Social Sciences

Masdar City: A model of urban ters to the facades for the buildings1,6. For
a community that aims to accommodate
40,000 residents, 50,000 commuters, and
environmental sustainability more than 1,500 businesses, this master-
planning approach represents an immense
Arthur Lau and ambitious7 undertaking. All buildings
at Masdar, designed to maximize the use
In recent years, various proposals have emerged for the construction of of natural light, must adhere to strict regu-
“eco-cities,” specially designed communities with an explicit environmental lations concerning the use of insulation,
focus that often incorporate technologically sophisticated building design, low-energy lighting, and energy-efficient
comprehensive master-planning, renewable energy sources, and efforts to appliances6. Through these measures, Mas-
achieve resource self-sufficiency. This trend, however, is subject to intense dar City is projected to need only a quarter
criticism among some proponents of sustainable urbanism, on grounds of the energy supply required by a nor-
ranging from the purported social exclusivity of eco-cities to the claimed mal city with the same population8. Water
incompatibility between a sustainable mode of living and continued eco- consumption will be reduced by installing
nomic growth in the contemporary Western model. Masdar City, an eco-city high-efficiency fixtures and appliances
presently being built in the United Arab Emirates, serves as a useful case and incorporating an advanced network of
study in this debate, with such unconventional features as an underground meters that not only notifies consumers of
network of tunnels for electric cars and an aim of developing a zero-carbon their usage levels but also determines the
electricity supply. After examining the Masdar project in particular, and the location of water leaks throughout the city5.
scholarly context surrounding sustainable urbanism in general, this essay In addition, the city’s landscaping, which
offers a new method for evaluating the environmental and social effects includes plants selected for their low water
of eco-cities. Using the dual concepts of an “experimental” approach that requirements, will be irrigated with treated
favors a diverse collection of initiatives for ecologically conscious urban wastewater, allowing Masdar’s total water
planning and a “human-benefits” perspective that emphasizes inhabitants’ demand to be less than half that of a regular
quality of life, the paper concludes that, despite its disadvantages, Masdar community5.
City represents an important advance in the field of sustainable urban de- Despite the fact that few buildings
sign. have been completed, Masdar’s develop-

L
ocated in the desert near Abu Dhabi numerous scholars criticizing them as so- ers state that the city is already operating
and under construction since 2007, cially exclusive and overly dependent on the largest solar photovoltaic plant in the
Masdar City is planned as one of technological improvements in place of Middle East1,5. Solar panels mounted on
the world’s first completely sustainable broader societal change1,4,5. the rooftops and projecting over the streets
communities, combining renewable en- Following a review of Masdar will provide an additional source of energy,
ergy sources and efficient resource usage City’s master plan, particularly its envi- along with shade for the pedestrians below7.
with traditional Arabian design and spec- ronmental and social implications, and the Furthermore, a planned geothermal energy
tacular architectural elements1. As Nicolai current scholarship on sustainable urban project will pump water into the earth’s
Ouroussoff reports in the New York Times, design, this paper presents a general frame- crust to produce steam for electricity gen-
the entire city, developed jointly by the ar- work of analysis for eco-city development, eration9. Some of the city’s waste will be
chitectural firm Foster & Partners and the as well as a specific assessment of the ben- recycled, while some will be incinerated
Abu Dhabi government, is raised on a 23 efits and disadvantages of the Masdar proj- in an electricity-generating process that re-
foot-high concrete base to maximize its ect. Substantial progress in lessening the leases significantly less carbon dioxide than
exposure to cooling winds and decrease global ecological impact of cities requires a landfill does1,8. With few sources of fresh
the need for air conditioning1. Gasoline- widespread public support, and therefore water nearby, the city’s water supply will
powered vehicles will not be allowed on depends on whether sustainable communi- be provided by a desalination facility that
the narrow streets of the city, about one ties will also offer clear benefits for their uses electricity from a massive hydrogen
square mile in area, but a fleet of computer- residents’ quality of life. Although it may plant. This hydrogen plant is planned as the
driven electric cars will navigate a com- perpetuate certain less desirable social ef- world’s largest, and is expected to cost $2.2
plex of tunnels under the concrete base1. fects, Masdar City could serve as the first billion10. Given the sheer size and diversity
With an expected completion date of 2016, clear public demonstration that environ- of its projects, Masdar serves as a showcase
Masdar will require $22 billion for its con- mental protection can be firmly and tangi- for unconventional planning methods and
struction, furnished by the government and bly integrated with the development of a renewable energy technologies that other
independent investors 2. Simon Joss of the more attractive and livable urban commu- communities might find difficult to imple-
University of Westminster includes Masdar nity. ment without Abu Dhabi’s vast oil wealth.
