Eco Friendly Cities

by Darren

In Kuwait, Dr. Khaleda Al-Kedr called for the building of completely eco-friendly cities. According to Dr Al-Kedr, Kuwait will be reaching the peak of its’ population by the year 2030, so something must be done about the planning right now.

The construction of eco-friendly cities in Kuwait would ensure the safety and good health of the citizens and expatriates, said a candidate for the Municipal Council by-elections on Saturday. Dr. Khaleda Al-Kedr, candidate for Fourth Constituency, told KUNA that the concept of eco-friendly cities was to allow citizens to live in locations free of any kind of pollutants. She went on to say that the State should consider building new cities due to the population increase in Kuwait which would reach its zenith in 2030, adding that the expected numbers by that date would reach five million people.

So far very few cities have adopted eco friendly planning. The most commonly cited reason is the high cost of planning and construction.

Whether officials will take her proposal seriously is unknown at this time.

A similar project is already under construction in Abu Dhabi.

Work has begun on Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, the world’s first eco-friendly metropolis. The city is expected to house 50,000 inhabitants and 1,500 businesses after its completion in 2016 and is expected to cost about £11.3bn ($22bn).

Masdar will only need a quarter of the energy used by other cities its size. The city will use solar energy for its energy needs, current energy saving architecture plans and emission–free public transport in the form of magnetic tracks and pods.

Maybe we’ll see a rash of such projects worldwide. One could hope.