Masdar City facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Masdar City
مدينة مصدر
Masdar City Free Zone
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Masdar City Logo
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 Masdar City
Location in United Arab Emirates
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| Country | United Arab Emirates |
| Emirate | Abu Dhabi |
| Initiated | 2006 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 6 km2 (2 sq mi) |
| • Land | 6 km2 (2 sq mi) |
| • Water | 0 km2 (0 sq mi) |
| Population
(2024)
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| • Total | 15,000 |
| • Density | 2,500/km2 (6,500/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+04 (Gulf Standard Time) |
Masdar City (which means "Source City" in Arabic) is a special community in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates. This city was built by a company called Masdar. The government of Abu Dhabi provided most of the money to start it.
Masdar City wants to be a great example of sustainable living in a city. It uses renewable energy, green building practices, and new technology. The city is designed to have a very small impact on the environment. Its buildings save energy, and it aims to produce less carbon pollution. It also focuses on researching and developing clean technologies. Many international companies, new businesses, and research groups work here. They all focus on making things more sustainable.
As of 2023, about 15,000 people live or work in Masdar City. This shows it's growing into a busy place for new ideas. The city is still expanding. Many new offices, labs, and homes are being built. These new buildings are also designed to be sustainable.
Contents
Masdar City Free Zone
The Masdar City Free Zone is a key part of Masdar City. It is known for encouraging new ideas and sustainability. More than 1,000 organizations are based here. This Free Zone helps all kinds of businesses, from small startups to large international companies. They get modern buildings and offices that are good for the environment. The rules here also make it easy for businesses to grow and innovate.
How Businesses Get Started and Grow
The Masdar City Free Zone has a special "One-Stop Shop" service. This makes it simple for companies to set up their business. They can focus on their main work. This service helps with things like registering the business and getting visas. Companies here can be 100% owned by foreign investors. They also pay no personal income tax and no import taxes. They can also easily send their money and profits back home.
Special Business Packages
The Masdar City Free Zone offers different business packages. These packages are made for specific types of industries. They help companies working in areas like smart transportation, health sciences, and AI. They also support businesses in farming technology, space technology, and clean energy. Each package gives companies important tools. These include chances for funding and connections with other businesses.
Main Industry Areas
Masdar City Free Zone focuses on six main industry areas. Each one helps reach global sustainability goals:
- Smart Mobility (SAVI): This area focuses on new ideas for electric and self-driving vehicles. It is led by the Smart and Autonomous Vehicles Industries (SAVI).
- Life Sciences: This area has advanced labs. It helps develop new ideas in health, like biotechnology and personalized medicine.
- Energy: This is a center for renewable energy and clean technology. Big organizations like IRENA and Siemens Energy are part of this area.
- Agritech (AGWA): This area focuses on growing food in a sustainable way. It develops new solutions that are better for the environment. It is led by the AgriFood Growth & Water Abundance (AGWA).
- AI: This area drives research and development in AI. This helps many industries, including smart cities and healthcare.
- Space Technology: This area is home to the UAE Space Agency. It supports new ideas in satellite technology and space exploration.
Important Partnerships
Masdar City Free Zone works with important organizations to help businesses grow. For example, they work with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). This allows businesses to follow Common Law, which helps attract more foreign investment. They also work with Amazon Web Services (AWS). This gives new businesses access to cloud computing tools. Partnerships with local banks also help provide financial services for companies in the Free Zone.
Companies and People in Masdar City
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
Masdar City is home to the International Renewable Energy Agency, known as IRENA. This was the first international organization of its kind in the Middle East. IRENA's headquarters were finished in 2015.
The UAE worked hard to have Masdar City chosen as IRENA's home. The UAE offered free offices in Masdar City. They also offered 20 scholarships for students to study at the Masdar Institute. Plus, they offered up to $350 million in loans for renewable energy projects in developing countries.
Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company)
Masdar, also called the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, is a world leader in renewable energy. It also leads in building sustainable cities. Its main office is in Masdar City. The company starts many projects to develop clean energy technologies. It also works to reduce carbon pollution around the world. Masdar invests in renewable energy projects like wind and solar power plants. It also develops sustainable buildings that are very good for the environment.
Siemens Energy
The main office for Siemens in this region is also in Masdar City. This building has a LEED Platinum rating. This means it uses sustainable and energy-saving materials and building methods. It was designed to use 45% less energy and 50% less water than typical office buildings. The Siemens headquarters won an award for best office building in 2012. It was also named the best and most sustainable office building that same year.
