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Week 4 [01-07.04] Dubai's Sustainable City

Dubai's Sustainable City



If you ever wondered how could future cities look like or how could construction or design of new cities be improved, you will probably like the idea of the Dubai’s Sustainable City presented in the video below. Personally I’ve never pondered about this topic before until today when I’ve watched a tour of that city. I found this topic really fascinating so I decided to share it with you. I would also like to note that the city is already built and it is not only a concept!




Here is the video containing the tour:




Questions:
1. Have you ever heard of the city?
2. Do you think that sustainable, self-contained cities are the future of our planet?
3. Would you like to live in such a city? Why?
4. In your opinion what are the biggest disadvantages of that kind of places?


Sources:

Comments

Nataliya Tkach said…
1. Have you ever heard of the city?
I haven't heard from this town. But when I read the first word Dubai's immediately clear that there is space technology.

2. Do you think that sustainable, self-contained cities are the future of our planet?
Possible, but not very soon will massively build the cities. It takes a lot of money.

3. Would you like to live in such a city? Why?
First, I would rent a house or apartment for 1-3 months to find out whether such a city suits me or not.

4. In your opinion what are the biggest disadvantages of that kind of places?
If the city is automated it has only a few scenarios of emergency response, and the person can include emotions. I don't want to write different examples, there will be too much text)
1. Have you ever heard of the city?
Unfortunately, i have not heard about this city. Thank you a lot for providing interesting topics to read, appreciate that!
2. Do you think that sustainable, self-contained cities are the future of our planet?
Sure, it's not only the future of our planet, i would say, it is the closest future that we can even imagine. First city in Dubai, then another big cities will follow this concept.
3. Would you like to live in such a city? Why?
I would love to live in a self-contained city, but i think, that i'm not ready for now. People do need more time to adapt for new kind of technologies.
4. In your opinion what are the biggest disadvantages of that kind of places?
We are living in the world that is unpredictable. Everything can happen and self-contained cities will not be ready for a critical situations that can happen. If the important mechanism is broken, we need real people to repair it.
Bartosz Barnat said…
1. I havent heard about this city so it was an interesting article and video.

2. I think it could be the future of our planet. I would imagine like small colonies on different planets similarly and I dont know why but the first thing that came to my mind when I was seeing the first image presented by you was just some science fiction future film showing how living on different planets will look like.

3. Right now I would not want to live in that type of city just becase I like where im living now and I wouldnt change it in any way.

4. I think that the biggest disadventage would be that this type of city could be controlled by one person and sabotaged really easly. As everything would be automated there will always be some technology expert who would love to crack something and see what it would bring.

I have never heard of this city, but it is very interesting. If it is possible, then in my opinion it should look like the future. Certainly it is not possible for it to be so everywhere. As with any solution, it certainly has errors, for example human errors, war, etc.
It seems to me that if it was not too expensive, I would like to try to live in such a city. It is worth trying different things, because only then can we determine what is best for us.
Anyway i like place where i live and i would prefer to stay here :)
1. No, I have never heard of the city, but it is indeed extremely interesting and generally awesome, so I am grateful that you shared this with us.

2. Well, it could be a one of valid options for future, for sure. It is environment friendly, modern and advanced.

3. Yes, because the atmosphere there seems to be very positive. In general, I am a fan of high congestion, skyscrapers and density, but on the other hand I must admit that the vision of living in a quiet, car free city which is as modern as it can possible be is somehow tempting. Maybe it is the optimal solution for work-life balance topic.

