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It’s less than one year that Expo Milano 2015 is finished and Emirates are almost ready to offer the Expo 2020 project in Dubai between 20th October 2020 and 10th April 2021.
The topic of this exposition will be “Connecting minds, creating the future” and will be based on opportunity, mobility and sustainability. This plan has been named with the Arabic term Al-Waṣl (ﺍﻟﻮﺻﻞ – “the connection”-): falling on Golden Jubilee, the 50th UAE
constitution anniversary, the event will project to near decades sustainability and development. The aim is high life quality in a new sustainable environmental plan so to not compromise next generation.
Location has been termed as Jebel ‘ Alī, Dubai Trade Center, 400 hectares placed between south-east Dubai area and the new Āl Maktūm International Airport. The Al-Waṣl Square will include three big “petals” as essays leitmotiv.

Dubai Expo 2020
[photo1: Dubai UAE pole exposition project]
Each area will host a souk pavilion, that is an expositive place shaped as an usual emirate open air market, and a topic’s Best Practice. Moreover, according to the tradition, the Welcome, the Innovation and UAE Pavilions will present through “petals”. Interior frameworks will host photo voltaic system that will produce 50% of energy requirement to sustain the whole pole. Also the building plan will be sustainable: a cable car, the so called Expo Riders (750 zero emission buses) and a new underground will connect directly the exposition pole to the city.

Burj Khalifa - Dubai Expo 2020
[photo 2 The Burj Khalifa is awe-inspiring setting surrounded by nothing]
Dubai looks like to be very prepared to this new adventure. Dynamic buildings such as Burj Khalifa (خليفة برج, – “Caliph’s Tower” -) a structure of 829,8 metres completed in 2010 and realized following bio-architecture principles: buildings built with sustainable materials just to balance man nature relationship. Another example is the Change Initiative, an eco friendly and green products mega store  inaugurate in October 2012, defined the most sustainable building in the world thanks to the LEED Platinum certification. As well as to be beautiful contemporary building created by sustainable materials, it’s including also organic food, energy conservation and so on.

 

Finally another one is Masdar City, “The Source City”, business center with zero emissions 15 km away from Dubai. Yet today no one knows this is a deserted town. Probably it’s very expensive to complete it or more likely because it’s difficult to achieve an isolated city. In other words a disorganized plan.

 

However, there are other projects not completed, maybe for the same reason of Masdar City. The Desert Rose, a green business hub shaped flower of 14.000 hectares come out on the side of citizen and tourists necessities including living, working and learning. Dubai Sustainable City, an eco resort with green buildings and an organic farm on which will place 600.000 solar panels.

Masdar City - Duba Expo 2020
[photo 3 View of the abandoned Masdar City]
Dubai plans to ground on solar energy by cutting the 20% of energy consumption and earmarking 7,3 billions of euros by trade policy (oil and tourism) to install recycled materials, solar panels, green parks, recycling rain systems. The dream is to create the most sustainable city in the world within 2020 by means of E. Croci Bocconi Director Research , three precepts about “sustainable city” definition:
Health: a friendly city has suitable laws and services to guarantee waste disposal, environment and water high quality;
Relations: sociability, business and mobility to keep opportunities in regards to aimed network between services and infrastructures;
Beauty: development and preservation of own cultural identity.

It’s a commendable project to safeguard the planet health: 227.000 jobs can obtain investment in the amount of 36.000 billions of euros.
However this project is very aspiring for a city like Dubai, since its National economy is based mostly on oilfields earnings. So how is it possible to completely trust on green economy? The issue seems to be contrasting. Across ten years employments are solid only about building construction (although in part…), seems that’s seek to nearly achieve building design perfection rather than environmental support. So in this condition it’s very hard to cut one fifth of emissions within 2020 or even one third within 2030.
Even if we want to be optimistic, it sounds a as a surreal situation.

 

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