Who said that luxury and sustainability cannot go hand in hand? And that even the former cannot positively influence the latter? Sure, maybe not everywhere.
But if there is one place in the world where this is possible, then it is certainly Dubai. The city that, not surprisingly, aims to become a true model of a Smart City.
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Smart City Dubai: many projects on the plate
Here, after all, everything changes and transforms at an incredible speed. But always with its eyes on the future. Since 2012, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum – vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai – has launched the Green Growth Strategy program. The goal? To bring to life “a green economy for sustainable development.”
Many projects are already on the plate, including the highly ambitious Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to make Dubai – within the next 30 years – a global center of reference for clean energy and sustainable economy.
Not to mention that Dubai was also the venue for Expo 2021, which had the theme “Connecting minds, creating the future.” A thread as central as ever these days, making sustainability its standard bearer.
From Smart Palms via Green Planet
Dubai is not just about technology and luxury. For many it is also synonymous with the beach and, of course, palm trees. But here there are not only the traditional ones towering in the blue sky of the pearl of the UAE: the city of the future certainly could not lack smart ones.
What are we talking about? Of the Smart Palms: completely self-sufficient photovoltaic structures that, thanks to their solar panels, are able to absorb and store energy from the sun during the day and convert it back into clean energy by offering charging points for phones and tablets. As well as ultra-high-speed Wi-Fi.
Not enough. Did you ever think that there could be a rainforest in the desert? Well yes, in the city of the future there is no shortage of that either. So you only need to cross the threshold of Green Planet – the world’s most special bio-dome – to find yourself face to face with sloths, snakes, spiders and countless species of tropical birds and plants.
This is not a zoo – the city of sustainability would not allow it – rather an educational hub that aims to raise awareness, especially among children, of respect for nature. Thus emphasizing the immense value of one of the world’s oldest living ecosystems.
The world’s largest solar park
In the land of oil would you imagine encountering a park that produces renewable energy? The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is just that.
It is one of the largest solar installations in the world. Work began in 2013, and at the moment the facility has an area of about 300,000 square meters, generating 28 million kWh annually. Yet in Dubai, of course, this is not enough.
The goal between now and the next 30 years is ambitious, to say the least: the solar park aims to provide 75 percent of total clean energy production by 2050. A goal, this one, which not even to mention is part of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy program, which in turn aims to make the city a global hub for the green economy.
Read also: Dubai as a center of innovation: from blockchain to AI, a city projected into the future
