Ever heard of Boughezoul? Nor have we, but hold on to your ride, because this low-carbon city is about to rival Masdar as the new kid in town.
Trumped up by a sophisticated publicity campaign, Masdar City might be the only Middle Eastern city outside of Dubai, Jerusalem and Tehran that is internationally known. Certainly, it is the only “green city” that has received any kind of attention.
But there’s a new kid in town. Algiers might not have Masdar’s press power has, nor Foster & Partner’s star power. But their new initiative is still significant. The new city Boughzoul will not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but Algiers intends to use that model for all future city developments in the country.
Being built 200km inland of southern Algiers, Boughzoul aims to be a low-carbon city that doesn’t contribute to overall greenhouse gas emissions.
Every step of the project, from the ground up, will incorporate best practices in order to create a city model that is closer to being sustainable over the long term.
That is no easy task. According to the Chief of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which is contributing $8.5million and heading the experiment, half of the world’s population lives in city and emit 70% of global energy-related carbon emissions.
In the construction phase, by creating zero-carbon buildings, outfitting streetlights with LED light bulbs, installing photovoltaic systems, and heating water with the sun, Algiers’ government, GEF, and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) expect to save 3.4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. This is the equivalent to the amount of oil that Belgium uses in a day, about 600,000 tonnes.
In order to attract private investors to complement public investment, the government will offer tax incentives. After raising their own $22 million contribution to the new city, they also intend to create an environment that encourages technology transfer rather than horde their learning.
More on low-carbon construction initiatives in the Middle East:
Re-Assessing Masdar City
Masdar City’s More Transparent Zero Carbon Plan
Mud Structures in the Muslim World: Spectacular And Sustainable
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
I especially like this: “…they intend to create an environment that encourages technology transfer rather than horde their learning.”
Happy 2011!