In Dubai, Norman Foster plans the first ecological and carbon neutral city of the future: Masdar. To date, the city only exist virtually but this year in February the ground breaking ceremony took place on an area of more than six square kilometers in the desert of Abu Dabhi at the Persian gulf.

At the end of the year 2009, first sections will be completed and ready for use. It is planned to offer residential housing areas for up to 50,000 people with the objective to build them 100 % carbon-free.

Another project which is currently under development, is situated in China on a peninsula: the "Eco-city Dongtan". It will be inhabited by 10,000 people and energy is produced by wind and solar power. Additionally, fuel will be generated by using the city's waste and food is planted in the surroundings to reduce delivery distances. China also shows the world how it can be done in every country by just reducing the emissions. In the interior of the country the industrial mega city Synia with targeted 800,000 residents is going to reduce their emissions by 25 % compared to other urban areas on the globe.

Nevertheless, Masdar in the desert is the most radical intention to live totally green. This project has to be underlined even more in a country which normally build ice skating arenas in desert dunes and sticks massive air conditioning systems on each building. The Emirate promised to support the project with $15,000,000,000 which shows their will to create an innovative and eco-friendly urban society. Many organisations and companies will continue to have a close look on the construction process - to learn from their experiences as well as to check if the widely communicated objectives are met. We will see...