among a collection of global projects, ap- From any analytical perspective At the same time, the intense concentration
propriately named “eco-cities,” that repre- that might be applied to the city, the most on efficiency and renewable resources en-
sent the culmination of several decades of striking feature of Masdar is undoubtedly capsulates Masdar’s logical appeal: the no-
theoretical research into sustainable devel- the city’s ever-present focus on efficiency tion that sustainable urbanism will become
opment3. Among advocates of sustainable and optimization, epitomized by a mi- a broadly accepted and feasible goal only
urbanism, however, eco-cities built on the nutely detailed master plan that specifies after someone demonstrates that a city with
Masdar model remain controversial, with everything from the type of electricity me- almost zero carbon emissions is possible on
77
Social Sciences

a large scale. the city offers a zero-percent tax rate on

In its architectural features, Mas- income and imports, and permits the es-
dar’s developers show the same dedication tablishment of businesses that are wholly
to innovative urban planning, capitalizing foreign-owned13. The developers argue
on the environmental advantages of tradi- that sustainable building practices will be
tional Arabian architecture but not hesi- adopted on a sufficiently broad scale to
tating to employ expensive technological combat climate change only if environ-
solutions. Centuries before the modern era, mentally conscious urban planning proves
the people of the region designed their set- economically appealing6. Consequently,
tlements to moderate the desert heat, build- the meticulous master-planning approach
ing on high ground to obtain both defensive that Masdar exemplifies might impose a
benefits and stronger winds and construct- Fig. 1 The concrete facade of a building at level of social change that would be unac-
ing tall wind towers to channel air currents the Masdar Institute. ceptable for many people, and at the same
onto the streets1. Such techniques inspired time conform excessively to the conven-
easing the transition by offering almost ex-
Foster & Partners to elevate Masdar above tional economic norms underlying Abu
actly the same degree of comfort and con-
the surrounding area, employ wind towers Dhabi’s carbon-intensive culture. Current-
venience. From its developers’ standpoint,
of their own, and incorporate narrow streets ly, the United Arab Emirates possesses the
Masdar City strengthens its emotional res-
oriented at an angle that maximizes shade world’s highest per capita ecological foot-
onance with the promise of environmental
at the ground level1. At the center of the de- print, a measure of the biological capacity
protection and social revitalization that
velopers’ vision for the city lies the Masdar required to fulfill resource demands and
rise organically from the established local
Institute, a graduate university affiliated absorb waste emissions14.
culture, essentially fusing modernity and
with the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- Indeed, the fundamental ques-
tradition. In its larger structure, depicted
nology that opened in 2010 and focuses tion of the extent to which sustainability
in the artist’s impression shown in Figure
on research and engineering in sustainable requires profound societal and economic
3, the city exudes an aura of geometrical
technology11. To satisfy Middle Eastern change applies not only to Masdar, but also
design, with the buildings arranged in neat
norms for personal privacy, the residential to every other proposal in the literature on
squares, areas of solar panels and process-
buildings of the campus are enclosed in a sustainable development. Many different
ing facilities placed around the outskirts,
wavy facade of concrete latticework, dis- models of sustainable urbanism have been
and parks occupying the remaining spaces.
