Roughly 80 percent of the one to four bedroom apartments on floors 19 through 108 of the Burj Khalifa are occupied.

A one bedroom apartment can cost as much as $55,000 to rent per year, but landlords of apartments at the “prestigious address” are also required to pay an annual maintenance fee that is used to ensure that common facilities remain in good working order.

Shared facilities and services include gyms, elevators, swimming pools, air-conditioning, and waste disposal services (however dubious they may be.)

“The service charges for residents go to the management and maintenance of the common areas, for the overall and long-term welfare of all residents,” an Emaar spokesman told The National.

Emaar charges owners of a four bedroom apartment up to $60,000 per year to perform these services, a sum that many landlords simply refuse to pay.

Unfortunately, threats to cut services to make the owners cough up their maintenance fees affect renters (who have mostly paid the money they owe) more than the landlords, who may not even live in the soaring 163 floor building. And then there are landlords who have paid their fees, who are punished for the misdeeds of others.

“It is unfair because this is not the tenants’ fault, they have paid their rent and it is not fair they suffer,” a landlord with more than 10 paid-for Burj properties told The National.

Although Emaar threatened to cut air conditioning and lift service over the weekend, they didn’t, because legally they can’t – according to a lawyer who spoke with The National.

“Owners and tenants cannot be legally prevented from entering their property,  Devanand Mahadev told the paper. “The building facilitator cannot shut down need-to-have facilities like electricity, water and access to the lifts.”  Only the service provider, in this case DEWA, has that ability.

While Emaar works out this dispute with owners who have not paid their fees, many residents will be denied access to luxury amenities; consequently, some have expressed a desire to seek new, more secure accommodation. 

:: The National

Burj Khalifa image / Shutterstock

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For now the square has cleared as protestors have been subdued with water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas used by riot police to disperse them.

They have since moved to nearby Gezi Park, where last week police attacked activists who had set up tents to protest against the development of a new shopping center at one of the city’s last remaining urban green spaces.

That heavy handed response set off a firestorm of anti-government anger that swept through dozens of cities across the country. Hundreds of people were treated with injuries and at least four deaths were recorded, according to the Turkish Human Rights Foundation.

Now Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims that “it’s over.”

BBC News reports that Erdogan has vowed to show zero tolerance for the people he claims aim to “hurt Turkey,” although he is said to have agreed to meet an actress, a singer and a writer who will mediate with protestors.

Taksim Solidarity, the group that organized the protests, claim that they have not been contacted by the Prime Minister, nor would they be willing to speak with him. They also say they do not know the team of three with whom he is scheduled to meet.

The United States and Germany have been critical of Turkey’s handling of protests.

“We expect Prime Minister Erdogan to de-escalate the situation, in the spirit of European values, and to seek a constructive exchange and peaceful dialogue,”  German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a statement.

Although the square is now clear, there is very little evidence that the protestors are ready to go home. They have been critical of Erdogan’s increasing authoritarianism and what some perceive as the Islamification of a secular state.

Meanwhile, the kind of development schemes that first catalyzed a surge of anti-government sentiments continue apace.

Here are five of the most unsustainable projects on the charts that are bound to have a long lasting negative impact on both people and the environment.

:: BBC News

Image via Wikimedia

The post All Quiet in Taksim Square, for Now appeared first on Green Prophet.

Turkey’s Taksim square protest flared up last week when police took drastic measures to clear activists from Gezi Park- slated for destruction to make way for yet another shopping center. But that’s not the only unsustainable project the government is pursuing in the name of economic growth. We list 5 of the major ones. These five put money before the well being of both people and nature.

1. Turkey Opens up Property Laws to Foreigners

Turkey has plans to clear 4.1 million acres of forest and demolish 6.5 million buildings throughout the country in order to make space for more commercial buildings, shopping centers, residential complexes, luxury hotels and other development projects. But outside investment is essential to such rapid growth, which is why the Turkish government reformed their property laws (we report here) to make it easier for foreigners to purchase and develop land. This change has opened Turkey to an explosion of new development projects that put whole communities at risk.

