Oi, oi, geezer! I’m havin’ it. What’s the rumpus?
Erm, excuse me?
Sorry, I’ve been stuck in, watching EastEnders on loop. Tell me somewhere to go!
Okay… Sounds like you need to get out. How about Masdar City?
Bangin’. Wallop. Massive!
Stop it. You sound like a cretin. So, Masdar City. It’s the world’s most sustainable eco-neighbourhood. Impressive, eh?
Well that beats Albert Square into a cocked hat, doesn’t it?
Exactly. It broke ground in 2008 and has pioneered itself since as a “greenprint” for how cities can accommodate rapid urbanisation and dramatically reduce energy, water and waste.
How does it do that then?
By using clean energy generated on site, from rooftop solar panels. Handily, combining this modern technology with ancient Arabic architectural techniques also captures prevailing winds, making it a naturally cooler place, especially during the sweltering summer months.
Pukka. And what’s there to do?
Well, it’s still under considerable construction, but the plan is that when it’s complete, 40,000 people will live here, so there are new schools, apartments and restaurants springing up around the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, which is the research university that forms the nucleus of the city.
Sounds well complicated. Tell me about the grub.
There’s everything from Emirati cuisine at Osha Gourmet, to Mexican at Barbacoa and Japanese at Sumo, plus a Jim’s Kitchen Table and three cafés. Oh, and there are driver-less cars.
Driver-less cars? You’re havin’ a bubble, geez.
No, no “bubble”. As part of this incredible initiative, the city has a “point-to-point rapid transit system”, which is essentially electric-powered pods you sit in to get from A to B. In time, there are plans to introduce electric buses, too. This place, my friend, is the future.
Blimey. I’ll get my boat down there sharpish.
Good stuff. Give our love to Dot.
Only from Masdar City
Solar Impulse 2
Hosted by Masdar for testing and training, Solar Impulse 2 made history on July 26, when it became the first plane to circumnavigate the globe powered only by the sun. Project director Bertrand Piccard was in the cockpit for the final, 48-hour leg of a journey that took in four continents, two oceans, three seas and 43,000 kilometres. “The future is now,” he said on landing. “Let’s take it further.”
