Spaceship in the Desert : Energy, Climate Change, and Urban Design in Abu Dhabi (Experimental Futures)

Günel, Gökçe

Duke University Press（2019/03発売）

• 製本 Hardcover:ハードカバー版／ページ数 277 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9781478000723
• DDC分類 307.116095357

Full Description

In 2006 Abu Dhabi launched an ambitious project to construct the world's first zero-carbon city: Masdar City. In Spaceship in the Desert GÖkÇe GÜnel examines the development and construction of Masdar City's renewable energy and clean technology infrastructures, providing an illuminating portrait of an international group of engineers, designers, and students who attempted to build a post-oil future in Abu Dhabi. While many of Masdar's initiatives-such as developing a new energy currency and a driverless rapid transit network-have stalled or not met expectations, GÜnel analyzes how these initiatives contributed to rendering the future a thinly disguised version of the fossil-fueled present. Spaceship in the Desert tells the story of Masdar, at once a "utopia" sponsored by the Emirati government, and a well-resourced company involving different actors who participated in the project, each with their own agendas and desires.

Contents

Acknowledgments  vii
Introduction. The Soul of Carbon Dioxide  1
Part I. Knowledge
1. Inhabiting the Spaceship  37
2. Beautiful Buildings and Research Contracts  65
Part II. Technology
3. Ergos: A New Energy Currency  101
4. An Expensive Toy  127
Part III. Governance
5. Subsurface Workings  157
Epilogue. The Potential Futures of Abu Dhabi's Masdar  183
Notes  199
References  237
Index  249