Sharjah Design District

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ECO-DISTRIC T VISION PLAN

SHARJAH DESIGN DISTRICT

B Y A M N A H A L YA M M A H I

KHADIJA AL HEMEIRI

K H U LO O D A L S U WA I D I

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TA B L E O F

CONTENTS

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T 4 E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y 6 E N V I R O N M E N TA L S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y I N T H E W O R L D A N D T H E U A E

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S U S TA I N A B L E N E I G H B O R H O O D S I N E U R O P E A N D T H E U A E

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P R O J E C T ’ S R E S P O N S E T O S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y I N T H E U A E A N D I N S H A R J A H

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S I T E A N A LY S I S 4 7 P R O J E C T ’ S E C O N O M I C B A S E 6 1 T H E P R O J E C T : S H A R J A H D E S I G N D I S T R I C T 6 9 P R O J E C T P H A S I N G 1 5 1 B I B L I O G R A P H Y 1 5 5 R E N D E R I N G S 1 6 7

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Sharjah Design District plan is prepared by students in Urban planning Studio at the American University of Sharjah during Spring Semester 2020. Students in the Departments of City Planning, Architecture, and Civil Engineering are involved in the production of this studio work. A team of students and recent graduates under the guidance of Professor Rafael Pizarro.

The students would like to thank the following people and organizations who contributed time, effort and participate in the conducted interview sessions and providing valuable input.

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S H A R J A H U R B A N P L A N N I N G C O U N C I L & T O W N P L A N N I N G D E PA R T M E N T :

ENG. KHALID AL ALI SECRETARY GENERAL OF SHARJAH URBAN PLANNING COUNCIL

“The sustainability is more than just energy, water and waste , it is more of social and culture.”

ENG.ABDULRAHMAN ALSWA I J I

PLANNING STUDIES MANAGER OF SHARJAH TOWN P L A N N I N G D E PA R T M E N T

“All the daily activities should be available in every neighborhood. Each neighborhood should be selfindependent and have a sufficient and high quality green open area for the residents.”

ENG.ABDULLAH ALNAGBI

ENG. AMRO HAMMAM

DIREC TOR OF CENTRAL REGION OF SHARJAH TOWN P L A N N I N G D E PA R T M E N T

PROJEC T MANAGER OF SHARJAH TOWN PLANNING D E PA R T M E N T - C E N T R A L R E G I O N B R A N C H

“The new Etihad railway in UAE which will be connected

“Sustainability is in the vision of Sharjah government.

to the rest of the gulf region will be the best project for

We as engineers and planners our main focus is to follow

public transportation in UAE and specifically Sharjah.”

the sustainable development goals in all the projects.”

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PROJECT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Sharjah Design District is a unique eco-district, formed of five neighborhoods, completed with various social, religious, entertainment and educational facilities. The district is an ecological district aim for zero carbon dioxide emission. It combines traditions of Sharjah along with modern architectural design and innovative sustainability features.

Sharjah Design District focuses on the design concept with integrating traditional cultural Arabian elements. Sharjah Design District core is located in the center of the district with multiple design activities such as showrooms, galleries, design studios, design labs, runway and fashion shows to let the district be livable all day and night. It’s the place where people can shop, dine, live, explore and experience art and design, participate and enjoy many events and get inspired.

The design encourages walkability to reduce car dependency, optimize use of land and provide interconnected network of streets, to facilitate safe, efficient and pleasant walking and

cycling experience. Characterized by an assortment of public open spaces that are linked to one another creating spatially coherent neighborhoods. Each neighborhood has a unique central open public space.

Supplied with fully renewable energy systems creating a selfsufficient eco district addresses the following sustainability issues: • Urban Form and Density • Mobility and Transportation • Energy • Waste Management • Water • Food Production SDD is the representation of Sharjah’s future, which is supposed to be progressive and prosperous. The district has its unique spirit, that will unite the creative minds from all over the world to collaborate and generate the ideas, that will renovate the future.

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PROJEC T BACKGROUND

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

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E N V I R O N M E N TA L S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

IN THE WORLD AND IN THE UAE Climate change, global warming, natural degradation and biodiversity are the most critical problems facing today’s humanity.

