Category Archives: Urban Development

The Power of Cities to Shape a Greener Future

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The current rate of urbanization is one of the global megatrends, which will manifest itself in many of the challenges faced in the upcoming decades. UN reports estimate that nearly 70% of the world’s population will be urban by 2050. The way in which cities deal with this rapid rate of urbanization will determine whether international objectives such as Sustainable Development Goal 11, aimed at making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, will be achieved. Urbanization has further impacts on many more of the goals defined in the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. Achieving these goals … Continue reading →

Breathing Life into Sand

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Dake Rechsand’s innovative and transformative solutions are proactively contributing to the creation of a more sustainable and abundant world. The company’s breakthrough breathable sand technology utilizes low-value desert aeolian sand, to create a constantly evolving portfolio of high value products. The solutions offered by Dake Rechsand include applications in water purification, desert farming, water harvesting, construction, sand casting, sand oil and more. The company is transforming food and water security in water stressed regions and is currently engaged in an ambitious plan to enable farming and greenery for at least 10,000 acres across UAE or for half a million trees … Continue reading →

District Cooling in the Middle East: Potential and Challenges

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District cooling produces chilled water in a centralized location for distribution to buildings like offices and factories through a network of insulated underground pipes. The chilled water travels to different buildings, where the water circulates through refrigeration coils or uses absorption technology to enter the air-conditioning system. During winter, the source for the cooling can often be seawater, so it is a cheaper resource than using electricity to run compressors for cooling. What is District Cooling District cooling provides effective control over internal temperature of a building, requires less maintenance than a standalone air-conditioning system, consumes lesser space and reduces … Continue reading →

عِقْد العمل: المدن وأنسنة أهداف التنمية المستدامة

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بقي أمامنا 10 سنوات على إنجاز ما التزمنا به ضمن الأجندة العالمية للتنمية المستدامة 2030. إلا أن وتيرة التقدم في تحقيق أهداف التنمية المستدامة أبطأ من المطلوب. في كانون الثاني/يناير 2020، وفي محاولة لتسريع التقدم وتكثيف الجهود، أطلق الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة أنطونيو غوتيريش “عِقْد العمل والإنجاز من أجل التنمية المستدامة”. ويستند العِقْد إلى ثلاثة مستويات من العمل: العمل العالمي، والعمل المحلي، والعمل الشعبي. وعقب أسابيع من الإعلان، ضرب وباء “كوفيد-19” الكرة الأرضية وفاقم التحديات أمام جهود تحقيق أهداف التنمية المستدامة حول العالم. وفي حين أن رفاه الإنسان يقع في صميم التنمية المستدامة، إلا أن التوقعات تشير إلى ارتفاع معدل … Continue reading →

Energy Efficiency Perspectives for UAE

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With Abu Dhabi alone on track to generate more than 10,000 megawatts of electricity for the first time, discussion about improving energy efficiency in the United Arab Emirates is taking on a more critical tone. Daytime energy use in the hot summer months is still experiencing rampant year-on-year growth, with peak demand this year growing by 12 per cent. Lying at the heart of these consumption levels is the need for air conditioning, which accounts for about half of total electricity demand. Business and Government Action At the commercial level, considerable steps are being taken to reduce the Emirate’s carbon … Continue reading →

The Decade of Action: Cities Humanizing SDGs

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We are 10 years away from delivering the 2030 sustainable development Agenda. Yet, the pace of progress on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is slower than sought. In January 2020 and in an attempt to expedite progress, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres inaugurated the ‘Decade of Action’. The Decade is built on three levels of action: global action, local action, and people action. Weeks after, the COVID-19 Pandemic hit the globe and magnified pressure on achieving all SDGs across borders. While human well-being lies at the heart of the sustainable development Agenda, the global extreme poverty rate is projected … Continue reading →

Future of Urban Transportation in Saudi Arabia

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Transportation sector has played a prominent role in the socio-economic development of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. However, there are a wide range of current and future issues which should be tackled to ensure sustainable development in the country. More than 75% of the total population of Saudi Arabia lives in urban areas. Given the worldwide trends and statistics on urban population growth, many have regarded the 21st century as the urban century, understanding the prominence and importance urban areas have played and will continue to play in the future. Therefore, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia must focus its attention in … Continue reading →

How Could Urban Planners Contribute to Social Cohesion in Cities?

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While most of the implemented programmes that promote social cohesion are based on people’s ideology, perceptions, and social behaviours, the impact of the physical built environment, that hosts people’s lives and their social interactions, remains less tackled. In the context of urban planning, to what extent do our cities affect the advancement of social cohesion of communities? And could elusive and complex social concepts – like social cohesion – be tackled in a practical spatial planning approach that yields concrete actions? The fostering of social cohesion gained intensive focus in the literature of urban planning and sustainable development studies, especially … Continue reading →

How Environmental Engineering Has Improved Environmental Condition

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It is common knowledge that the environment is not at its best now nor has it ever been for the past decades. Unfortunately, people have been deliberately negligent of their environmental responsibilities. With many abusive and irresponsible acts against the environment, resources are seriously depleted. Without conscious awareness about the adverse effects of environmental abuse, the planet may be uninhabitable in the years to come. As experts see the need for reform and to counteract the abuses done by many, various corrective actions are put in place. Tactical strategies and methodologies are created to correct what needs to be corrected … Continue reading →

Energy-efficient Building Envelopes in Oman – A Study

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In Oman, extreme hot weather conditions and thermally inefficient building envelopes have led to high cooling loads in residential units. Residential buildings serve a smaller number of occupants per unit, when compared to other sectors in the building industry. Also, mechanical, electrical and other energy-intensive equipment are relatively lesser in quantity and complexity. Yet, as per statistics, the residential sector is the largest consumer of electricity in the industry. In Oman, the residential sector consumes most of the electricity produced, with over 70 % of the load contributed by cooling using air conditioners (Zurigat et al., 2003). A major reason … Continue reading →

All About Building a Net Zero Home

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It doesn’t matter where in the world you live, the time has come to realize the importance of building homes that use zero energy. You don’t even have to believe in catastrophic global warming to realize the financial, comfort, and environmental benefits of net-zero homes. But first, you need to have an understanding of net-zero and zero-carbon buildings and their implications for us all, as well as the elements and features that need to be incorporated into a net-zero home. Net-Zero Homes and Energy Efficiency You could say that a net-zero or zero-energy home represents the best in energy efficiency. … Continue reading →

Green Building Sector in the Middle East: Sustainability Perspectives

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Green buildings are no longer a marginal concept but are becoming the standard for sustainable building construction and modernization in the Middle East. Forward thinking organizations can realize the benefits of being environmentally aware of the impact of each and every action undertaken in the present world of development. It is no longer about the financial bottom line and whether we are eco-friendly, it is a fundamental component of sustainability. Institutes and organizations in the Middle East can embrace green building initiatives as a mandate, while educational institutes can embrace it as a good citizen initiative developing the minds of … Continue reading →