Sustainable Development and Planning VII 985

Optimising sustainability at an urban level:

a case study of Dubai Sustainable City
N. El-Bana, S. E. Selim & H. Taleb
British University in Dubai, UAE

Abstract
With the growing interest in sustainability and sustainable design both regionally
and globally, there emerged the challenge of designing and constructing a
sustainable community in the desert, which invited some interesting ideas. One
of these was Dubai Sustainable City, with climate and environment influencing
its design. The UAE and Dubai in particular are trying to set a reference
benchmark when it comes to sustainable design in such harsh climates. The aim
of this study is to assess a sample case study of a new sustainable urban
settlement from this region (Dubai Sustainable City) through a comparative
analytical study of the chosen project (Dubai Sustainable City), a
comparative study (assessment: LEED) which is held between the existing
design and the same – but yet enhanced – design after applying the research
recommendations. Some of the points that were raised – besides the
sustainability of the design itself – through a practical approach were health,
social life and the liveability of the current project design. Whilst this paper
mainly focuses on the UAE’s sustainable developments, it could be argued that
many of the research outcomes are of relevance to other countries and regions,
especially those with the same social and harsh environmental conditions as the
UAE.
Keywords: sustainability, design strategies, land use, adjustments capacity,
transportation, sustainable landscape, CityCAD, master planning, sustainable
communities, urban design.

1 Introduction
Architecture is an intensive experience of complexity, elements, strength, joy,
concepts, expressions, structures and mechanical designs, always complex and

WIT Transactions on Ecology and The Environment, Vol 193, © 2015 WIT Press
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986 Sustainable Development and Planning VII

contradicting and working on a macro scale of urban design adds to the

difficulties [1].
Sustainability is today’s major global concern and comes from a global
instinct for survival. First, and of huge importance, are the three-Rs’ strategies:
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Urban communities contribute in terms of resource
consumption in the sense that they are a group of individual buildings where
people live and interact in – and with – waste production. This is where there is a
necessity that architecture and urban design must offer solutions for human
beings to sustain living. This study takes the realistic approach of case study
analysis of Dubai Sustainable City and analysis of existing site data. It is divided
into three stages: understanding (analysis of existing conditions); exploring
(documenting the charrette and filling materials) and deciding (preparation and
presentation of the report). The feasibility of future guidelines for greater
sustainability will take the outcomes to the next level of retrofitting and enhance
the current project’s urban sustainability.

2 Literature review
The current environmental crisis, declining resources, economic uncertainty,
increased population and global urbanization is propelling the world towards
sustainability as a necessity. The idea of sustaining a way of life or economic and
social wellbeing is as old as humanity. What is new in the idea is scientific
knowledge that our planet’s humanly habitable space is shrinking and that stable
ecosystems and biodiversity are under threat from both global climate change
and human activity. Human perception does not yet seem to have recognized the
enormity of these problems as the parts affect the whole in a co-evolutionary
synergy. Concentrated urban populations draw heavily on water, energy and
other resources, while producing equally heavy amounts of waste. This should be
considered in relation to larger concepts of sustainability, including equitability
and ecological concerns [2].
Other definitions point to seeing the world as a system that connects space,
place, and time within a single interconnected planet. Therefore, big changes are
needed immediately, but still remain more ideals than realities [3].
Other elements of architectural and urban environments – such as public
spectacle – are discussed in Venturi’s second influential book Learning from Las
Vegas [4] and may have challenged public acceptance of sustainability, but under
very different circumstances. Today, despite the continued popularity of
Disneyland, Dubai land and Las Vegas, the city of spectacle must consider how
to maintain urban attractions while reducing costs and consumption of water and
energy and production of waste [2]. Urban spaces and individual buildings
contribute enormously to resource consumption and waste production.

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3 Methodology
3.1 Design methodology and approach

This paper combines a literature review, site visit and analysis. Empirical data
was collected through interviews with key personnel and data from developers.
Formal, structural and technical design elements were examined, compared and
contrasted in a comparative analytical study. The intention was to establish a
foundation for the restructuring of the current Dubai Sustainable City.
Various properties were summed up using CityCAD, discussed and
concluded in order to determine the basis of a sustainable community. These
included land use, roads and infrastructure, building materials, landscape and
vegetation, accessibility, a car free environment, renewable energy
implementation and social sustainability.

4 Case study
4.1 Location

Dubai Sustainable City is located in a remarkable location; it is 15 minutes from

downtown Dubai, 20 minutes from Dubai International Airport, and10
minutes from Al-Makttoum airport and the World Expo 2020 Location
(Diamond Developers, 2014).