Climate change and global warming has put the planet under serious danger. Cities are the center of theses environmental problems. Figure 1 shows the effects of these problems to the world’s countries. Figure 2 shows the clear responsibility of cities in contributing to this real problem by being the main source of greenhouse gasses. The sources of greenhouse gasses which are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), water vapor (H2O) and ozone (O3) are all related directly or indirectly to urban activities that take place in cities such as transportation, electricity and heat, fuel combustion, industry, land use changes, agriculture and waste disposal. Cities consume about 70% of the world’s energy and account for more than 70% of CO2 emission on the global level (Sundholm, n.d.).

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The average temperature rise across the globe

4Ů’ C

The arctic rise will be as much as

Heatwaves Extreme rises in temperature across the world. High temperature could kill thousands of people.

Food shortages Maize and wheat yields reduction of 40% in Africa, pushing many states towards starvation. Rise yields to fall by 30% in Asia.

Droughts will make it difficult to grow crops.

Melting Glaciers Himalayan glaciers will be significantly reduced by 2050 putting the water source of billion of people at risk. South America and the Alps will also see glaciers retreat.

16Ů’ C

Marine Ecosystems Oceans will acidify as a result of absorbing carbon dioxide. Ocean acidification in the Arctic could destroy ecosystems by killing plants and animals, and dissolve the shells of mussels and other shellfish.

Sea level Rises Sea level could rise by as much as 80cm by the end of the century.

Combined with storm surges could pose a serious threat to the countries.

Forest fires A rise in temperature will cause large area of the Amazon to be lost. Some countries will also suffer more from forest fires.

Water shortages Availability will be limited to a further one billion people by 2080.

River flow will be reduced in different parts of the world.

Drought Drought events occur twice as frequently across southern Africa, South East Asia and the Mediterranean basin.

Carbon cycle Rising temperatures and CO2 will result in more greenhouse gases. the melting permafrost in the Arctic will release methane in to the atmosphere.

KEY change in temperatur

Figure 1: The effects of climate change and global warming globally (Samenow, 2017)

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food production and waste management. Cities can play a very important role in reducing the threat of climate change and global warming. UAE is the country that addressees these global concerns. The climate change and global warming problem also applies to the UAE. In the case of Abu-Dhabi Emirate, the capital of the UAE, urban activities have increased greenhouse gas emissions. Abu Dhabi’s economy and population growth have increased GHG emissions by 16.3% from 2010 to 2012. The breakdown of GHG emissions in Abu Dhabi (2012) is as follows, 74.1% from energy, 16.9% from industrial processes, 7.3% from waste and 1.7% from agriculture (Figure 3). 115 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions was recorded from Abu Dhabi (Kader, 2016).

Figure 2: Green house gases flow chart of different sources and activities in the World (Kader, 2016)

Simultaneously, cities are the solution of climate change and global warming problem by reducing GHG emissions using efficient and sustainable energy production, water management,

The UAE is considered as one of the world’s highest per capita in ecological footprint. In 2018, the CO2 emission per capita reached 22.44 metric tons. The UAE ranked as one of the highest due to many reasons such as the UAE being the world’s third largest oil exporter and UAE emitted 33.6 tones per capita, which is more than nine times the world average of 3.7 tones. Figure

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Figure 3: The sources of GHG emissions in Abu Dhabi in 2012 (Kader, 2016).

4 shows how the UAE is contributing on the overall ecological footprint which is ranked the third out of the top 10 countries with the biggest ecological footprint per person. The UAE ecological footprint is similar to the level of USA which is one of the biggest countries compared to UAE’s size (“Efforts Towards Sustainability”, 2019).

The cities in the UAE are highly dependent on private vehicles for

Figure 4: top 10 countries with the biggest ecological footprint per person (Madan, 2016)

mobility which produced high level of GHG emissions especially CO2 that also produced from unsustainable energy and water production systems that depend on fuel combustion. In addition,

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most food in the UAE is imported from abroad and most waste is dumped in landfills. All these factors affect the level of sustainability in the UAE and leave the country in a critical situation that needs to be solved instantly. (Efforts Towards Sustainability, 2019).

The future of our cities hangs by a thread due to irresponsible human activity. The increase in environmental awareness, however, has served as an opportunity to rethink about city design. In the last decades, all of these concerns may have consolidated to form one of several restorative strategies; the sustainable city (Mattias Hรถjer, 2014).

There are a few cities, if any, that embody the concept of selfsufficiency in order to support the life of its citizens. Former cities depended on the hinterland; land which contained resources to be used by the city and to which were distributed the pollutants and waste. The world primarily focused on industrialization, urbanization and globalization. Currently, the present world has experienced a further increase in production, along with the

continuous exchange of goods and services within the city itself and between one city and another. Such processes in the cities have resulted in negative environmental impacts. This makes it all the more imperative that people gain a better understanding of the sustainable city concept from a global perspective because on-goings in one city will in turn affect all neighboring cites, which will in turn, due to globalization, eventually affect the entire globe.

