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Eco-Cites of the Future – Today
By Green Guest | June 23, 2009
Imagine for a second a city with all zero-emission vehicles, and all the infrastructure installations powered with renewable energy sources. Soon this will no more be a daydream. Futuristic technology has put a hint of these possibilities on the near horizon and many industrialized countries have initiated these kind of mega projects – creating a city with zero carbon emissions, emphasizing the efficient use of water and featuring renewable energy as the main power sources to these cities. This will not only help in creating a sustainable economy, but it also will help in finding an alternative and reliable solution to the fossil fuel addiction we have now, thus making this world a cleaner and safer place to live for all of us.
Developed countries in Europe, North America and Asia have already set in motion the creation of buildings and projects featuring environmentally friendly prototypes. These soon to be true eco-future cities will entirely be run on renewable forms of energy while emphasizing waste reduction.
The city of Masdar, a project city in The United Arab Emirates, the construction of which was started in 2006, is a city designed for zero emission of carbon products. The internal transportation will be facilitated by employing electric vehicles guided on magnetic tracks. These vehicles will be small cab-sized and throughout the city in 83 stations they will be employed. To support external communication, provisions would be made for two eco-friendly train systems which would allow the admission into and from the walled city. Parts of it will be opened for occupation, and the population is expected to reach 55,000 by 2013.
Under the program ‘Mayor’s Energy Strategy’, the city of London is emphasizing a reduction of carbon emissions in each community to a zero level. Under this strategy, they have begun to build large scale green buildings. These buildings are planned to accommodate approximately 200 units each. Apart from just using energy efficient bulbs, it aims for combined utilization for heat and power which shall come from the use of biomass as the fuel. It should have the arrangement of roof- mounted solar panels and wind turbines as well. The construction of a similar community at Gallions Park is expected to kick off in late 2009.
China is planning on building at Dongtan Island an eco-city featuring zero-emission vehicles and having the main power source for the city come via wind power. Most importantly, the city will feature procedures to help reduce the consumption of water by at least by 43% when compared to the average consumption in such an urban center. Through innovations, like rain water harvesting, the buildings in Dongtan Island will have roof tops which will trap rainwater and sewage recycling units which will be used for water for irrigation of farm lands nearby. It is expected that Dongtan Island will come to exemplify the concepts of water conservation.
Reviewing estimates, it is expected that Dongtan Island will see a population of 5,000 by 2010 and a much larger figure of 500,000 by 2050.
If successful, these soon to be built or already underway eco-friendly cities will certainly be a benchmark in combating the current energy and pollution crises. These green techniques set a framework and put into context how we will come to be dealing with the energy crisis while creating an environmentally friendly community. These initiatives will also help to solve the problem of global warming. These projects foreshadow and help us to perceive the realities of future green cities today.
Category: Green Living, Green News
Tags: carbon, conservation, dongtan island, electric vehicle, environmentally friendly, europe, gallions park, green, london, north america No Comments »