Name

IB DP Geography – Eco City in the desert - Masdar

Watch the first video on UAE Ecological Footprint Animation and make brief notes on why Abu
Dhabi has such a high ecological footprint (note link to Climate Change).
B/c most consumer goods are imported from elsewhere
B/c they rely more on cars compared to public transportation
B/c they’re energy is generated partly by fossil fuels (?)

Place Detail (where and why there) Power (stakeholders)

In a desert within the UAE:
The location for the city represents two
things. 1. That it is possible to be
completely green in a barren location, 2.
The UAE is becoming greener.
Government - UAE officials
Researchers + Developers
People - it can’t be a functional city w/o
citizens.

Process (how does it aim to be an eco-city?) Possibility (evaluation)

natural lighting and insulation, converting to
clean energy, using different materials for
buildings, public transportation, city planning
to have shade all day long, etc.
The city largely is an experiment. While it is
well intended, the current plans and
infrastructure doesn’t seem to take into
account current social and cultural factors,
mainly lifestyle, thus, it doesn’t seem
plausible that many people would want to
live here.

However, it is clear that the city is successful

as a research facility. It’s many research
developments can be applied widely into
different places in the world.