2. Taksim Square to Become Lifeless

It’s impossible to talk about a list of unsustainable development projects in Turkey without taking a quick look at Taksim Square (read our report here)– one of the last remaining green spaces left in Istanbul. Despite great opposition from the local populace, the government established plans to replace this precious urban park with a new shopping mall, roadways and tunnels, a courtyard and a tiny patch of grass.

3. The Ilısu Dam

The Ilısu Dam for hydro-electric power and currently under construction in Turkey is expected to vastly transform life along the Tigris River and not in a good way. Green Prophet writer Julia Harte is currently tracking those impacts as part of a trip funded by a National Geographic Young Explorer Grant. The Ilısu Dam is the biggest hydroelectric dam currently under construction in Turkey, Julia wrote in an earlier post, though it is not the only one — “18 have so far been built under the scope of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), a massive development program approved by the Turkish government in 1982,” she says.

Meanwhile, the UN issued a report condemning Turkey’s Tigris and Euphrates River hydroelectric dams for violating the human rights of downstream countries, including Iraq.

4. Istanbul’s LEED Renaissance Tower

Green Prophet writer Laurie said that the only thing sustainable about the 44 story LEED Renaissance Tower slated for construction in Istanbul is its zip code. Under the guise of LEED certification, the 606 foot tower soars above its surrounding neighborhood, potentially destroying the very fabric of this ancient city.

Not only will it require “a river to clean” due to all the glass, but a lot of interior lighting will create light pollution and consume a great deal of energy. IE. This building is not sustainable at all.

 5. Istanbul Airport to Kill 658,000 Trees

Turkey’s transportation ministry is planning to build “the world’s largest airport,” (as we report here) but in order to do so, they must first clear cut nearly a square kilometer of pristine forest on Lake Terkos near the Black Sea. In other words, 658,000 trees representing ten different species will be sacrificed to build the new airport, is expected to serve up to 1.5 million passengers annually.

These five ongoing projects in Turkey demonstrate a sort of governmental divorce from the people whose lives depend on healthy natural resources.

The post 5 of Turkey’s Most Unsustainable Development Projects appeared first on Green Prophet.

Campaigners in Lebanon are asking for support to protect an ancient Phoenician coastline which is under threat due to a port project

Lebanese environment campaigners are calling on nature lovers far and wide to help them protect an important piece of their natural heritage along the Mediterranean Sea. It seems that a beautiful part of the Southern coastline, the Naqura cliffs and beach, which is home to turtles is the site of a possible petroleum port development project. In an online petition they are calling on the government to declare the coastal area in south of Lebanon that stretches from the Naqura Cliffs to the Tyre Reserve a nationally protected area.

“Endangered species of turtles have been coming from all around the Mediterranean for thousands of years to lay their eggs and reproduce on these beaches [Mansouri beach and Kolaila beach],” explains campaigners.

According to the campaign material, the Lebanese coast is not more than a mere 210km long. Many parts of the coast are polluted and/or affected by illegal constructions. Less than 5 % of the coast remains clean and untouched. As such protecting this section currently under threat is of extreme importance as it is one of the last remaining natural spots on the historic ancient Phoenician coast.

The ancient Phoenician coast with its unique rock formation at the Naqura Cliffs is being endangered by a port project. A project campaigners are calling absurd and destructive.

You can help support the campaign by following developments here and also signing this petition. So far, over 7000 people have signed the petition bringing them pretty close to their 10,000 target.

For more on environmental issues in Lebanon see: 

Lebanon Joins CITES: Can We Stop Killing Everything Now?

Vertical Gardens Green Lebanese Restaurant

World’s Oldest Living Olive Trees in Lebanon

Live Art and Polemical Politics on the Lebanese Coast

The post Sign to Save Lebanon’s Turtles! Ancient Naqura Coast on Mediterranean Sea At Risk appeared first on Green Prophet.

The New York Times recently profiled the billionaire, who is one of the country’s most powerful men. With close ties to president Ilham Aliyev, he is uniquely positioned to realize a sudden mad idea he had while flying from Dubai to Baku to build the artificial Khazar Islands on the Caspian Sea. And though he claims this is not the case, the plan sounds eerily like Dubai. Except worse.