played in Figure 1, similar to the traditional devised, as Yosef Rafeq Jabareen, an urban
Of course, the city’s architects could have
screens known as mashrabiya1. While the studies lecturer at the Massachusetts Insti-
the freedom to realize this ideal only in a
latticework shields the interior from direct tute of Technology, explains in his article,
sparsely populated desert region with ex-
sunlight, the curves provide an angled view “Sustainable Urban Forms: Their Typolo-
tensive government funding.
that prevents the inhabitants from seeing gies, Models, and Concepts.”15 “Neotra-
In parallel with its promotion of
into the windows of buildings across the ditional development,” also known as the
sustainability, Masdar also furnishes a clas-
street1. In accordance with local custom, the “new urbanism,” seeks a more vibrant
sic example of a development motivated by
campus is also segregated by gender, plac- sense of community and more architec-
the financial potential of new technologies
ing the living quarters for single men on turally appealing development patterns,
used to combat emerging social concerns.
one side and those for women and families concentrating on mixed land use, walkable
Over the next twenty years, the emirate of
on the other1. These aspects of the city’s de- public spaces, diverse housing types, and
Abu Dhabi intends to use the Masdar proj-
sign contrast sharply with the distinctively somewhat higher population densities15. In
ect to encourage private entrepreneurship,
modern style of the main buildings in the another approach, “urban containment” ef-
facilitate scientific research in renewable
Institute, including the Knowledge Center, forts intend to lessen suburban sprawl by
energy, and generate economic growth
which houses study spaces under an iconic employing greenbelts, mass transit, and
in areas other than the oil industry6. As a
spherical roof covered with solar panels various regulatory policies15. In compari-
special economic zone within Abu Dhabi,
and zinc cladding12, as seen in Figure 2. son with urban containment, as Jabareen
Masdar’s master plan expresses notes, other initiatives promoting the idea
a sense of order and authority, founded in of the “compact city” support a far higher
its developers’ confidence that they can level of building density and mixed land
remake the whole structure of urban life use, dramatically minimizing the demand
through technological improvements, care- for automobile travel15. Lastly, proposals
ful design, and active civic management. for the “eco-city” emphasize urban green-
This observation is well illustrated by the ing and “passive solar design,” which in-
“Personal Rapid Transit” system of auto- volves the efficient use of sunlight and
mated electric cars, envisioned as a more absorbed heat in buildings, with a notable
efficient and attractive version of a public focus on the active management of social
transportation network6. By eliminating not and economic life in the community15.
only gasoline usage but also the entire con- In his survey of eco-cities, Joss
cept of the private automobile, the city’s notes that about three-fourths of current
architects are transforming social standards Fig. 2 A view of the Knowledge Center at eco-city projects rely primarily on tech-
and creating a new pedestrian community, the Masdar Institute. nological innovation rather than a more
78
 Social Sciences

holistic platform, including social and cul- graded neighborhoods5. Instead, Myllylä paper in The Human Sustainable City,
tural aspects such as social justice and lo- and Kuvaja recommend a concentration on by Peter Hall of University College Lon-
cal democracy4. On this basis, Mike Hod- effective governance and civil society, as don, contends that ecological degradation
son, a research fellow at the Centre for well as social justice and equity, noting that harms economic development, and that
Sustainable Urban and Regional Futures the pursuit of merely environmental sus- the protection of the environment can pro-
(SURF) at the University of Salford, and tainability as a goal in itself could worsen mote economic growth20. Finally, Michael
Simon Marvin, a professor at Salford and unjust social conditions5. Breheny, a professor of Applied Geography
the co-director of SURF, criticize recent In some ways, the diversity of at the University of Reading, advises cau-
eco-city proposals as socially regressive16. perspectives on urban sustainability seems tion in instituting drastic social changes for
As their article “Urbanism in the Anthro- to arise from fundamental disagreements environmental aims. He produces evidence
pocene: Ecological Urbanism or Premium about sustainable development as a con- from surveys in Britain that the extensive
Ecological Enclaves?” argues, cities must cept, particularly about whether planners social changes entailed by urban compac-
now guarantee their “ecological security” should attempt to ameliorate specific en- tion, a frequently promoted method of re-
by safeguarding resources such as water, vironmental problems, or strive for a more ducing cities’ environmental impact, would
energy, and food supplies amid the uncer- comprehensive transformation of human be strongly resisted by most residents21. As
tainties of climate change and a globalized society. According to Mark Roseland of Breheny argues in another article, propos-
economy4. Hodson and Marvin describe Simon Fraser University, the very notion als to shift communities to the model of
the emerging pattern of “integrated eco- of sustainable development assumes that the compact city, with higher densities and
urbanism,” in which new developments environmental protection can be reconciled greater provision of public transportation,
“build ecological security by internally with economic growth in a capitalist sys- would demand draconian regulatory re-
producing their own food, energy and other tem17. While poverty is commonly viewed gimes but yield, at maximum, about a 30%
critical resources, reusing wastes as re- as a cause of environmental degradation, decrease in automobile energy consump-
sources and reducing reliance on external Roseland argues that both poverty and tion22.
