Masdar City will be a carbon neutral city by 2016. Masdar, meaning “the source” in Arabic, will provide a blueprint for other sustainable urban developments around the world and will also become a hub for the development of clean energy technology.

Masdar at a glance

Masdar City is a strategic development programme of the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, which aims to diversify the ecnonomy of Abu Dhabi, maintain and grow Abu Dhabi’s position in international energy markets, be a centre for the development of clean energy technologies and contribute towards the development of sustainable cities.

Projected population:	up to 47,500
Projected carbon footprint:	0 tonnes CO2 equivalent
Projected commercial presence:	up to 1500 green-tech companies
Projected cost:	US$22 billion

The challenge

Zero emissions city

Masdar is aiming to produce no carbon dioxide emissions in its functioning, no waste, reduce energy demand by 70% through more efficient urban design and source all of its energy from renewable resources. Masdar city will promote leadership in eight sectors: advanced energy; sustainable transportation; water and waste management; energy efficiency; green construction and materials; biodiversity; climate change; and sustainable finance.

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The solution

Holistic thinking and planning

Masdar will be developed as a compact, high density, walled 640 hectares city that will become a hub for the development of new, clean energy technologies. Urban development issues, including the building of liveable homes, the shaping of attractive public spaces, and efficient public transportation systems, have been central to the design. The city of up to 47,500 residents will be connected by light rail to nearby Abu Dhabi.

Strategic partnerships

With such ambitious targets, collaboration with corporate, academic and financial leaders on all aspects of sustainable urban design has been necessary, and will continue to be throughout the development. One of these partnerships are with the leading architects Foster + Partners.

The initiative will also rely mainly on outside funding and use less than one-third of the Abu Dhabi Government’s US$15 billion dedicated fund to the initiative.

Development in stages

The project will be developed in seven stages, with the first stage being the construction of a photovoltaic plant for energy to power the further stages of development, all of which are to be completed by 2016. The cornerstone of the development was laid in February 2008.

Getting smarter

In order to become a hub for development of clean energy technologies, Masdar will be working closely with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop a graduate-level engineering institution focusing on energy and sustainability technology research and development.

Cultivating new businesses

The Special Projects Unit at Masdar is developing an economic environment that will help to take new clean energy technologies to market, and hopes to attract 1,500 clean energy businesses.

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The result

Inspirational ambition

With over half of the world’s population now urbanised, and as more and more cities develop, Masdar has emerged as a source of inspiration to reach for and deliver on zero or low carbon developments.

Sultan al-Jaber, CEO of Masdar said: “Masdar City will become the world’s hub for future energy. By taking sustainable development and living to a new level, it will lead the world in understanding how all future cities should be built.”

Masdar city is projected to save the equivalent of more then US$2 billion in oil over the next 25 years. The city will also create more than 70,000 jobs and will add more than 2% to Abu Dhabi’s annual GDP.

Lessons learnt

Setting ambitious targets is the first step to develop a truly innovative low carbon city – and it inspires others to get involved. Holistic thinking and partnerships enable the development of a low carbon city.

By encouraging low carbon technology research and business development within the confines of the city, the city is likely to serve as a bustling commercial hub for the energy products of the low carbon future.