4.2 Existing design

Dubai Sustainable City’s designers aimed to present to Dubai a project of a kind

that adopted sustainable urban design settings, making this city a regional leader
in eco-tourism alongside environmental protection and awareness. It features 500
townhouses and villas, an eco-resort and environmental design institute, all of
which are served with a wide range of facilities and occupies almost 46 hectares
of land. The city is designed to accommodate 2,700 residents along with a daily
population of 6,000, producing 10 MW peak solar production of energy as well
as supplying all its residents with organic food from its farms and bio domes.
Residents will use their private vehicles on a ring road surrounding the city to
centrally located, PV covered, parking lots that are 90 meters walkable distance
from the furthest villa; from there they can walk or take the electric carts
provided by the city itself (Diamond Developers, 2014).

4.3 Analysis

4.3.1 Overview of existing design

Total built up area 5203
0.44 sq km Total energy use
Total green space 23288 kWh/day
0.07 sq km (8500000 kWh/year)
Estimated population Total parking spaces 3025 total

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Vehicle trips 585/day Retail GFA 87194 sqm

Residential GFA 68037sqm No. of shops 50
Number of dwellings 530 Other GFA 239991 sqm
Residential population 2863
Office GFA 13333 sqm

4.3.2 Land use summary

Shops (A1) 39627 sqm (9.7%)
Financial/professional services (A2) 528 sqm (0.13%)
Restaurants and cafes (A3) 6235 sqm (1.53%)
Hot food takeaways (A5) 1056 sqm (0.26%)
Business (B1) 13333 sqm (3.26%)
Storage and distribution (B8) 528 sqm (0.13%)
Hotels (C1) 25893 sqm (6.34%)
Dwellings (C3) 10563 sqm (2.59%)
Health service (D1) 1866 sqm (0.46%)
School (D1) 23487 sqm (5.75%)
Other institutions (D1) 66265 sqm (16.22%)
Assembly and leisure (D2) 6563 sqm (1.61%)
Other use 5449 sqm (1.33%)
Semi-detached or detached housing 57474 sqm (14.07%)
Open space – playground 3185 sqm (0.78%)
Open space – sports and recreation 21310 sqm (5.22%)
Open space – park 4319 sqm (1.06%)
Open space – managed green area 66417 sqm (16.26%)
Open space – car park 54455 sqm (13.33%)

Figure 1: Land use analysis (CityCAD).

4.3.3 Residential summary

Semi-detached or detached housing 530 units
Total: 530 units
Total residential units (existing group) 530

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4.3.4 Liveability analysis

Net residential density 1500.79 dw/sq km
Residential population density 8104.26 ppl/sq km
Average dwelling size 128.31 sqm
Average habitable room size 31.63 sqm
Approximate public realm density 28.69 sqm/person
School provision 2340 spaces
Green space per person 14 sqm/person
Total number of trees 482
Average number of parking spaces within 5-mins walk 2174.8
Average number of parking spaces per residential population 1.06
Average population per entrance 32 ppl/entrance
Average distance from dwellings to:
Green space 96 m Convenience store 423 m
Health service 369 m Bank 423 m
Education 382 m Pharmacy 423 m
Parking space 75 m Supermarket 423 m
Shops 244 m

4.3.5 Movement information

Cycle lanes 0 km (0% of street network)
Bus lanes 2.94 km (18.17% of street network)
Accessibility (pedestrian net. less than 1:20) 100%
Estimated CO2 from daily trip generation 0 kg/year
Daily vehicle trips 585
Total parking spaces 3025
Total parking spaces required 530
Net parking spaces 2495
4.4 Decisions
Findings and the hypothesis arising from analysis shows the need for using
mixed sustainability theory and practice, with integration of the technical,
economic and social and design elements. New large-scale project design and
construction projects must follow stringent sustainability regulations, while
smaller units remain exempted and retrofitting has not yet been regulated.
Moreover, the forthcoming approach of redesigning and improvement to the
Dubai Sustainable City intends to describe how the surroundings urban context
can work together with the Dubai Sustainable City project and be integrated in
harmony with the project’s urban context. The intention is to be beneficial and
implement sustainability in a step-by-step way, leading to an integrated urban
system.

5 Strategies
The main strategies and points approached by this study are enhancing the urban
sustainability of the case study. A car free community should be introduced, after

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proposing convenient and clean methods of transportation in the community.

Cycling facilities should be integrated with dedicated routes and storage. Street
sections should be identified on the basis of providing people with a walk able
community via shaded pedestrian routes). A change in the orientation of blocks
will offer better air quality and ventilation purposes and offer recreational space
– a public realm – on both block and neighborhood bases to enhance the social
experience and sustainability. Reducing the parking footprint and increasing
green areas is also vital, as is enhancing the moveability and service hierarchy.

