Masdar City: Futuristic Utopia, minus the Future part.

Masdar City is what you would envision a real-life Jetson’s Orbit city would look like though take away the flying cars and replace them with a ground transportation Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system powered by renewable energy. In fact everything in Masdar City is powered by renewables. Located in Abu Dhabi, Masdar is the world’s first carbon-neutral city being built, an “$18-Billion experiment.” In terms of green urban development, this “experiment” is very exciting news!

Today, Masdar is home only to 119 Masdar Institute students, a Caribou Coffee, Organics Food and Café grocery mart, and Sumo Sushi Restaurant but by completion in 2025 it will hold 40,000 permanent residents, 50,000 commuters and 1,500 businesses. Masdar City is a business “free-zone”, entrepreneurial and innovation hub, all in the most sustainable community on the globe.

Masdar, which means “the source”, is taking their name literally – pioneering renewable technology, sustainable urban development, cleantech research and development, and business development. The city’s vision is to “provide the highest quality of life and work environment with the lowest environment footprint.”  Masdar also aims to prove their city model can not only be good for the planet but can also be affordable, robust, and “commercially viable.”  Final goal is to be the model city for all future urban development.  

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), currently 50% of the world’s population lives in urban areas.  WHO states the trend to move to urban areas continues to rise. By 2030 it expected 6 out of 10 people will live in a city, and 7 out of 10 by 2050. With more population more pollution follows and the need for cleantech innovation and sustainable increases. If Masdar proves that clean-city living is possible (and I do believe it will), what does this mean for current and future urban development? This is a game changer.

Masdar city is open to the public. Per the city website, you can visit Masdar city 8:30 am to 10:00pm.

For more information on Masdar City visit: http://masdarcity.ae/