ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIORS OF CURRENT MODULAR NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGH CURRENT REGULATIONS “ESTIDAMA”, UAE
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Date
2015-04
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The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
Abstract
The efficiency of the environmental status management is of a crucial importance in big emerging cities, as these cities are not strangers to environmental setbacks despite their industrial rapid developments and advancements. Therefore, an adequate framework that sets basic implementation strategies of environmental methods and relevant legislations is essential for developing the sustainably environmental coefficient of cities and current industries.
According to Abu Dhabi 2030 vision statement established by Abu Dhabi's urban planning council, the urban context of a typical community in Abu Dhabi consists mainly of a neighborhood that is repetitive in its main functional components rather than its physical or structural perception known as "Al Fareej".
This paper, draws an attempt at capturing the importance essence of adopting environmental strategies within the development of current modular neighborhoods to produce “sustainably environmental communities”, through The Estidama community pearl rating system as the main sustainability guideline that is followed by Abu Dhabi, established to set and evaluate the mutual coexistence of communities with the environment from a sustainable point of view.
As Estidama is a new program established in 2010, it targets all relevantly new projects that are to be constructed or designed. The question of applicability remains unanswered to current neighborhoods as they are not addressed within the Estidama vision. This study’s importance lays in capturing the extent of influence that is to be anticipated when applying environmental green methods to existing neighborhoods, as these operating current neighborhoods are important elements to the city of Abu Dhabi and considered vital in defining the city's environmental status.
Through City Cad, and via Estidama credits, a direct reading of the environmental behavior change result in this study as direct numerical values to set a tangible results defined by scientific values.
The environmental setting in hand will be defined by Estidama after specifying the parameters that this program addresses.
As a result it is found that Estidama and current neighborhoods environmentally meet mainly in 4 environmental pillars tackling the CO2 and gas emissions, the water usage, waste generation and energy consumption. After running simulation on these parameters, it is noted that the neighborhood's post environmental behavior falls within the expected behavior of planned neighborhoods that are primarily targeted by Estidama, but do not hit the highest levels that are set by Estidama.
Indeed there is a link between the local rating program and current fully operating neighborhoods, and of course there is a noticeable influence on the environmental behavior by integrating Estidama environmental strategies, but it is not foreseen as an optimal setting as all
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intervention methods are of an active nature rather than a passive one. Estidama within Abu Dhabi need to address the issue of current neighborhoods and work on including them within the sustainability movement of the capital due to their essential role in such initiative.
This study has come to a result of ultimately highlighting the ability of current operating neighborhoods to adapt to newly implemented concepts of sustainability, and highlight the ability of the implemented program of Estidama to adapt to the current setting of neighborhoods not only new ones. This also raises the awareness of the essentiality of sustainable communities and highlighting their role in achieving the balanced status between the environmental, economic and social developing aspects on both the local and national grounds.
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Keywords
environmental sustainability, neighborhood, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Abu Dhabi, Estidama, environmental strategies, gas emissions