Dubai-based developer URB has unveiled plans for a zero-carbon, car-free city in Kuwait that could eventually accommodate up to 100,000 people.
“XZero City” will be located on a 16-sq-km site in the south of the country and will have some 30,000 homes powered by renewable energy and fitted with sensors that automatically adjust lighting and ventilation. The city would recycle all its water and waste.
XZero will come with a commercial hub offering office space and a shopping mall. Healthcare will be handled in “wellness centres” and an “autism village”; education will be offered by a nursery, school and institute.
URB hopes the development will attract tourists with a resort and nature conservation centre.
Food will be provided by community gardens, bio-domes, aquaponics, fish and dairy farms, and biosaline agriculture.
The masterplan has a four-leaf-clover shape, with most of the health, education and commercial centres located in the centre.
Residents will have access to electric buggies and autonomous shuttles, 35km of shaded running and cycling tracks, and a 9km horse trail connected to an equestrian centre. There will also be a ring-road, a solar-farm that doubles as a car park and numerous charging stations.
Baharash Bagherian, the chief executive of URB, said the construction of cities that combined “the highest standards of living with lowest impact on the environment” had “become a necessity”.
He added: “The heart of this project is the unique resilient landscape, which is multifunctional and designed to promote health, wellbeing and biodiversity. The landscape is the social glue to the entire city, which will promote a vibrant neighbourhood while connecting residents to all amenities within minutes.
“The landscape is integrated with wadis to enhance resilience and liveability and promote variation of habitats for wildlife.”
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