infrastructures.”4 This approach, typified damage to the environment are actually Practical examples of the impli-
by Masdar City, emphasizes technologi- produced by wealth17. To achieve the ob- cations of these different theoretical ap-
cal solutions, especially renewable energy jectives of sustainability, he maintains that proaches to sustainable development can
sources, to overcome resource constraints “we must . . . shift our economic develop- be found by comparing Masdar City to
in independent, self-sufficient enclaves4. ment emphasis from the traditional concern some of the various envisioned, or actually
From their perspective, eco-cities are of- with increasing growth to reducing social constructed, eco-cities around the world.
fering ecological security as a “mobile fi- dependence on economic growth.”17 Like- As the New York Times reported in 2007,
nancial product” that only the wealthy can wise, in his article “Synergy City: Planning for example, the Chinese government, in
afford, while excluding other social groups for a High Density, Super-Symbiotic Soci- partnership with the British engineering
and failing to introduce any truly substan- ety,” John Wood presents the case that the firm Arup, was planning to establish the
tial behavioral or economic changes4. economic success of the developed world Dongtan eco-city on an island in the Yang-
While Hodson and Marvin outline is based on the availability of inexpen- tze River23. In the city, designed to accom-
a socially oriented analysis, Susanna Myl- sive fossil fuels18. A researcher from the modate 500,000 inhabitants, electricity
lylä of the University of Tampere and Kris- department of design at the University of would be supplied by solar panels, wind
tiina Kuvaja of the University of Jyväskylä London, Wood asserts that an ecologically turbines, and the burning of discarded rice
offer a critique of the eco-city movement conscious form of society is directly op- husks, while gasoline-powered cars would
from the perspective of the global “South,” posed to one that promotes consumerism, be prohibited23. Farms and parks would oc-
their term for developing countries5. In convenience, and profit, calling instead for cupy most of the island’s land area, and al-
“Societal Premises for Sustainable Devel- people to adopt more “synergistic,” collab- most all waste generated by the city would
opment in Large Southern Cities,” they orative lifestyles18. be recycled through an automatic sorting
assert that the current concepts of an “eco- Many scholars believe, however, system integrated into the streets23. Never-
city” or an “ecological city” embody es- that modern society and economic prosper- theless, by 2010, when the first phase was
sentially “Northern” values and methods, ity are indeed compatible with vigorous supposed to be finished, the completion of
prioritizing technocratic, managerial, and efforts to protect and preserve the environ- Dongtan was indefinitely postponed and
commercial strategies to combat environ- ment. For instance, in The Human Sus- most construction work was suspended24.
mental problems5. Eco-cities presuppose tainable City, a compilation of scholarly The reasons for the apparent abandonment
certain societal and governmental struc- articles on sustainability, Stefano Zamagni of the project included uncertainty concern-
tures, particularly a democratic political of the University of Bologna discusses an ing whether it would be funded by Arup or
system and an established civil society, interesting statistical finding that could the government, as well as the failure of the
when the formation of these structures it- undermine Roseland’s premise that envi- developers to engage the local community
self presents a central challenge for com- ronmental damage results from wealth. in the planning process25.
