Masdar means Source. By taxi from the center of Abu Dhabi (from the Ancestral Fort of Qasr al-Hosn) to Masdar City, we drove for about half an hour, perhaps due to the fact that we got into a traffic jam on the bridge at rush hour, paid 69 dirhams - not close, but we liked it there. Quite an ambitious and unique project, as, indeed, almost everything in the Emirates. Taxi stop in front of the entrance to the town, inside an exclusively ecological zone, no gas pollution. This newest eco-city has its own Scientific Institute, University and nearby residential buildings where employees live and implement their achievements, so to speak, a local innovation center - a successful Skolkovo, an example of what can be achieved without corruption and kickbacks. The project was implemented by the Foster and Partners workshop (London), at the very beginning in 2006, more than 22 billion dollars were invested in the town, now, of course, much more. Fine! Petrodollars are invested in the environment - applause!
Masdar is a kind of portal to another dimension, a modern time machine. Only solar panels, photovoltaic panels are used here, street lighting hits from below from the paths, so there are no ordinary street lamps. The Source City has completely abandoned fossil fuels and operates exclusively on renewable energy sources.
Here, the most fantastic ideas are tried in practice, the collection and use of rainwater for the needs of the city is also provided. Only those enterprises that can prove the absence of harmful emissions into the environment have the right to exist within the city, and rightly so, because the city is intended for people's lives, and not survival, as in some countries. Further construction around Masdar City is in full swing, moreover, from all sides. There are many fountains and recreation areas inside. Houses are mostly 3-6 storey, there are no skyscrapers and never will be.
Here, "smart houses" consume half as much resources as traditional ones, and the facades of the buildings are arranged in such a way that they guarantee a reduction in costs for air conditioning, and a special huge outdoor air conditioner has been installed in the center of the town. Wi-Fi around is free, it catches perfectly - we tried it.
Inside the town there is its own infrastructure with banks, other necessary institutions, numerous cafes, shops, including Organic Shops. Everything you need for life is within walking distance. The town is designed for a maximum of 50 thousand people.
The town is multi-level, there is an exhibition complex on the lower floor, they plan to launch a high-speed ultra-modern monorail and surround the entire town with artificial reservoirs: lakes, canals, waterfalls, which will automatically humidify the desert air.
There is no roadway for cars inside the Source city, but there are electric scooters around (0.5 dir. per minute, payment - debiting money through a card, but you need a copy of a driver's license via a smartphone, I think that it was not because of the confirmation of a driver's license for movement - it was it would be funny, but so that they don’t simply steal it, so that there is someone to ask.
The parking lot for residents and employees is located outside the campus and is closed from the sun by a huge awning. There are electric cars without drivers, designed for 4 people, though there are only three of these “smart” electric cars for the whole town and they drive along the same route, but everything is in the process, everything is in development. You can ride for free, electric cars are in the parking lot of the exhibition complex on the lower level of the town.
What I didn’t like: it’s very crowded on some streets, the houses practically rest against each other, although they say that this is designed specifically to keep cool, because the city is in a real desert, after all. But it seems that everything is in open space, and the impression that you are inside one large building with terraces and balconies, in short, my Soul demanded again for space, for freedom. I don’t even know if I would like to live there or not, but it’s interesting to see it.
Masdar is a kind of portal to another dimension, a modern time machine. Only solar panels, photovoltaic panels are used here, street lighting hits from below from the paths, so there are no ordinary street lamps. The Source City has completely abandoned fossil fuels and operates exclusively on renewable energy sources.
Here, the most fantastic ideas are tried in practice, the collection and use of rainwater for the needs of the city is also provided. Only those enterprises that can prove the absence of harmful emissions into the environment have the right to exist within the city, and rightly so, because the city is intended for people's lives, and not survival, as in some countries. Further construction around Masdar City is in full swing, moreover, from all sides. There are many fountains and recreation areas inside. Houses are mostly 3-6 storey, there are no skyscrapers and never will be.
Here, "smart houses" consume half as much resources as traditional ones, and the facades of the buildings are arranged in such a way that they guarantee a reduction in costs for air conditioning, and a special huge outdoor air conditioner has been installed in the center of the town. Wi-Fi around is free, it catches perfectly - we tried it.
Inside the town there is its own infrastructure with banks, other necessary institutions, numerous cafes, shops, including Organic Shops. Everything you need for life is within walking distance. The town is designed for a maximum of 50 thousand people.
The town is multi-level, there is an exhibition complex on the lower floor, they plan to launch a high-speed ultra-modern monorail and surround the entire town with artificial reservoirs: lakes, canals, waterfalls, which will automatically humidify the desert air.
There is no roadway for cars inside the Source city, but there are electric scooters around (0.5 dir. per minute, payment - debiting money through a card, but you need a copy of a driver's license via a smartphone, I think that it was not because of the confirmation of a driver's license for movement - it was it would be funny, but so that they don’t simply steal it, so that there is someone to ask.
The parking lot for residents and employees is located outside the campus and is closed from the sun by a huge awning. There are electric cars without drivers, designed for 4 people, though there are only three of these “smart” electric cars for the whole town and they drive along the same route, but everything is in the process, everything is in development. You can ride for free, electric cars are in the parking lot of the exhibition complex on the lower level of the town.
What I didn’t like: it’s very crowded on some streets, the houses practically rest against each other, although they say that this is designed specifically to keep cool, because the city is in a real desert, after all. But it seems that everything is in open space, and the impression that you are inside one large building with terraces and balconies, in short, my Soul demanded again for space, for freedom. I don’t even know if I would like to live there or not, but it’s interesting to see it.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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