In order to mitigate environmental damage, global harmony is crucial and within the confines of each country laws that regulate production and the exchange of goods and services must be instilled. Within each country, each city should then work towards self-sufficiency, reducing its dependence on import and in turn reducing its export of goods and within cities neighborhoods must work towards a similar goal.

Sustainable cities reduce environmental damage and create favorable conditions for ecological restoration. Fortunately, the modern world realizes the importance of this issue. Humans

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formerly had an insensitive outlook toward our planet, this led to disastrous repercussions such as global warming and other numerous natural cataclysms that became a major threat to all living things (Lee & Yeh, 2019). The planet experienced environmental degradation caused by the depreciation of resources, destruction of the ecosystems, natural habitat loss, scarcity and pollution.

Sustainable cities, in this light, may be the most effective response, or remediation to ecological degradation. The project Sustainable Urban District called “Sharjah Design District� shows how the issues related to climate change, global warming, GHG emissions can be addressed in urban planning. The project will use all of its energy from renewable sources and will promote public transportation and walkability. In addition, it will provide efficient water and waste recycling systems and the newest farming technologies to produce food locally.

In the following section there will be some examples of how some neighborhoods around the world have applied sustainable development principles to address the problem of climate change, global warming, natural degradation, GHG emissions and biodiversity.

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EXAMPLES OF

SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBORHOODS

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S U S TA I N A B L E N E I G H B O R H O O D S

IN EUROPE AND THE UAE Although some examples exist around the world on sustainable neighborhoods, these cities cannot be characterized as fully sustainable, but each one of them illustrates an example of what a sustainable city is, by providing relevant experience and concepts to be considered.

Figure 5: Masder City (Masdar City, 2019)

Figure 6: The Sustainable City, Dubai (The Sustainable City, 2019)

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IN EUROPE

VAUBAN, FREIBURG

Figure 7: Vauban master plan, Vauban is an example of sustainable neighborhood in Freiburg city, Germany (Fraker, 2013).

Figure 7a: Solar Energy System in Vauban, the distribution of the solar cells in Vauban city (Fraker, 2013).

Vauban neighborhood in Freiburg city, Germany, is the first example. In Vauban priority is given to cyclists and pedestrians, all important facilities are within short-walking distance, the parking is absent, the speed limit is 30 km/h and the car sharing is available. The urban form of Vauban has T-shape, surrounded by all relevant public spaces (Figure 7). The district consumes about 14344 MW per year, which is fully supplied by renewable solar energy system (Figure 7a) (Fraker, 2013).

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IN THE UAE

MASDAR CITY In the UAE, the Abu Dhabi government initiated the project of Masdar City (Figure 8) in 2006, which was the first attempt of the Middle East to build a fully sustainable city (“Smart Sustainable Cities”, 2019). Masdar City is the combination of all knowledge gathered by the UAE throughout the way of its development.

Its master plan included use of solar energy, integration of new sustainable transportation, limitation of height of constructions and a high quality efficient eco-system (“Smart Sustainable Cities”, 2019). Masdar City integrates the latest energy generation, waste preservation and water management technologies. The critical difference between Masdar City and other projects is that while other seek for green sources of energy production, Masdar prioritizes energy conservation technologies, which allow the use of the same amount of energy more efficiently compared to other sustainable districts. Masdar City seeks to combine both the energy conservation and green source of energy production.

However, it is still under construction, which makes it critical to decide if it can operate as a self-sufficient sustainable city or not.

Figure 8: Masdar City master plan, the master plan shows the different land uses in the city (Masdar City, 2018)

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IN THE UAE

THE SUSTAINABLE CITY The Sustainable City in Dubai is another project in the UAE (Figure 9). The Sustainable City is a district that is almost carfree, and is fully supplied with solar energy (“Smart Sustainable Cities”, 2019). In addition, the area is equipped with 10000 trees and organic farms, which supplies the local population with fresh organic fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat products.

These projects are some examples of districts that tried to take the approach of achieving a sustainable district. However, they are not fully sustainable and self-sufficient.

Figure 9: The Sustainable City in Dubai Master plan (Dubai’s Sustainable City, 2013)

To date, no sustainable district or city has been built in Sharjah, which creates good possibilities and opportunities for the evolvement of a sustainable area project as it will be considered the first self-sufficient sustainable district in Sharjah.