munities in the South5. Indeed, as Myllylä Although environmental decay increases Curitiba, a city in Brazil that is
and Kuvaja contend, efforts to implement with the growth in average income when also classified as an eco-city, provides an
sustainable urbanism in the South through the latter remains low, it decreases with illustration of a more successful attempt at
Northern technological methods usually income growth once the average annual environmentally beneficial urban planning,
result in exclusive “ecological islets” sur- income has exceeded a threshold of ap- with an especially notable feature being its
rounded by poor and environmentally de- proximately $8,000 per capita19. Another innovative bus system3,26. As Arthur Lubow
79
Social Sciences

describes in the New York Times Maga- care, and subsidizing energy supplies14. poisoning.”29 Cock also espouses a “Sacred
zine, specially designed buses, operating As the examples of Curitiba and Ecology” emphasizing “the spiritual jour-
on dedicated avenues and arriving at each Dongtan show, however, even with strong ney of self-transcendence and inner re-
stop once every 30 seconds during peak initial support from the government, at- flection activated through encounters with
hours, transport 2.3 million people per day, tempts at ecologically conscious develop- the ‘otherness’ of other species and their
more than two-thirds of the metropolitan ment can falter when they are not grounded habitats.”29 Calls for a transformation of
region’s total population26. In the 1970s, in widespread public acceptance of sus- religious morality and vituperative remarks
Curitiba converted its downtown shopping tainability measures and strong community about the societies in which people live
district into a pedestrian zone, blocked the involvement in the planning process. For will probably be unable to persuade large
entry of polluting industries, and increased example, Lurton Blassingame of the Uni- majorities of citizens in the Western world
the land area devoted to parks and open versity of Washington at Oshkosh observes to modify their ways of life in favor of sus-
spaces dramatically, from 5 square feet for in a review of urban sustainability endeav- tainability.
each person to 540 square feet26. Recently, ors that residents must be willing to alter On the basis of both the theoreti-
nevertheless, the city’s per capita car own- their ways of life, not only in terms of en- cal and practical aspects of urban sustain-
ership has risen to the highest in Brazil, and vironmental impacts but also with respect ability, one can develop a new framework
its recycling rates have been decreasing, to socioeconomic changes27. In Psychology for assessing efforts to create more sustain-
with some residents attributing these trends of Sustainable Development, a collection able communities. This proposal recog-
to low public participation in planning de- of papers on environmental psychology, nizes that climate change and ecological
cisions and limited community willingness Elisabeth Kals and Jürgen Maes of the degradation occur on a global scale, and
to adopt sustainable behaviors26. University of Trier in Germany identify that efforts to protect and restore the en-
Not coincidentally, Curitiba’s several factors contributing to engagement vironment require widespread public sup-
environmentally progressive master plan in sustainable behaviors. Some of the most port across nations and social groups. Any
was formulated when a military dictator- important elements include “ecological solution must emphasize community par-
ship ruled the country26, in a remarkable awareness” about environmental problems, ticipation in urban planning and, most im-
parallel with the authoritarian Chinese the belief that one’s actions exert a substan- portantly, combine environmental benefits
government’s support for Dongtan, and tial influence on the extent of ecological with demonstrable improvements for resi-
Masdar’s dependence on the hereditary damage, and “emotional affinity” toward dents’ quality of life. All these criteria are
emirate of Abu Dhabi. Comprehensively nature28. Hence, the question of how people satisfied by an “experimental” method that
master-planned eco-city projects neces- can be induced to accept sustainable prac- embraces many divergent, and even philo-
sitate such large expenditures and strict tices becomes partially a question of how sophically opposed, approaches to the task
regulations that only non-democratic gov- their awareness of the natural world and of reducing the worldwide environmental
ernments might be capable of developing their emotional connection to it can be re- impact of cities. Indeed, as Solon L. Barra-
eco-cities on a large scale. For instance, as inforced. clough of the United Nations Research In-
Danyel Reiche of the American University Nonetheless, some scholars in stitute for Social Development aptly states,
of Beirut notes in “Renewable Energy Poli- sustainability studies are unfortunately in- “A unified approach to promoting sustain-
cies in the Gulf Countries: A Case Study clined to discuss environmental issues in able development in diverse contexts is a
of the Carbon-Neutral ‘Masdar City’ in ways that seem unlikely to promote greater utopian illusion.”30 With radical differences
Abu Dhabi,” political power in the United public understanding of ecological con- in economic, social, and political condi-
Arab Emirates remains mostly with the cerns and support for sustainability initia- tions between countries and even between
seven emirs7. At the federal level, foreign tives. Wood, for instance, advocates the use neighborhoods in the same city, the “exper-
affairs and defense are coordinated by the of urban design in a “frankly manipulative” imental” method acknowledges that each
emirs, and political parties are banned; manner that involves “a process of ‘seed- community must implement techniques
oil and natural gas reserves are controlled ing’ consensual change”18. Later he writes, and policies particularly designed for its
by the individual emirates, accounting for “Not surprisingly, consumer-centred, rep- own local circumstances.