While Dubai has damaged both the desert and the Arabian/Persian Gulf with its rapid coastline development, Ibrahimov also plans to take down part of the country’s cultural heritage with thousands of shiny new apartments, 55 artificial islands, eight hotels, an airport, a snazzy yacht club and a Formula One racetrack.

Some of these mosques, mansions and palaces date back to the 7th Century, according to NYT. But Ibrahimov’s 24 year old assistant gushes that all of it – including the street vendors – will be gone by the time the so-called vision is realized by 2022.

The plan’s biggest selling point, according to Ibrahimov, the building that is supposed to draw scores of wealthy investors to a country bordered by Armenia and Iran, is a 3,445 foot skyscraper called, rather unimaginatively, Azerbaijan Tower.

He will live in a penthouse at the top, he has said, a goal that instantly reminded me of my 14 year old cousin’s naive declaration that he wants to be so rich one day that he will have his own skyscraper in Manhattan.

Ibrahimov is 40 years older, but he is no better able to keep his ambitions in healthy check than my young cousin.

When he got off the plane on which he hatched his USD 100 billion McCity idea, he didn’t head down to the local planning office. Nor did he contact his nearest environmental protection agency. Instead, he went straight to his developers and had blueprints drawn up.

We would be willing to eat our words if this is not the case, but the haste with which the “vision” was put into place suggests that environmental due process was perhaps overlooked.

Which is interesting since Ibrahimov admitted that The Palm smells bad as a result of poor environmental management when that artificial island was built in Dubai. Artificial islands disrupt the natural ecosystem in which they are built, not to mention the mountain that is being destroyed to provide the necessary “foundation” of rock and soil.

Like Abu Dhabi, Azerbaijan got rich with oil. But so far, the country’s leadership appears to possess none of the humility regarding environmental pressures that the Gulf country has demonstrated.

And this is dangerous. An inland lake, the Caspian Sea is home to a dazzling variety of species, but already it is beset with pollution problems – largely thanks to Azerbaijan’s outdated oil refineries.

Then there is the not-so-slight issue of rising water levels. The Caspian Sea has risen about 2.25 meters since 1978, according to UNESCO:

In addition to the danger posed to oil fields (e.g.in Kazakstan and Azerbaijan), the sea-level rise results in changes in: water regime, hydrochemical regime of river mouths, dynamics and chemical composition of groundwater, structure and productivity of biological communities in the littoral and in river mouths, sediment deposition patterns, pollution by heavy metals, petroleum products, synthetic organic substances, radioactive isotopes and other substances.

This doesn’t bode well for artificial islands.

:: The New York Times

Image of Maiden Castle in Baku, Azerbaijan, Shutterstock

The post Megalomaniac Billionaire to Destroy Azerbaijan With Artificial McCity appeared first on Green Prophet.

Despite all the criticism the plan received from urban planners, lawyers, activists, academics, and concerned citizens, Istanbul has begun remodeling its central square, a focal point for transportation and protests.

In a preview of how the square will be isolated from the rest of the city after the renovation is finished, barriers have gone up separating Taksim Square from Cumhuriyet Avenue (at the top right of the photo) – one of the Istanbul’s main arteries. Tunnels are being dug in the avenue. And construction started on Nov. 5 with no warning to anyone, leaving shopkeepers furious and traffic congested, according to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News.

Although it’s officially called the “Taksim Square Pedestrianization Project,” the post-renovation square will be far less pedestrian-friendly than it is currently, according to the plan’s opponents.

The plan will turn the stretch of Cumhuriyet Avenue nearest Taksim into a high-speed underground tunnel, apparently remove sidewalks from the above-ground stretches of the street, replace the current park next to Taksim with a military barracks and a mall, and move the bus station underground.

(See an artist’s rendering of the new square here).

Opponents have charged that the plan is an effort to cut off Taksim from the rest of the city, making it harder to stage large demonstrations there.

Already, the unannounced start of construction has alienated many local residents. One shop owner who has nearly lost his entire customer base as a result of the construction, told the HDN that he would never again vote for Turkey’s ruling party, which controls the Istanbul city government.

Excavations may further delay project

To make matters worse for Istanbul’s pedestrians, journalists are already predicting major delays on the project.