The building is 12,000 square feet. It is built like a "box within a box." The inside part is well-insulated and airtight. This protects it from the sun. The outside has a light aluminum shading system. The open area under the building is shaped like a funnel. This shape helps pull winds under the building. This creates a cool breeze that flows up through the building. This cools public areas without using extra energy. These open spaces also let daylight into the middle of the building. This reduces the need for electric lights, saving even more energy. All the building's automatic systems are from Siemens.
Siemens first signed a 10-year lease for the building.
Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI)
The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) is a special university in Masdar City. It focuses on making big advances in AI. It is the first university in the world for graduate students that focuses only on AI research. MBZUAI offers special programs in machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing. The university aims to train top experts and do important research. This research helps solve global problems. MBZUAI being in Masdar City makes the city a key place for AI innovation. It also helps develop smart systems that support sustainable growth in many areas.
G42
G42, located in Masdar City, is a leading company in artificial intelligence and cloud computing. It plays a big role in new technology in the region. G42 is known for its work with large amounts of data, AI research, and cloud systems. It helps many industries, like healthcare, finance, and smart cities. The company has made big steps in AI applications. This includes creating advanced solutions for things like checking health problems and planning cities.
UAE Space Agency
The UAE Space Agency has its main office in Masdar City. It is a very important organization for the UAE's goals in space. The agency was created to support and guide the country's growing space industry. It helps with scientific research and developing space technologies. It also encourages working with other countries on space exploration.
The agency is also a key part of Masdar City's Space Tech area. This area includes many groups working on satellite technology and space exploration. This area helps the UAE become a leader in space science and technology. The UAE Space Agency is at the front of these efforts.
The Catalyst
Masdar City and the oil company BP created The Catalyst. This is an investor that helps new companies focused on clean technology. As of May 2023, The Catalyst supports eight new businesses. It wants to attract companies working on green technology. They accept applications from businesses and entrepreneurs from all over the world.
Incubator Building
The Incubator Building was finished in 2012. It is the main office for Masdar City and its Free Zone. It has a central courtyard, which helps keep the air cool and encourages walking outside. The building's outside design helps reduce the need for cooling. For example, its slanted glass sides let in over a third less sun. Small porcelain circles on the glass filter direct sunlight. These dots are color-coded to show different levels of sunlight. Horizontal shades also help balance light and reduce heat. These designs help reduce energy use by 45%. The Incubator Building has shops and offices for new businesses, small and medium companies, and regional offices for big international companies. Some famous tenants have included General Electric and Mitsubishi. It has a LEED Gold rating.
Khalifa University
Part of Khalifa University, which used to be called the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, is in Masdar City. The campus design is flexible. It uses old architectural ideas with modern materials to save energy. By 2013, 336 students were studying there. These students were chosen from over 2,000 applicants. Forty-two percent of the students are from the UAE, and 35% are female.
The university's building was developed with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It uses 51% less electricity and 54% less potable water than typical buildings in the UAE. It also has a system that constantly checks how much power is being used.
City Plan and Design
The idea for Masdar City started in 2006. It was planned to cover six square kilometers. The cost was estimated to be between $18 billion and $22 billion. The first plan was to build it in about eight years. The first part was supposed to be ready by 2009.
Construction began in February 2008. The first six buildings were finished and occupied in October 2010. However, because of the global financial crisis, the completion date was moved to between 2020 and 2025. By 2016, less than 300,000 square meters had been built. The final completion was then expected by 2030. As of 2020, the 2030 completion date was still planned.
The city is meant to show how cities can be sustainable, innovative, and good places to live. It was designed to be home to 45,000 to 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses. More than 60,000 workers were expected to travel to the city every day.
On June 24, 2022, Masdar City started building a new area called Masdar City Square. It will cover 29,000 square meters. It will include a commercial building that produces as much energy as it uses. There will also be six other buildings with LEED Platinum and WELL Gold ratings. It is expected to be finished in 2024.
On February 2, 2023, Masdar City started building "The Link." This will be a mixed-use area covering 30,000 square meters. It will have a building that produces as much energy as it uses, with offices and homes. There will also be four other buildings with LEED Platinum and WELL Gold ratings. These will include event spaces, sports facilities, and shops. It is expected to be finished in 2025.
Smart Design for Comfort
Masdar City is designed to be easy for people to walk and bike in.
The temperature in the streets often feels 5-10 degrees Celsius cooler than the desert around it. This is thanks to the city's smart design. The main part of the city is raised higher than the surrounding area. It is also angled to pull wind through the streets. Buildings are built close together. This creates streets and walkways that are protected from the sun. Also, a 45-meter-high wind tower, like old Arab designs, pulls air from above. This creates a cooling breeze.