the striking wealth of Abu Dhabi, where resentative democracy has conspicuously Ultimately, the concerted and in-
almost all the country’s energy resources failed to wean us from a way of life that ventive application of these ideas in urban
are located7. Governmental decisions are threatens us with extinction.”18 Besides communities throughout the world should
strongly influenced by personal access to providing no scientific justification for his result in the development of what might be
the ruling family: Reiche reports that the claim that the very survival of the human called “human-benefits” cities that would
idea for building Masdar was developed species is imperiled, Wood’s statement secure broad advantages for both the health
by Lebanese engineers in contact with may hold limited motivational force; Kals of the natural environment and the stan-
the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, who con- and Maes explain that “ecological fear” of dard of living for all inhabitants. These
veyed it to the emir7. In another article, he detrimental effects from the environment cities would embody the central principle
writes that the Gulf monarchies, such as the on one’s well-being has only a minor im- that ecologically sustainable communi-
United Arab Emirates, are impeded in ef- pact on behavior28. Another author, Peter ties should simply be authentic and attrac-
forts to advance sustainability by their reli- H. Cock of Monash University, opens his tive cities in general, with lower pollution,
ance on oil revenues. Using income from paper in Psychology of Sustainable Devel- improved health, greater social solidarity,
oil exports, these regimes gain popular ac- opment with a similarly startling sentence: and a strong appreciation for the beauty
quiescence to the lack of political rights by “Hidden behind the blindness of our sui- and complexity of nature. In contrast to
imposing low taxes, offering free medical cidal cultures is an insidious biophysical the many sustainability proposals, such
80
 Social Sciences

opments, ecological security should be

extended to the less privileged by focus-
ing on retrofitting and behavioral change
in existing cities4. Nevertheless, the “ex-
perimental” method does not demand that
myriad ecological and social objectives
all be advanced by a single initiative: as
Blassingame notes in his article, sustain-
able development is a process, not a final
product27. Even if it is lacking in certain
respects, Masdar City represents profound
progress in the central task of demonstrat-
ing the feasibility of a “human-benefits”
city that purposefully connects environ-
mental protection, economic opportunity,
and an improved quality of life in a unified
and potent vision. Specially designed, self-
contained eco-cities can be effectively used
Fig. 3 An artist’s impression of the master plan for Masdar City.
to stimulate sustainable development in ex-
isting neighborhoods, but their architects
as those of Wood or Myllylä and Kuvaja, ecologically fragile rainforests. Using lo- should expect them to be incorporated into
that also seek improvements in aspects of cally sourced building materials and sup- the larger community as environmentally
urban life besides the environment, the porting research into sustainable technolo- conscious design is more broadly adopted
“human-benefits” perspective does not fix gies would yield not only more sustainable in the future.
any particular objectives other than eco- patterns of construction, but also benefits Acknowledgement
logical protection. Some cities might pur- for the local economy. Most importantly, This paper was written for a course taught
sue social justice, some might strive for this proposal would offer more opportuni- by Dr. Kimberly Moekle. Her support and
economic revitalization, and others might ties for innovation, greater public partici- advice are gratefully acknowledged.