Although the government has promised the project will be completed in eight months, the construction firm carrying it out must wait for approval from archeologists before they can bring in any heavy machinery. Since the archeologists will survey the area slowly, digging up the earth by hand, their approval will probably be a long time coming.

In addition, the excavation area will be widened each time an artifact is found. Remarkable findings have been made in the Taksim area previously — 5th century sarcophagi near the Atatürk Cultural Center on the far end of the square, and Genoan tombs right by Cumhuriyet Avenue — so the archeologists have reason to expect multiple exciting findings from the upcoming digs.

In the meantime, pedestrians should expect at least a year of inconvenient detours while walking to or from Taksim Square.

:: Hurriyet Daily News

Read more about controversial urban planning in Istanbul:

Istanbul’s Main Square To Become Lifeless And Isolated In New Urban Plan, Opponents Warn
Istanbul Court Annuls Almost-Finished Roma Project
4.1 Million Acres Of Land Previously Classified As Forest Goes On Sale In Turkey Today

Image via Anadola Agency

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If we all lived like the citizens of the UAE, we would need 5.4 planet earths to sustain us…

Sometimes the best way to say something is not with words but images. And there is truly no better wake up call to the UAE than this amazing infographic designed by Tim De Chant. It shows that if the world’s 7 billion people all lived like Emiratis, we would need 5.4 planet earths in terms of land to sustain us. That’s pretty scary – especially when you consider that the much-bemoaned lifestyle of the Chinese is, in contrast, pretty sustainable and would require only an extra 10% of planet earth. It’s also scary as the UAE doesn’t have the world’s largest carbon footprint, that particular privilege goes to Qatar.

::Thanks to Tim for granting us permission to use the infographic. See his website per square mile for more.

For more on the UAE and the environment see:
UAE Stands By Its Nuclear Plans
Qatar (Still) Has The World’s Largest Carbon Footprint
World Population Hits 7 Billion Today

The post We’d Need Five Worlds to Live Like the United Arab Emirates appeared first on Green Prophet.

“Notice the elements subtly woven into the new downtown’s [sic] environment,” their web marketing person gushed. “Delight in the blossoming urban forest close by, enriching the experience of residents, visitors and all who step into Abdali.”

But the firm fails to mention that the $5 billion project, which also promises to forever transform the Amman skyline and includes 1.7 million sqm of hotel, office, residential, and retail space a la Dubai, will displace 541 trees in the-already brown and sooty concrete jungle.

Sacrificing trees for towers

Abdali originally asked the agriculture ministry if the company could uproot 750 trees in order to make room for its new mixed-use development.

An anonymous source in the ministry told The Jordan Times that the request was denied, and recommendations were made to redo the blueprints to ensure that construction plans accommodate the existing trees.

(For an idea of what that might look like, check out this wonderful Iranian residential complex organized around the site’s trees.)

But the cabinet overruled this decision.

“We were surprised and furious when the Cabinet granted the company approval to cut down the trees,” the official told the paper.

Five for one

Instead of 750 trees, Abdali has received permission to uproot 541, except they are required to plant five trees in Mafraq to compensate for every tree that will be uprooted in the city center.

While 2,705 new trees are a welcome addition to the country’s overall arboreal population and will help to absorb the country’s growing carbon emissions, environmentalists are not satisfied with this agreement and vowed to lobby the government to reverse their decision.

Head of the Jordan Environment Societies Union – a newly-formed collective of green organizations throughout the country – Omar Shoshan told the paper that many of the trees slated to be destroyed are up to 90 years old.

“Amman is turning into a block of cement,” he added.

With the glass and steel of Abdali’s new towering complex added to the concrete mix, trees are fast becoming an ancient relic; this means more pollution, higher temperatures and less natural beauty.

Combined with increasingly serious water shortages, and Amman is beginning to sound rather uninviting. I’d rather live in a Petra cave!

:: The Jordan Times

Image of Amman, Jordan framed by trees, Shutterstock

The post 541 Jordan Trees Sacrificed for Dubai-esque Development Project appeared first on Green Prophet.

