily dependent on fossil fuels and oil exports), it is still well worth noting that that Abu Dhabi how the city is becoming more energy-efficient and waste-conscious. With the Masdar initiative, I liked how energy demand will be reduced by a projected goal of 70%, water demand by 300% and net waste production by 400%. These are significant strides in reducing a city’s ecological footprint, and highlight the highly efficient combination of renewable technology and sustainable planning/practices. I also liked how the entire city would be powered by renewable energy, mainly solar energy. Planners decided not only to use new solar panels and hydrogen plants but also focused on the actual design of the city to reduce energy demand. For example, buildings will be porous to keep the sun out and air in during especially arid times throughout the year. Another really cool element of the plan was the transport idea because there are NO cars in the city! But who cares, because you have personal shuttles that will be able to take you to all key locations! This specific practice emphasizes sustainable transport, forgoing the need for cars, something people consider to be a necessity.
However, I agree with the other responses that this plan is a little disconcerting because, as the authors noted, the city is mainly built for the wealthy to live in and for expatriates to commute to. The plan is also expected to cost almost 22 BILLION dollars! Holy cow. The initiative seems like a huge ploy to better the economy of the UAE place it on the forefront of the renewable energy industry. It seems like most of the city is being done to aid the economy in the long run. However, we always mention that even if the intention is misguided we should not dispute the inherent merits that a specific imitative may possess.
What was most surprising when reading this article was how the logistics of the city were grounded in eco-friendly and sustainable practices that we deemed too far-fetched or implausible during our class discussions. For example, in class we discussed the seemingly impossible idea of completely eliminating the use of cars or relying solely on solar energy in urban settings. However, Masdar has implemented both of these practices within its plan to achieve sustainable transport and energy use. I believe this highlights how important urban planning is before constructing a city because once urbanization occurs, it becomes hard to initiate and implement environmentally sensitive practices. It becomes overwhelming to change specific behaviors, whether it be for big companies, the government or citizens as a whole.
