Sustainability
Masdar City combines passive and intelligent design to demonstrate how an urban environment can accommodate denser populations more efficiently. The water and energy demand of the city’s buildings is 40 per cent lower than that of the average building in Abu Dhabi, and each building must meet a minimum 3-Pearl rating according to the Estidama Pearl Building Rating System. Administered by the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT), a 3-Pearl Estidama rating is comparable to the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold international green building certification.
The City is a hub connecting education with research & development and business with investment. It serves as a test bed for renewable energy and technology companies in the UAE and around the world.
Master Plan
Masdar City aims to be a commercially viable city offering the highest quality of life within the lowest environmental footprint. The city is a mixed-use, sustainable community, including employment-generating land uses, residential areas, parks, plazas and neighbourhood amenities.Masdar City is a free zone and an investment zone, enabling foreign ownership of property and companies, and attracting clean tech companies of all sizes and types to test, commercialise and deploy clean energy technologies.
The city’s walkable environment offers multiple clean tech transit options including the Personal Rapid Transit, an internal electronic driverless mode of movement, the NAVYA Autonom Shuttle, an autonomous vehicle that transports up to 12 people at one time, and Circ e-scooters, among others. Externally, two major Abu Dhabi networks, the Metro and the Light Rail Transit (LRT) are planned to pass through Masdar City.
Masdar City is strongly focused on sustainable development, through the reduction of demand for energy and water, and recycling and reuse of waste material particularly during the construction activities.
Masdar City has made ambitious commitments under the Estidama building rating system, targeting a minimum rating of 3-Pearls for all buildings. The city is also targeting a minimum rating of 4-Pearls for its public areas, including parks, plazas and streets, in line with the Estidama Pearl Community Rating System.
Ongoing growth will eventually see 50,000 people living at Masdar City, whilst 40,000 jobs and student placements will be offered.
Masdar City’s master plan is fundamental to the city’s sustainability goals. To view Masdar City’s master plan, please click here.
Sustainable Buildings & Projects
Each building in Masdar City is constructed with low-carbon cement, utilises 90 per cent recycled aluminium, and is designed to reduce energy and water consumption by at least 40 per cent compared with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standards. These criteria are set in accordance with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and the UAE’s Estidama Pearl Rating System, which is administered by Abu Dhabi’s DMT. Estidama means ‘sustainability’ in Arabic.