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T H E A N A LY S I S O F

SUSTAINABILITY IN THE UAE AND IN SHARJAH

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T H E A N A LY S I S O F S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

IN THE UAE AND SHARJAH The level of sustainability in the UAE and specifically in Sharjah city is critical. The following sections will address the sustainability issues facing the UAE in general, and Sharjah city in specific.

Covering urban form and density, mobility and transportation, energy production, water management, food production and water management and the project response to each issue.

Ajman Sharjah Airpot Stop

SHARJAH

Figure 10: Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (Sharjah City, 2014)

DUBAI

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LAND USE AND URBAN FORM There are different land uses in Sharjah, residential, commercial, mixed use, industrial, institutional, agriculture, and recreational and it consists of utilities such as the main airport in Sharjah.

Mixed land use areas of commercial, offices and residential buildings are concentrated in the center of the Sharjah Emirate, which is a very small area compared to the size of the Emirate. The borders of the Emirate converts to a mono-use of either big areas of residential use, far from the center which causes urban sprawl or big areas of industrial use which forces the residents of Sharjah to commute long distances between one activity to another.

Moreover, urban development in Sharjah is by leapfrogging.

Leapfrog development is having some vacant areas followed by urban development which increases the distance that the driver has to commute between, encouraging car dependency which increases the use of oil and gasoline required for mobility and increasing the release of GHG emissions to the atmosphere (Figure 11).

The urban form in Sharjah residential areas is scattered with low density of single family homes. Figures 12 and 13 are showing the urban form of four neighborhoods in Sharjah; Al Mansoura, Al Darari, Qarayen 4 and Al-Rahmanya 6, also it shows that Sharjah is facing an urban sprawl as most of the residential neighborhoods are far from the center. All the daily activities in Sharjah require

driving a vehicle. It is quite hard to untie Sharjah in a single transportation net for a public mass transit, as the density needed for the public transit can’t be achieved and the distance between the traffic routes and houses is excessively high. In addition paving the desert with asphalt which is currently used in all roads, highways and house building materials with a very low amount of landscaping contributes to the UHI (Urban Heat Island) effect in the city. The UHI negatively affects the weather conditions within the city, advancing hot weather. Moreover, the infrastructure does not protect the citizens from harsh climatic conditions and does not promote walkability, that is why it is impossible for the citizens to move freely from one place to another.

Sharjah is very unsustainable in land use distribution because all areas need to have mixed land use activities and it lacks a good urban form with compact mid to high density population to promote public transit. In light of these facts, this project addresses these issues by designing the district in mid to high density urban form using mixed land uses with close proximity and compact development designs to promote public transportation and focus on the connectivity and consistency of the surrounding land uses.

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Landuse

SHARJAH LAND USE

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DUBAI

N Figure 11: Sharjah Land use plan (2020)

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Al Mansoura

Al Darari

Qarayen 4

Al Rahmanya 6

Figure 12: Four residential areas in Sharjah that are characterized with low-density single-family homes. Al Mansoura, Al Darari, Qarayen 4, Al Rahmanya 6 (Google Earth, 2020)

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HARJAH Urban SForm

URBAN FORM

AL RAHMANYA 6

Ajman AL MANSOURA AL DARARI

Sharjah Airpot Stop

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QARAYEN 4

DUBAI

N Figure 13: The urban form in Sharjah residential areas which is scattered with low-density single-family homes (2020)

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MOBILITY UAE’s cities are car-oriented, which represents a low level of sustainability, because of high greenhouse gas emissions especially carbon dioxide (CO2) that are produced from relying on petroleum products and fuel combustion.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION The public transit in the UAE is very poor because it lacks public transportation options. There are only a few bus lines throughout the cities and they do not reach all destinations, which makes the residents prefer the usage of private vehicles. Dubai’s Metro is another means of public transportation in the city, however it is not linked with the rest of the Emirates and currently does not reach to all destinations in Dubai.