 ‘Z’ is an anonymous cartoonist whose pink flamingo trademark came about due to his efforts to stop development projects which would destroy the bird’s natural habitat

By day an architect and by night a bitingly critical cartoonist, ‘Z’ is a force to be reckoned with. His criticism of the previous Tunisian dictator Ben Ali meant he preferred to remain anonymous. And his continued criticism of the Tunisian government means that he will be ‘keeping his mask on’ for now. However, what appears to have inspired this architect-turned-cartoonist is the destructive force of development in the country which threatened the habitat of pink flamingoes. Z gave a rare interview to Samar Media about his work, the Arab Spring and why the pink flamingo became his mascot.

“My very first cartoons always featured pink flamingos. It has been my blog’s mascot until now,” says Z to Samar Media, which has produced a series on revolutionary cartoonist from the Arab world.

“Why pink flamingos? Because when I started drawing in 2008, there were projects in Tunisia that were supposed to be funded by Emiratis. Billions and billion of (touristic) projects were going to concrete the whole lake of Tunis… and I tried to raise awareness among the people about the environmental hazards of such a project, and the fact that there had been no consultation with the local residents.”

Sadly, this is a familiar story that appears to be affecting the entire Arab region. However, it is great to see a cartoonist taking an active interest in the environmentally harmful aspects of the boom-development projects. These projects so often end up being championed as job creating opportunities with very little attention paid to the long-term and environmental harmful aspects of the projects.

Z goes on to explain that what drew him to the story was that the age-old ecosystem which was under serious threat was to be taken by Ben Ali and his relatives. As such the situation had a particularly political slant and was a way for him to protest against the Tunisian regime and the extraordinary powers it held.

“You see here a protest of pink flamingos – they represent the oppressed citizens,” he explains to Samar Media. “The drawing was a trick to raise awareness among people about the dangers of the project and to talk about politics without directly mentioning the regime.”

:Hat tip to @arablit/ Arab Literature (in English)

:: All images via DebaTunisie.

For more on Tunisia and destructive development see:

Catch Up With Green Prophet in Tunisia

Saudi’s Mecca Becoming a Holy Sprawl

World’s Largest Artificial Lagoon Nears Completion In Egypt

Sinai’s Ecological Future Hangs in the Balance

The post Z: The Anonymous Tunisian Cartoonist Championing Nature appeared first on Green Prophet.

A German company has just secured the contract for a mega project in Mecca which will house around 160,000 inhabitants

Despite reassurances that Mecca would take a more considered approach to construction, a new mega-scheme for the city has just been given the green light. Following the horrendous Mecca Clocktower and the growing sprawl surrounding the city, another huge project seems like the last things the city needs. The new project, which is being led by Germany-based White Sky Group and Riyadh-based Al Fayadh Consultants, is a mixed-use development covering three million square meters in Mecca.

The partnership apparently beat off strong competition from Foster + Partners and will include “middle and high-rise buildings, utilising new technologies in mobility and sustainability.” The development will include things like hotels, residential homes, technical and medical infrastructure as well as parks, open spaces and spacious prayer areas.

As the Hajj pilgrimage attracts up to 3 million people annually, land in and around Mecca is highly sought after and there seems to be no way of holding back development.

Indeed, Hajj itself is slowly becoming more upscale and luxurious by the year. According to a recent report by Bloomberg, rising wealth is contributing to a demand for high standards of accommodation during Hajj and that’s contributing to a surge in hotel investment:

“Hilton Worldwide Inc., owned by Blackstone Group LP, plans to more than double the number of hotels it operates in the country to 14, including six in Mecca. It currently runs six in Saudi Arabia. U.K.-based InterContinental will increase its room numbers by about 50 percent to 7,300 in the next three to five years. Hyatt, whose only Saudi hotel opened in 2009, expects to have eight more in five years.”

Whether this luxury-style travel and accommodation contradicts the egalitarian spirit of Hajj is something which I have asked before. Personally, I don’t think private jets, exclusive airports and luxury hotels help foster the spirit of equality. What do you think?

For more construction news from Mecca see:

Mecca signals a move away from Las Vegas-style Architecture

Saudi’s Mecca Is Becoming a Holy Sprawl

Luxury Architecture in Mecca: Has Hajj lost its Egalitarian Spirit?

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