4. The man in the video said one thing that I don’t like very much. It is about the way of financing the services of the town. He said that owners of the villas don’t have to pay for some of those services, because they are funded by people who rent apartments in the town. I find it risky and we can smell a little bit of communism there. If you don’t pay for something then you are not allowed to demand a high quality, and those rental revenues can drop if the economy goes down. In addition, I don’t quite understand previous comments about the need of real people to repair something, or the threat of sabotage. There are real people there who take care of everything, and I didn’t notice an excessive amount of automatization. Self-sustainability is about resources, not maintainability.
I've heard about this city, and i think that it is awesome! Cities like that would decrease dependence on autocratic government and make people be masters of their own in their own land and their own propetry without the need to involve 3rd party. All this reasons are why i would love to live in a city like this. To be honest i may be biased but i think such project do not have any major disadvantages, especially comparing to more conservative citybuilding approach.
Maciej Sadoś said…
Yeah I must agree that Dubai became some kind of a synonym for the greatest innovations nowadays. Referring to your second answer - like any new technology it could take a long time to adapt cities like this everywhere. Nice response, thank you
Maciej Sadoś said…
I'm glad you enjoyed it Andrii! I hope that we will be able to live in such a highly innovative world in our lifetime. The future is in our hands!
Maciej Sadoś said…
Hah, right? And we have it now - only the science part of a science fiction :-)
That's an excellent point you've made with cracking an automation. Putting it to the bigger picture the whole cyber world is probably not ready for the immensity of threats. So we should highly secure all our developments first, to be able to live with the level of cybernetics in our world.
Maciej Sadoś said…
I would also first try to live in such a place before I move there.
It could probably be impossible in the near future for that cities to be everywhere, but maybe in some decades, who knows.
Maciej Sadoś said…
Thank you Marcin, I'm glad you enjoyed it too!
You mentioned a pretty intriguing aspect here, it didn't occur to me until now, and I have to agree with you.
But of course it is only one of possibilities how could that kind of places function. This is a one big experiment and it definitely doesn't have to be implemented that way everywhere in the future.
I feel like we could also predict that the prices for everything that is "free" there is included in the cost of a house, and they have it perfectly calculated at least some years ahead :-)
But it's definitely a thing that should be taken into consideration in investments like this, thank you for pointing this out!
Maciej Sadoś said…
But remember Denys that the sustainability is more, like Marcin pointed out, about resources. Anyway thanks for your comment and I'm happy that your share our positive attitude for such innovations!
Ewelina said…
1. The first time I found out about such a city from your article.
2. If they are really doing so well as in this movie then yes.
3. I would definitely like to live somewhere where it is warm :) I like the picture from the movie very much
4. I can't answer this question
1. Have you ever heard of the city?

Unfortunately, but I have never heard of this city, although it looks amazing! Maciej, thanks for sharing with us this information! It is a really amazing place.

2. Do you think that sustainable, self-contained cities are the future of our planet?

In my opinion, yes. Of course, to introduce more such cities, it would require not only time and huge costs, but in my opinion the creation of such mini-paradises on earth would be a glorious achievement of our time.

3. Would you like to live in such a city? Why?

Of course! First, however, I would see how it really lives and how everything works in practice, but after the article I am in very positive thoughts.

4. In your opinion what are the biggest disadvantages of that kind of places?

At first glance, I do not see disadvantages. However, as it always happens, there will always be some people who will want to destroy such a place, because they will live in some other "worse" place. However, to find some other disadvantages, you have to go to the place and check how it really is :)

1. Have you ever heard of the city?
I have never heard about this city.
I just find it out today in your article.
2. Do you think that sustainable, self-contained cities are the future of our planet?
Probably sustainable cities are the right direction of developing our suburbs and new villages. I'm sure that kind of cities are future of country's like Dubai. High temperature and raw environment forces people to find new more reliable technologies.
3. Would you like to live in such a city? Why?
I would like to live in well planed, modern and of course luxurious city like that one.
4. In your opinion what are the biggest disadvantages of that kind of places?
It is hard to find disadvantages about that city. I think that heat is still the biggest problem despite the uv protecting widows and other inventions that can prevent overheating people are partly addicted to technology.
1. Have you ever heard of the city?
No, I have not :(

2. Do you think that sustainable, self-contained cities are the future of our planet?

I think that it might be, but I'm not an expert. There is a lot of things that we should do to help our planet, like using renewal energy or even such a little thing like sorting trashes.

