In recent years, various proposals have emerged for the construction of
“eco-cities,” specially designed communities with an explicit environmental
focus that often incorporate technologically sophisticated building design,
comprehensive master-planning, renewable energy sources, and efforts to
achieve resource self-sufficiency. This trend, however, is subject to intense
criticism among some proponents of sustainable urbanism, on grounds
ranging from the purported social exclusivity of eco-cities to the claimed
incompatibility between a sustainable mode of living and continued economic
growth in the contemporary Western model. Masdar City, an eco-city
presently being built in the United Arab Emirates, serves as a useful case
study in this debate, with such unconventional features as an underground
network of tunnels for electric cars and an aim of developing a zero-carbon
electricity supply. After examining the Masdar project in particular, and the
scholarly context surrounding sustainable urbanism in general, this essay
offers a new method for evaluating the environmental and social effects
of eco-cities. Using the dual concepts of an “experimental” approach that
favors a diverse collection of initiatives for ecologically conscious urban
planning and a “human-benefits” perspective that emphasizes inhabitants’
quality of life, the paper concludes that, despite its disadvantages, Masdar
City represents an important advance in the field of sustainable urban design.
In recent years, various proposals have emerged for the construction of“eco-cities,” specially designed communities with an explicit environmentalfocus that often incorporate technologically sophisticated building design,comprehensive master-planning, renewable energy sources, and efforts toachieve resource self-sufficiency. This trend, however, is subject to intensecriticism among some proponents of sustainable urbanism, on groundsranging from the purported social exclusivity of eco-cities to the claimedincompatibility between a sustainable mode of living and continued economicgrowth in the contemporary Western model. Masdar City, an eco-citypresently being built in the United Arab Emirates, serves as a useful casestudy in this debate, with such unconventional features as an undergroundnetwork of tunnels for electric cars and an aim of developing a zero-carbonelectricity supply. After examining the Masdar project in particular, and thescholarly context surrounding sustainable urbanism in general, this essayoffers a new method for evaluating the environmental and social effectsof eco-cities. Using the dual concepts of an “experimental” approach thatfavors a diverse collection of initiatives for ecologically conscious urbanplanning and a “human-benefits” perspective that emphasizes inhabitants’quality of life, the paper concludes that, despite its disadvantages, MasdarCity represents an important advance in the field of sustainable urban design.
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