Sharjah has one of the weakest-developed public transportation systems in the UAE. Sharjah has only two options for public transportation, which are the municipality bus network and taxis. It lacks other developed modes such as the metro, light rail, and trams. The public transport in Sharjah is of poor quality, and people rarely use it (Kirchner, 2018). Figure 14 shows the bus stations and routes [Local Bus Routes (Green) and Express Bus

Routes (Blue)], only one area on the west side of Sharjah city is condensed with many bus stations which is the mixed land use and is in the center of the city. The rest of the city lacks public transportations and bus stations. The public transportation in Sharjah is very weak because in every 800m there should be a public transit stop and many areas of high density in the city are not served by any public transit mode. It is quite hard to untie Sharjah in a single transportation net for a public mass transit, as the density needed for the public transit can’t be achieved and the distance between the traffic routes and houses is excessively high due to the large areas of low-density single-family homes.

The UAE supports different projects to improve sustainability, such as Etihad rail, which is supposed to transport people and goods across the UAE cities and GCC countries, but it is still not fully implemented. Etihad Railway network will be providing a full range of passenger services in the future. (Etihad rail, 2019) It will be crossing the seven Emirates, passing by Sharjah through Al Dhaid Road E88 (Figure 15).

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P U B L I C T R A N S P O R TAT I O N Fujairah

Ajman Sharjah Airpot Stop

SHARJAH

DUBAI

N Figure 14: Sharjah mobility plan, the map shows the different transportations types in Sharjah (2020)

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highway results in traffic accidents, causing traffic congestion, air pollution and high level of CO2 emissions, wasting time, space and health issues such as obesity due to long journeys and limited time for exercises. Figure 16 shows three main highways in Sharjah, Sheikh Zayed Road, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, and Emirates Road that connect Sharjah with Ajman, Dubai and the Northern-Emirates. Two major arterial, Al Dhaid Road and Maliha Road connecting Sharjah to Fujairah and the Northern Emirates. One of the major reasons for traffic congestion is due to these few connections between the Emirates which are highly separated by the main highways. It is difficult to move from Sharjah to the nearest cities, mainly Dubai.

Figure 15: Etihad railway network in the UAE (Etihad rail, 2019)

PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION The urban form in Sharjah residential areas is scattered with lowdensity single-family homes, this unsustainable form promotes unsustainable mobility by relying on private transportation.

All the daily activities in the city require driving a vehicle. The

The plan suggests placing two Etihad rail stations and links to the Dubai Metro and to Sharjah as a proposal to link the Metro to the other Emirates. Also, the project upgrades the public transportation net in the UAE and especially Sharjah by providing high quality busses with a bus station every 800 meters. The district eliminates the use of cars, and provides various convenient transportation systems instead, that combines walking and public transportation. Also, the district incorporates the usage of smart cars (“Sharjah Transportation�, 2017).

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P R I V AT E T R A N S P O R TAT I O N

Ajman

d E88

id Roa

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yed Ro

ed Road

ad E3

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Emirates Road E611

Sharjah Airpot Stop

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N Figure 16: Street Hirarchy of Sharjah City (2020)

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ENERGY Energy supply systems, conservation ways and sources in the UAE are very unstainable. The demand for energy is constantly growing and the renewable energy capacity is still not sufficient to meet the demand. Currently, 80% of energy comes from gas energy production, and only 20% comes from renewable and nuclear energy (“Energy”, 2019). Figure 17 shows the major production companies of power in the UAE. Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) is responsible for distributing and generating electricity, water and piped natural gas throughout the Sharjah Emirate with different capacities according to the usages. It manages the electricity grid power lines that are mainly produced from fossil fuels. SEWA has five main power stations having a total installed capacity of 2814 MW as of 2018.

The project addresses the issue of energy by supplying the district with fully renewable energy. Solar power energy, geothermal and waste-to-energy systems are the sources to produce clean energy.

Figure 17: UAE’s Major Production Companies “Energy”, the map shows the distribution of the production companies for the energy (Research gate, 2017)

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WATER AND WASTEWATER Water is the most limited resource in UAE. Water resources are critically important for the development of the cities.

The resources can be divided into conventional and nonconventional. Three percent of the fresh water consumed in the UAE come from ground and surface water (“Water Resources in UAE”, 2017). Ground water resources are divided into shallow and deep aquifer systems . Water demand is increasing rapidly so most of it comes from the most accessible source which is desalination.

In the UAE, 42% of the total water consumption comes from desalination plants, which accounts for 14% of the world’s desalinated water production (“Water”, 2019). Figure 18 shows the desalination plants in the UAE. Figure 19 shows a desalination plant. Figure 20 shows the Major production companies of water in the UAE. Figure 21 shows desalination plants in the UAE. Water production in the UAE is very unsustainable given that the water comes from desalination plants which are very detrimental to the natural environment, marine life and human health. The desalting processes projects high concentration of waste to the sea which increases the seawater temperature and salinity causing fish to migrate or die from the pollutants. In addition, emissions produced from desalination plants contribute to climate change, global warming and GHG emissions.

