Masdar City: A Sustainable Oasis in the Desert
Masdar City, located in Abu Dhabi, is a revolutionary experiment in sustainable living. The city, designed by London architects Foster and Partners, aims to house 50,000 people and run entirely on renewable energy.
Overcoming Challenges
Despite the country’s reliance on oil, the project was initiated to prepare for a future when oil reserves are depleted. The city faces numerous challenges, including building on shifting sand and dealing with hypersaline underground water that threatens to corrode the foundations.
Innovative solutions, such as using a mix of recycled metal waste to create less porous concrete, have been found to overcome these obstacles. The construction process involves deep drilling and injecting anti-corrosive concrete to create pillars and fix the city’s foundations.
Sustainability Features
The city is being built with a focus on sustainability, not only to minimize environmental impact but also to improve the technical performance of the concrete. Everything must be recycled, including concrete, timber, and metal.
The city’s Materials Recycle Center ensures that as little waste as possible goes to landfills, and instead, materials are transformed or reused. This approach is part of Masdar’s economic ecology model, which preserves natural resources while turning a profit.
Renewable Energy
Masdar City relies heavily on solar energy to power its infrastructure. The city’s designers have implemented various solutions to generate electricity, including solar panels on rooftops and a 54-acre photovoltaic power station that produces up to ten megawatts of electricity.
The city also incorporates traditional Arabian architectural features, such as wind towers, to naturally cool its streets and courtyards, making it pedestrian-friendly even in the hot summer months.
Innovative Architecture
The city’s university, which opened in 2010, was prioritized over other projects due to budget cuts. The university features sustainable design elements, such as natural lighting in laboratories, where daylight is brought in without letting in heat through strategically positioned glass and louvers.
The city also features a revolutionary solar power plant that utilizes the sun’s heat rather than light to generate electricity. The plant uses a system of mirrors to focus the sun’s rays onto a target, heating oil to 930 degrees Fahrenheit, which then produces steam to drive a turbine and generate electricity.
Water Conservation
Masdar Institute aims to reduce water consumption from 121 gallons per head per day to 23 gallons, with the average in Britain being 39 gallons. The campus is monitored by thousands of sensors analyzing water and electricity consumption, temperatures, and breakdowns.
The city’s desalination system, which produces both energy and drinking water, is being upgraded to a cleaner, reverse osmosis technique powered by solar energy.
Sustainable Transportation
The city is expanding, with a focus on sustainable transportation, including electric cars and a unique Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system of self-steering pod cars that run on solar energy and are designed to navigate the city without fossil fuel vehicles.
Conclusion
Masdar City is a testing ground for innovative technologies, aiming to create a sustainable future where people can live without relying on oil. Despite delays and challenges, the city is making progress towards its goal of becoming a zero-carbon footprint city by 2030.
| Term | Definition | Example Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Sustainability | The ability to maintain or support a process or system without depleting natural resources or causing harm to the environment. | Masdar City is designed with sustainability in mind, aiming to run entirely on renewable energy and minimize environmental impact. |
| Renewable Energy | Energy generated from natural resources that can be replenished over time, such as sunlight, wind, and water. | Masdar City relies heavily on solar energy to power its infrastructure, including solar panels on rooftops and a photovoltaic power station. |
| Innovative Architecture | The use of new and creative design solutions to improve the functionality and sustainability of buildings. | The city’s university features sustainable design elements, such as natural lighting in laboratories, where daylight is brought in without letting in heat. |
| Recycling | The process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as waste, and turning them into new products. | The city’s Materials Recycle Center ensures that as little waste as possible goes to landfills, and instead, materials are transformed or reused. |
| Desalination | The process of removing salt and other minerals from seawater or brackish water to produce fresh water. | The city’s desalination system, which produces both energy and drinking water, is being upgraded to a cleaner, reverse osmosis technique powered by solar energy. |
| Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) | A transportation system that uses small, automated vehicles to transport individuals or small groups of people quickly and efficiently. | The city is expanding, with a focus on sustainable transportation, including a unique PRT system of self-steering pod cars that run on solar energy. |
| Photovoltaic | A device that converts light into electrical energy, often used in solar panels to generate electricity. | The city’s designers have implemented various solutions to generate electricity, including solar panels on rooftops and a 54-acre photovoltaic power station. |
| Corrosion | The deterioration of materials, especially metals, due to chemical reactions with their environment. | The city faces challenges, including dealing with hypersaline underground water that threatens to corrode the foundations. |
| Economic Ecology | A model that aims to preserve natural resources while generating economic benefits. | Masdar’s economic ecology model preserves natural resources while turning a profit, through innovative solutions and sustainable practices. |
| Zero-Carbon Footprint | A situation where an individual, organization, or community produces no net emissions of greenhouse gases, often achieved through sustainable practices and renewable energy. | Masdar City aims to become a zero-carbon footprint city by 2030, relying on renewable energy and sustainable practices to minimize its environmental impact. |
Masdar City Vocabulary Quiz
Answer Key
1. B) Having a high concentration of salt
2. A) Having many small holes that allow water or air to pass through
3. B) To damage or weaken something by chemical reaction
4. A) The study of the relationship between living things and their environment
5. A) The process of removing salt and minerals from seawater to produce fresh water
Using the Passive Voice to Describe Processes and Systems
| The passive voice is often used to describe processes, systems, and procedures, especially in formal or technical writing. It focuses on the action rather than the doer of the action. In the text, we can see examples of the passive voice used to describe the construction process, sustainability features, and innovative solutions in Masdar City. For example: “The city is being built with a focus on sustainability…”, “The city’s foundations are fixed by deep drilling and injecting anti-corrosive concrete…”, and “The city’s Materials Recycle Center ensures that as little waste as possible is sent to landfills…” |
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Quiz Time!
1. The city’s foundations ______________________ by deep drilling and injecting anti-corrosive concrete.
A) are fixed
B) are being fixed
C) will be fixed
D) have been fixed
2. The city’s Materials Recycle Center ______________________ that as little waste as possible goes to landfills.
A) ensures
B) is ensuring
C) was ensuring
D) will ensure
3. The city’s university ______________________ with sustainable design elements, such as natural lighting in laboratories.
A) features
B) is featuring
C) was featured
D) will feature
4. The city’s desalination system ______________________ to a cleaner, reverse osmosis technique powered by solar energy.
A) is being upgraded
B) has been upgraded
C) will be upgraded
D) was upgraded
5. The city’s Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system ______________________ to navigate the city without fossil fuel vehicles.
A) is designed
B) was designed
C) has been designed
D) will be designed