3. Would you like to live in such a city? Why?

I'm afraid I would not. Maybe in future. For now, Warsaw is good.

4. In your opinion what are the biggest disadvantages of that kind of places?

Hmm maybe something like feeling that you are in a fake box? Hard to say.

Yana Lytvynenko said…
Wow, I have not heard, but very impressed with this city. There, everything is thought out simply for trifles but there is an opportunity to build such a city only is somewhere in the desert from scratch. So, unfortunately, it is hardly possible to embody it everywhere. The city is maximally automated and ecological for our planet. And also he is very stylish. I would like to try to live there, but I am sure that unrealistic price. More realistic options are Singapore, it’s also quite automated and modern, but you don’t need to completely rebuild it.
So, answering your questions:

1. Yes, I have. I'm interested in technology news, so yes, I know Dubai, and not only. I have to say, this is really interesting environment-friendly solutions, modern innovations and technology.

2. Of course, the most. But this solution costs a lot of financial contribution. But one step at time... Someday we will reach target!

3. I'd love to live in smart city like Dubai or Songdo. They have smart solutions and innovations, which I love them.

4. In my opinion, there are no disadvantages.
Anna Koca said…
1. Have you ever heard of the city?

Of course! It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. You can try and visit it on one of your plain flights to other continents, since Dubai is a famous aviation hub and many routes involve a change at the local airport.

2. Do you think that sustainable, self-contained cities are the future of our planet?

We certainly should head into that direction since the resources are getting scarce and we need solutions that will manage them in a more efficient manner, also when it comes to cities which are where most of population reside.

3. Would you like to live in such a city? Why?

I think I'm fine living in Warsaw now, I am a little afraid of big cities. However, to visit such a smart and self-governing city would certainly be an adventure.

4. In your opinion what are the biggest disadvantages of that kind of places?

I think they may lose a bit of their authenticity.
Illia Lukisha said…
1. Have you ever heard of the city?

No I didn't know about this city, but I heard about another city called Masdar in UAE that was following similar goals and is under development from 2006.

2. Do you think that sustainable, self-contained cities are the future of our planet?

I think so, but transition to cities like that is really hard, because it's easy to be green and sustainable while manufacturing of materials for city is just in another countries and not green at all.

3. Would you like to live in such a city? Why?

I think if city will be big enough not a district like shown on video and will be affordable and welcoming for people with different income I would like to live in such city.

4. In your opinion what are the biggest disadvantages of that kind of places?

For now such projects are looking like luxury districts for selected people with fences and walls to defend from outside world. I think it's necessary to create spaces where will be created social lifts for poorer layers of population, so everyone can benefit from this project.
Peter Clemenza said…
1. Have you ever heard of the city?
Yes of course. Mainly because of many photo model "call-girls" (hookers) going there.

2. Do you think that sustainable, self-contained cities are the future of our planet?
Until they ran out of oil yes. (beware of Venezuela)

3. Would you like to live in such a city? Why?
Its cool until they force you to pay high taxes for those great improvements.

4. In your opinion what are the biggest disadvantages of that kind of places?
No feminists in sight.
It's a brilliant idea. The first thought that struck me was the beauty of designing anything from scratch without technical-debt. This type of infrastructure from the beginning must be developed around some concept - in this case energy efficiency. It cannot be done in any existing city. Due to this fact, I think it is our future, but hundreds of years must pass. On the other hand, self-contained cities must have many regulations and prohibitions, also they're pattern structure seems to be boring to me.
s18716 said…
1. Have you ever heard of the city?
I see the city for the first time, in fact. Thank you, after such videos it seems to me that I am a little trendy, or at least not lagging behind the new progressive solutions of humanity.
2. Do you think that sustainable, self-contained cities are the future of our planet?
If more and more cities follow this idea, then of course it would be great. But Dubai is one of the few who can afford it. We must strive to ensure that such decisions were more throughout the world.
3. Would you like to live in such a city? Why?
I would like to live in such a technologically developed city, but still I would prefer to live in a city with a slightly different climate than the United Arab Emirates.
4. In your opinion what are the biggest disadvantages of that kind of places?
It seems to me that people in such cities are becoming dependent on specialists in this field, because only such specialists can eliminate technical problems in such technological solutions. But there are very few such specialists today, respectively, their services are not exactly cheap.
Of course I've heard about Dubai, who doesn't ?
Yes i think that myay be the game. If more countries would involve in such projects earth could be a better place to live, we should think more about ecosystem. I would LOVE to live in a city like this, i like futuristic places and I think it would be more healthier to our organism.
I don't see any major disadvantages. Maybe limits which citizens have to keep, to avoid wasting water, electricity etc.
Adam Nguyen said…
I haven’t heart of this city before, but thanks to you now I have.

