Can Abu Dhabi’s bright green experiment ever grow up to be a true city?
Does this look like a city to you?Illustration: Foster + PartnersThe “zero-carbon” city of Masdar, which is being built from scratch in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, is ready for its first residents. This weekend, The New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff took a look at the first phase of this utopian project. What he saw was a “sustainable city” that might, in fact, be sustainable. The question is whether it is actually a city. Masdar seems at first glance like a dream come true for anyone who cares about the future of cities as proving grounds for innovative environmental technology. It will be naturally cooled using “wind towers” that echo an ancient design. Ninety percent of its electricity will be solar-generated. Its streets will be free of cars — because underneath this paradise will be a network of electric, driverless vehicles. Ouroussoff is duly impressed by all that bright green bling (which is paid for, of course, by the UAE’s oil money). But he’s
