The Social Imperative in Sustainable Urban Development: The Case of Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates

Kasim Randeree, Nadeem Ahmed

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    31 Citations (Scopus)
    212931 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Purpose
    The purpose of this paper is to examine social sustainability effectiveness of eco-cities through the case of Masdar City’s strategy for urban sustainability in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
    Design/methodology/approach
    Using a case study approach, the paper is an exploratory, qualitative analysis, which investigates the social, environmental and economic performance of Masdar City, a purported carbon-neutral, zero-waste urban development.
    Findings
    Though Masdar City substantively contributes to innovation in sustainable urban development within environmental and economic contexts and has been effective in capital circulation in green technology markets, the impetus as a commercially driven enterprise is most evident. Successful sustainable urban development requires greater consideration for the social imperative.
    Practical implications
    Eco-city mega-projects such as Masdar City have the potential to fuse achievements in innovation, technology and economic enterprise with the social imperative of functional urban habitats.
    Originality/value
    Eco-cities are of increasing interest given the growing need for sustainable, energy-efficient living. This paper contributes through a novel case study, exploring how the concept of the eco-city has been developed and understood in the Masdar City context and discusses successes and deficits in its strategic implementation.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)138-149
    Number of pages12
    JournalSmart and Sustainable Built Environment
    Volume8
    Issue number2
    Early online date21 Jul 2018
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 7 May 2019

    Bibliographical note

    Special Issue Paper: Sustainable planning, urban design & architecture in the Middle East & North Africa region

    This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial & non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors.

    Keywords

    • Abu Dhabi
    • Eco-city
    • Masdar City
    • Sustainability
    • United Arab Emirates
    • Urban development

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Human Factors and Ergonomics
    • Civil and Structural Engineering
    • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
    • Building and Construction
    • Urban Studies
    • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

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