Clean Energy City in Desert outside Abu Dhabi

Masdar is the name of a green Utopia near Abu Dhabi， the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The ambitious $22 billion clean-energy project， now under construction， aims to build a zero-carbon， zero-waste and zero-gas 6-square-kilometer home to about 50，000 people， 60，000 commuters， and 1，500 businesses. Masdar City will host commercial and manufacturing facilities specializing in environmentally friendly products.

The city was originally scheduled to be complete in 2016. Started in 2006， the project will take more years to complete due to financial difficulties.

Blueprints show futuristic trends of eco-friendly human habitats in Masdar City: there will be huge solar panels and wind farms in desert outside the city; a light public transport system will replace automobiles; a gigantic green belt of mangroves and palms will encircle the whole city， providing bio-energy as fuel for households; a 12-meter-tall wall encloses the city， no buildings are more than five stories in height. Cars will be useless in the city as you need walk no more than 200 meters to reach the nearest node in the transport system and facilities.

According to the blueprints， Masdar City will use 60% less of water and 70% less of electricity than a city of similar scale. Wastewater in buildings will be recycled. No cars will be allowed inside the city.

As the summer in UAE lasts nine months to ten months and the ground temperature is above 50 degrees， the city adopts various ways to lower heat.

Streets in the city will be covered by a special network of nets in the sky that provides a kind of shade. There will be wind towers in the city， which will function as natural air-conditioners. The rivers and fountains will also help reduce temperature and increase humidity. Most streets in the city are narrow to provide shade to pedestrians.

The eco-friendly city is financed by the government of Abu Dhabi and private investors. The city was designed by 75-year-old British architect Norman Foster. The government hopes that the city will create 70，000 jobs. The UAE has been a producer and exporter of oil. Now it wants to spend the oil dollar on a green city and create a future for itself. □