For now it’s kind of hard to imagine, but maybe in future.

Yes, car free city seems to be modern and safety. I would love to live in well planned such city.

It is really hard to find disadvantages from the first look at it. I first of all I should experience it by myself, then make my opinion about it.
1. no, I've only heard of similar ideas.
2. Yes, it can be a good solution.
3. No. Personally, I do not like cities in general, first I need a large garage, secondly I am a loner.
4. High dependence on others and exposure to attacks.
Maciej Sadoś said…
I'm really glad you liked the topic! I agree with points you made. Hope to see these cities as soon as possible!
Maciej Sadoś said…
Definitely that kind of places could be beneficial for the environment!
Maciej Sadoś said…
Good you also liked it! I also think that Dubai is the right place to begin such innovations.
For me the climate is ideal, I like when it's hot :D
I’ve heard about this concept and planning to do it, but I didn’t know that it has be done! Sustainable cities are the future, but for a lot of countries it’ll take a lot of time to keep up. It’s expensive to do and only cities made from scratch can made it without problems unlike old cities (old buildings, tradition, habits, etc.). I think that living there will be peaceful and enjoyable, so I would like to move there. I can’t really see disadvantages of this, but maybe for some people it seems artificial and not so authentic.
Maciej Sadoś said…
Nice that you have mentioned Songdo, I've never heard of it but it seems really interesting, thank you!
Maciej Sadoś said…
Yes, it's already been done! I agree that adapting old cities for that kind of scenario could be impossible or really hard to do.
Maciej Sadoś said…
Thanks for mentioning Masdar, it's also an interesting city. I think this kind of cities will not be available for masses for a very long time.
1. Have you ever heard of the city?
Never heard, but look nice and environmental friendly
2. Do you think that sustainable, self-contained cities are the future of our planet?
No, I don’t think so, there is too many people on planet, this is to expensive and not every region can use solar energy as much as Dubai.
But this is good solution for place with harsh environment.
3. Would you like to live in such a city? Why?
If there is everything that I need to live why not but, in this video, they only show good stuff but is there any bad? How far is another city?
I would try life there for half a year as a test before deciding.
4. In your opinion what are the biggest disadvantages of that kind of places?
I would say that separation from the world and fear of strangers.
Never heard of it. I’m afraid that self-contained cities are hardly possible right now. We simply don’t have the right energy sources available. A project like this could not exist without oil money. Solar energy is way too expensive in most parts of the world. As for living in such a place, it looks awfully boring. An obvious disadvantage is the cost. Unachievable for most of society.
I did not heard of this city.
I think if in the future solar energy will become less expensive in developing. City that we could see in the video is in perfect place for such technology.
Personally I would go on vacation but it looks more or less the same I would prefer to see more variation.
1. No, I did not.
2. I believe that such cities are humanity's only future, we have to find a way to live sustainably or we're going to go extinct.
3. Yes, because it would feel great knowing that I have almost zero impact on our planet and the air ocer there would be so clean!
4. I don't think there are too many disadvantages to living in such a city. Maybe recycling all of our waste could be tiring but even that is something that we could get over.

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