Scaling and the Reality of Masdar City Today

As we wrap up the course, as well as our individual projects, one issue that we've looked at is scaling of our innovations and how many people we can possibly manage to reach. This week's article on Masdar City immediately caught my eye because it seems arguably the most ambitious design project ever undertaken. (There's also the whole concept of building a sustainable, zero-carbon city in the oil-driven Middle East.) Masdar seems like an amazingly progressive idea: not only is it potentially the next step as far as creating more environmentally-friendly technologies and energy sources, but it also could be the next step for actual city design. But how has the city fared since the September 2010 article. According to the link I've provided from Green Prophet, Masdar's facing many more hurdles now than was expected. Primarily, the original designs are proving too costly. In this additional article from Business Week, it seems that Masdar's solar-powered building is no longer being pursued. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-15/world-s-first-solar-building-exporting-energy-shelved-by-masdar.html It's unfortunate, but it's a reminder that sometimes innovations have to take a more subtle, less disruptive approach. And in that regard, I find innovators such as Steve Jobs so praiseworthy because they could own a market so easily. There were surely failures, but when an Apple or Google gets it right they dominate rather quickly. But for many innovations, one has to take a few steps at a time: this notion brings is right back to the first week of class where we agreed that the first isn't always the best. But whether they be slow or fast, the results are what matter to innovators: sustained impact remains the ultimate goal. These blogs have been incredibly fun. I've enjoyed reading everyone's material, and I hope you all have enjoyed mine as well.