6 Results
6.1 Project access

The case study design is based on a gated community with one exit and entrance.
According to LEED, sustainable community should not be gated as it should be
well connected to the surrounding urban context.

Figure 2: Case study entrances from the main road before and after redesign
(source: authors).
6.2 Orientation
In order to enhance the wind flow and air quality throughout the case study, a
block orientation change is proposed as a strategy allowing more airflow through

Figure 3: Block orientation before and after redesign (source: authors).

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the urban tissue and enhancing the air quality. Changing the block orientation
will involve it facing the favored wind direction with the long side of the block
preventing the favored wind from passing through the back side of the block to
being parallel to it. This will enhance the air quality and airflow through the
urban tissue by channeling the wind in the desired direction.
 Flow design analysis

Figure 4: Air velocity simulation before and after re-orientation (authors).

6.3 Variety

The existing design of the case study only contains one type of residential unit;
detached villas with two main sizes 300 sqm and 500 sqm. This gives little
chance for variety and social interaction between the different classes, so a
strategy aiming to enhance the performance of the urban design is that a multi-
storey zone is added to the community containing a variety of apartments beside
the detached and semi-detached villas. This will have the effect of providing the
community with a broad line of social interaction and social sustainability.
Residential units – existing group
Dwellings – studio flats (C3) 266 units
Dwellings – cluster flats (C3) 84 units
Semi-detached or detached housing 304 units
Total: 654 units
Total residential units (existing group) 735

Figure 5: Residential analysis (modified design) (source: CityCAD).

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6.4 Car free community

In order to achieve the goal of a livable car free community, it is essential to

prevent fossil fuel cars from entering the heart of Dubai Sustainable City.
Therefore, several strategies and transportation means have to be implemented.
 Centralized underground parking

Figure 6: Underground parking and vehicle access (source: authors).

CityCAD parking analysis:

Vehicle parking:
Total parking spaces 6723
Total parking spaces required 1447
Net parking spaces 5275
Average number of parking spaces within 5-mins walk 3879
Average number of parking spaces per residential population 2.56
Average population per entrance 46 people/entrance

6.5 Service hierarchy

Studying the case study master plan for services distribution, all services are
concentrated at street elevation, providing services only to residents, as this is a
gated community. All services are on one layer only, some as far as 1000 meters
from some residents.
Aiming to enhance the livability of the case study as a major part of creating a
sustainable community, several layers of service have to be introduced as
following:
 Urban context layer: providing service to the case study as well as to
nearby future urban developments in this newly developed area of the
city. Examples include district cooling, school, hospital, Mosque,
shopping areas, restaurants and convenience stores.

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 Case study context: providing services to the community within the case
study. Examples include school, community centre, sports, playgrounds,
shops and gathering areas.
 Neighborhoods context: providing services for the neighborhoods such
as a clinic, shop, playground and cafe).
 CityCAD livability analysis after modification:
 Average distance from dwellings to:

Green space 63 m
Health service 114 m
Education 363 m
Parking space 286 m
Shops 52 m
General/convenience store 148 m
Bank 384 m
Pharmacy 384 m
Supermarket 160 m

6.6 Moveability

Enhancing the performance of case study moveability requires the

implementation of shaded walkable roads if a shading device is introduced that
provides shade as well as energy and ventilation.

Figure 7: Streetscape and description of a new element increasing street

walkability (authors).

A permeable master plan will see defined landmarks to guide people.

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Figure 8: Main landmarks and visual axis (source: authors).

7 Conclusion
Throughout the proposed strategies observed through software analysis and
simulation as well as previous reference, the design has been improved in several
aspects. This is especially true in terms of the social and livability aspects,
putting this project a step ahead towards building and developing a sustainable
community.

Figure 9: Master plan after applying the enhancement strategies (source:

CityCAD).

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 Sustainable Development and Planning VII 995

Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank “MUSTADAMA Ltd. Sustainable Solutions” in
Masdar City, Abu Dhabi for sponsoring this paper.

References
[1] Venturi, R., Complexity and contradiction in Architecture, MOMA Press:
Newyork, 1966.
[2] Wheeler, S., Planning for sustainability: Creating Liveable, Equitable and
Ecological Communities, Routledge: London, 2013.
[3] Graham, P., P. B., Guidlines on education policy for sustainable built
environment, UNEP: Nairobi, Kenya, 2010.
[4] Venturi, R., Learning From Las Vegas, The MIT Press: Cambridge London,
1972.

WIT Transactions on Ecology and The Environment, Vol 193, © 2015 WIT Press
www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line)