masdar

so, apparently they are attempting to build the world's first "zero carbon" city in the desert outside of Abu Dhabi...it is being called Masdar...in some ways it is very inspiring as so much of the architecture and urban planning is extremely thought out in terms of using the environment to the maximum and most earth friendly effect (buildings are raised and alleys/streets are narrow in order to capture the desert breezes that create a natural cooling system, their study of ancient Arab settlements in order to learn from them ways in which to deal with the climate, 90% solar power, and absolutely no combustion-engine vehicles are allowed-instead an underground network of driverless electric cars)....in other ways the plans seems like a combination of a sci-fi city taken Star Wars with a failed utopia out of a Aldous Huxley novel...
check out the nytimes article
all pictures from nytimes.com