concentrate on cultural and educational op- pation in civic decisions, and even more
portunities: the “experimental” method al- personal freedom. As Hall argues, “If there
lows each city to follow the priorities of its is an argument for higher densities and par-
own residents. With this proposal, develop- ticular urban forms, it is far more that these
ers and municipal officials would eschew give people more choice, not less: freedom References
externally designed master plans in favor to take good public transport rather than be 1. Ouroussoff N. “In Arabian Desert, a Sustain-
of broadly supported initiatives arising or- car-dependent, freedom for their children able City Rises.” New York Times. 25 Sept.
ganically from recognized local concerns. to walk or bike to school rather than being 2010.
2. Bullis K. “A Zero-Emissions City in the Des-
“Human-benefits” cities would ferried by car.”20 This approach solves the ert.” Technology Review 2009; 56-63.
focus on incentives for adopting sustain- problem of ecological awareness and mo- 3. Joss S. “Eco-Cities—A Global Survey 2009.”
able behaviors rather than penalties for vi- tivation, not by erecting an entirely new WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environ-
olating environmental regulations, seeking system of environmentally conscious val- ment 2010; 129: 239-50.
4. Hodson M. and Marvin S. “Urbanism in the
to maintain the interest and engagement of ues and ethics, but by drawing on the in- Anthropocene: Ecological Urbanism or Premium
businesses and residents. This recommen- terest that humans have perennially placed Ecological Enclaves?” City 2010; 14: 298-313.
dation is inspired by the findings of Kar- in their own health, their communities, and 5. Myllylä S and Kuvaja K. “Societal Premises
en Umemoto and Krisnawati Suryanata, improved living conditions for their fami- for Sustainable Development in Large Southern
Cities.” Global Environmental Change Part A
professors at the University of Hawaii at lies. 2005; 15: 224-37.
Manoa. They discuss the use of “informal Applying this analysis to Masdar 6. “What is Masdar City?” 2011. Masdar City.
social contracts” to develop trust and reci- City specifically, one can identify clear dis- <http://www.masdarcity.ae/en/27/what-is-mas-
procity between a mariculture company advantages for the project, especially since dar-city>.
7. Reiche D. “Renewable Energy Policies in the
and local inhabitants and to resolve con- the planning process has been controlled Gulf Countries: A Case Study of the Carbon-
flicts over environmental impacts without by the government for its own purposes, Neutral ‘Masdar City’ in Abu Dhabi.” Energy
expensive litigation31. In the same manner, rather than responding to the concerns and Policy 2010; 38: 378-82.
instead of an excessive reliance on legal desires of the local community. Indeed, the 8. Fortson D. “Green City Rises from Desert—
Abu Dhabi Is Building a $22 Billion Zero-Carbon
constraints, cities can dissolve contention city is isolated from any other community Showcase City for 50,000 Residents. Danny
by implementing a problem-solving meth- by the surrounding deserts, and the high Fortson Went to See Its Beginnings.” Sunday
odology that attempts to achieve advantag- concrete base would prevent Masdar from Times [London] 1 Feb. 2009, 2nd ed.
es for all parties involved. Furthermore, the being naturally integrated with any nearby 9. Gavin J. “Taking the Lead on Clean Energy.”
MEED: Middle East Economic Digest 2009;
“human-benefits” approach would encour- neighborhoods that might exist in the fu- 40-41.
age the construction of new communities ture, raising the issue of social exclusion. 10. James E. “Hidden Costs of Alternative
only in environments naturally suitable for As Hodson and Marvin suggest, moreover, Energy.” MEED: Middle East Economic Digest
human life, not in inhospitable deserts or while eco-cities are generally new devel- 2008; 30-31.
11. “Official Opening of the Masdar Institute

81
Social Sciences

Campus, First Solar Powered Building at port Energy Consumption.” Transactions of

Masdar City.” 23 Nov. 2010. Foster & Partners. the Institute of British Geographers 1995; 20:
<http://www.fosterpluspartners.com/ News/428/ 81-101.