Masdar City has special Eco-Residences. These homes have terracotta walls with traditional patterns. They have a LEED Platinum rating. Masdar City also has a tech park made from recycled shipping containers.
The city was designed by Foster and Partners. Their design team studied old cities like Cairo and Muscat. They wanted to see how these cities stayed cool. They found that these cities dealt with hot desert temperatures by having shorter, narrower streets. These streets were usually no longer than 70 meters. The buildings at the end of these streets created just enough wind to push air upwards. This helped cool the street.
Passive Design for Energy Saving
Passive design is a main idea behind Masdar City’s sustainability. This design uses the building's parts and nature to save energy and keep people comfortable. It does this without needing mechanical systems. Key passive design methods include:
- Building Shape and Direction: Buildings are shaped to have less surface area. They are also angled to get less sun. This means they absorb less heat, so less air conditioning is needed.
- Shading and Angles: Windows are placed to avoid direct sun, especially from the east and west. If direct sun can't be avoided, clever shading and angles are used to reduce heat from the sun.
- High-Quality Building Walls: Buildings have airtight and well-insulated walls. This is important for keeping inside temperatures steady. It also stops heat from outside from getting in. Materials that reflect sunlight are used to further reduce heat.
- Natural Airflow: Building layouts and openings are designed to let in as much natural air as possible. This reduces the need for air conditioning and makes the air inside healthier.
These passive design methods have saved a lot of energy in Masdar City. Some buildings use 50% or more less energy than regular buildings.
Transportation
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Ways to get around include public transport and a personal rapid transit (PRT) system. This system uses self-driving electric pods that travel on an underground track.
In October 2010, it was announced that the PRT would not be expanded beyond the first test. This was because it was too expensive to build the underground area needed to separate the system from people walking. Later, in 2011, a test group of 10 Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric cars was used for a year. This tested point-to-point transport for the city, to work with the PRT.
In 2018, as a trial, seven self-driving shuttles called NAVYA started running. They carried passengers between the car park and the city center. Another route was planned for 2019. This route would go from the homes above the North Car Park to the IRENA headquarters and the My City Centre Masdar Shopping Mall.
With a new design plan, public transport in the city will use methods other than the PRT and NAVYA.
Masdar City is working on using a mix of electric and other clean-energy vehicles for public transport inside the city. Most private cars will only be allowed in parking lots around the city's edge. Abu Dhabi has a planned light rail and metro line. This might eventually connect Masdar City's center with the larger city area. As of 2020, people still travel to and from the city by car, as the planned light rail line does not exist yet.
Renewable Resources
The first plan for Masdar City was for it to run on its own power grid. It was meant to have no carbon footprint at all. Masdar City gets some power from solar panels. But it also gets power from the local electricity grid.
Gerard Evenden, the main architect, said that the first plan was to power the whole city using things like solar panels on rooftops. He said, "When we started this project, nobody had really looked at doing projects of this scale. Then you realize it's much more efficient to build your solar field on the ground in the middle of the desert. You can send a man to brush them off every day, rather than having to access everyone's buildings individually, and you can make sure that they are running at their absolute peak. It's much better than putting them on every building in the city."
Blowing sand has been a problem for the solar panels. So, Masdar City has worked with other groups to create surfaces with pores smaller than sand particles. This stops sand from sticking to the panels.
Water-saving fixtures are used throughout the city to reduce water use. Waste water is reused "as many times as possible." For example, greywater (water from sinks and showers) is used to water plants.
The wood used on the outside of buildings in the city is palmwood. This is a sustainable wood substitute. It is made by Pacific Green from coconut palms that no longer produce fruit. Palmwood is used for things like entrance gates, screens, and doors.
What People Think About Masdar City
The global charity World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the sustainability group Bioregional support this project. In 2008, WWF and Bioregional officially named Masdar City a "One Planet Living Community." This was because of the project's goals of having no carbon pollution, no waste, and other environmentally friendly aims.
The US Government has also supported the project. The US Department of Energy signed an agreement with Masdar. They will share knowledge to help plans for cities with no carbon pollution.
The Alliance to Save Energy gave Masdar City a 2012 EE Visionary Award. This was to recognize the city's efforts to improve energy efficiency.
Some people are unsure if the city will be truly important for Abu Dhabi. In 2011, Geoffrey M. Heal, a professor who studies environmental economics, called Masdar City "a gimmick." He said it was "a way of attracting publicity and attention." Heal also noted that its use of solar energy might not be a practical model for others. This is because few places in the world have as much sunlight all year as the Persian Gulf.
Gallery
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Personal rapid transit (PRT)
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Masdar City under construction
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See also
In Spanish: Masdar para niños
