Good Example Of Masdar City: The Most Sustainable City Essay

As of now, plans and proposals for building cities or places that could actually be self-sustaining are on-going. These cities are supposedly going to have a minimal or even zero impact on the environment. That is, to build cities employing renewable sources of energy thus, gearing towards self-sufficiency. These requirements are being employed in the construction of the Masdar City.
Masdar City is currently built in one of the capitals of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. The construction site can be located seven kilometers from the city center of Abu Dhabi. This places the city between the Yas Island and the international airport of Abu Dhabi. The city is being built to accommodate a population of ninety thousand people in an area of seven square kilometers. With an approximate target population of ninety thousand, 44% will be living in the city and the remainder will be commuters.
Masdar City is being built following four principles. These principles include minimization of solar gains while maximizing the wind flow through the city. These considerations should be taken into account knowing the location of the country the city is being built on. Also, the construction aims to reduce energy consumption which goes with the aim that the city will have a minimal amount of environmental footprint. And lastly, in order to reduce energy consumption, energy efficiency should be ensured. Energy efficiency results to the self-sustainability of the city.
The city is aimed to be pedestrian friendly, thus, walkable since it also aims to have a transportations operating at zero-carbon. These transportations include a personal rapid transit or PRT system which is driverless and offers point-to-point transportation. The city also offers an electric vehicle with car parks that are strategically positioned throughout the city. Moreover, electric buses are also available contributing to the formation of a network of public transportation with zero carbon emission.
Furthermore, the city employs or uses 87,777 solar panels spread over a field with a size of 22 hectares. The buildings inside the city also have solar panels on their roofs. These buildings have walls designed to have a lower demand for air-conditioning by 55 percent. In order to save energy, rather than having switches or taps, motion sensors are installed. This method show that electricity consumption decreased by 51 percent while the water consumption decreased to 55 percent.
The Masdar City also showcases five buildings namely, Siemens Middle East HQ, Masdar IRENA HQ, Incubator Building, Masdar Institute Campus and lastly the Multi-use Hall. The Siemens Middle East HQ was constructed with sustainable materials equipped with energy efficient technologies. The Masdar - IRENA HQ will be the new house of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The Incubator building will house companies of ranging businesses. An expansion of the Masdar Institute will allow the institute to house 600 students and to have centers of excellence. The Masdar Institute is considered as the city’s nucleus. And lastly, multi-use hall will serve as a venue for different activities. The hall includes a basketball court, a gymnasium and a swimming pool.
Also, the construction met a crisis when there was a global financial crisis. Because of this, Abu Dhabi had less money to spend on the construction of the city. But the construction still continued.