Default.aspx>. 23. Brass K. “Breaking Ground on Eco-Cities
12. “Knowledge Center.” 2010. Masdar Inst. of near Shanghai.” New York Times. 4 July 2007.
Science and Technology. <http://www.masdar. 24. Sanford L. “A Tale of Two Eco-Cities.” Mod-
ac.ae/campus/KnowledgeCenter.php>. ern Power Systems 2010; 20-22.
13. “Special Economic Zone.” 2011. Masdar 25. Brenhouse H. “Plans Shrivel for Chinese
City. <http://www.masdarcity.ae/en/38/ special- Eco-City.” International Herald Tribune. 24 June
economic-zone>. 2010.
14. Reiche D. “Energy Policies of Gulf Coop- 26. Lubow A. “The Road to Curitiba.” New York
eration Council (GCC) Countries—Possibilities Times Magazine 2007.
and Limitations of Ecological Modernization in 27. Blassingame, Lurton. “Sustainable Cities:
Rentier States.” Energy Policy 2010; 38: 2395- Oxymoron, Utopia, or Inevitability?” Social Sci-
403. ence Journal 1998; 35: 1-13.
15. Jabareen YR. “Sustainable Urban Forms: 28. Kals E and Maes J. “Sustainable Develop-
Their Typologies, Models, and Concepts.” Jour- ment and Emotions.” In: Schmuck P, Schultz W
nal of Planning Education and Research 2006; eds. Psychology of Sustainable Development.
26: 38-52. Boston: Kluwer, 2002. 97-122.
16. SURF: The Centre for Sustainable Urban 29. Cock PH. “Partnerships for Sustainability:
and Regional Futures. 2011. U of Salford. Psychology for Ecology.” In: Schmuck P, Schultz
17. Roseland M. “Sustainable Community De- W eds. Psychology of Sustainable Develop-
velopment: Integrating Environmental, Econom- ment. Boston: Kluwer, 2002: 175-95.
ic, and Social Objectives.” Progress in Planning 30. Barraclough SL. Toward Integrated and Sus-
2000; 54: 73-132. tainable Development? UNRISD Overarching
18. Wood J. “Synergy City: Planning for a High Concerns 1. Geneva: United Nations Research
Density, Super-Symbiotic Society.” Landscape & Inst. for Social Development, 2001.
Urban Planning 2007; 83: 77-83. 31. Umemoto K and Suryanata K. “Technol-
19. Zamagni S. “Sustainable Development, the ogy, Culture, and Environmental Uncertainty:
Struggle against Poverty and New Structures of Considering Social Contracts in Adaptive Man-
Governance in the Era of Globalization.” In: Lu- agement.” Journal of Planning Education and
igi Fusco Girard et al eds. The Human Sustain- Research 2006; 25: 264-74.
able City. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003: 121-39.
20. Hall P. “The Sustainable City in an Age of Figure References
Globalization.” In: Luigi Fusco Girard, et al eds. 1. “What Is Masdar City?” 8 June 2011 <http://
The Human Sustainable City. Aldershot: Ash- www.masdarcity.ae/en/27/what-is-masdar-city>.
gate, 2003. 55-69. 2. “Knowledge Center,” Masdar Institute of Sci-
21. Breheny M. “Urban Compaction: Feasible ence and Technology, 8 June 2011 <http://www.
and Acceptable?” Cities 1997; 14: 209-17. masdar.ac.ae/campus/ KnowledgeCenter.php>.
22. Breheny M. “The Compact City and Trans- 3. “What’s Next?” 8 June 2011 <http://www.
masdarcity.ae/en/36/whats-next>.

Arthur Lau is a sophomore from Dallas majoring in Philosophy, Classics, and

Mathematics. His principal interests are presently concentrated around the phi-
losophy of action, the philosophy of government, and the history of philosophy,
with an aspiration to conduct research on connections between property theory
and concepts of agency. Arthur is also a member of Aisthesis, the newly founded
Stanford undergraduate classics journal. He plans to obtain a dual J.D. and Ph.D.
in philosophy.

82