Figure 18: Desalination plants in the UAE (2020)

Figure 19: Desalination plant (Water resources in the UAE, 2017)

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Figure 20: UAE’s Major Production Companies “Water”, the map shows the distribution of the production companies for the water (Research gate, 2017)

Figure 21: First water desalination plant in the UAE; Second shows a water desalination plant in Sharjah (Water, 2019)

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Treated wastewater has the most potential as marginal water suitable for growing plants, landscaping, fruit orchards and nonvegetative crops. In Abu Dhabi, the annual production of treated wastewater is about 450 million cubic meters which is about 7.2% of the total Emirate water production. Only about 60% of the treated wastewater is reused in wetlands, landscaping and recreation areas due to the centralized wastewater system and the capacity of distribution after treatment. UAE has main waste treatment plants and independent sewage treatment plants distributed across the country (Figure 22). The diagram in figure 23 shows Wastewater treatment process (“Water Resources in UAE�, 2017). The amount of treated wastewater is very low in the UAE compared to the total water production, and not all of it is reused. The situation is very unsustainable because there are many possibilities to benefit from the wastewater rather than dump it and harm the environment. Especially in processes that do not need fresh water and reduce the need for desalinated water and its disadvantages that are mentioned earlier.

Figure 22: Sewage treatment plants distributed across the UAE (2020)

The project addresses water management issues by applying sustainable options such as grey water bio-treatment, sewage water retreatment, storm water cleaning, and water recycling.

The indicators for the water resource sustainability is to achieve water productivity index of 120 USD per cubic meter.

Figure 23: Wastewater treatment process (Wastewater or sewage treatment plant, 2018)

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FOOD The food sector in the UAE is inadequate due to the extreme weather conditions, it remains costly to grow crops for local consumption. In addition to local farming, the UAE invests in the importation of sugar, vegetable oils, meat, dairy, bakery and bottled water production (“Food Industry in the UAE”, n.d.). Even though the efforts of the UAE to develop the food sector are considerable, only 40% of all consumed products are produced in the country, whilst the remaining 60% is obtained from importation. Importing food greatly increases UAE’s ecological footprint.

Figure 24 shows how the consumption of fruits in the UAE has increased from 2010 to 2014, which is expected to increase more along with other food types consumption as the population increases. Figure 25 shows the different suppliers of meat in the

UAE. Importing food increases UAE’s footprint and increases risk on the environment.

Figure 24: Fruits consumption in the UAE. It shows how the consumption of fruits in the UAE has increased from 2010 to 2014 (UAE Fresh Mutton and Fruits Market, 2016)

Figure 25: International suppliers of meet in the UAE. It shows the different suppliers of meet in the UAE (UAE Fresh Mutton and Fruits Market, 2016).

The project responds to these sustainability issues by adopting the newest farming technologies to foster the growth of fruits and vegetables within the city. As noted by Fraker (2013), many other examples of sustainable districts show that it is possible to establish good farming conditions in any weather conditions by using ecological farming systems, bio-farming, aeroponic and aquaponic farming, hydra loop and zero mass water. The strategy allows the district to supply its citizens with fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy products on a daily basis, which reduces food footprint, thus contributing to the improvement of overall sustainability.

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WASTE The UAE does not have a centralized waste system, that is why each district gathers the waste individually, which is then collected by the municipality. UAE is one of the countries with the highest waste production in 2017 compared to Middle East and North Africa countries with 2.1 Kg/person/day followed by KSA and Bahrain with 1.7 Kg/person/day (Bhargava,2018) (Figure 26).

Dubai accounts for 3.5 million tons of waste annually, whilst Sharjah accounts for 2.3 million tons annually. UAE produces 4.9 million tons of solid waste annually. 8000 tones of house hold waste is collected daily in Dubai (“Waste Management�, 2020).

Figure 27 shows a landfill in the UAE, and a waste recycling plants in Abu Dhabi. There are different waste categories, 42% of the waste comes from construction and demolition waste, 33% from industrial and commercial waste, 15% from municipal waste and the other 10% is from agriculture waste (Figure 28).

The UAE waste management industry is aiming to reduce the environmental impact by an effective waste management of the various industrial wastes generated in the country. As the country is shifting its focus toward the non-oil sector to reduce the over-dependency on the oil trade, it is increasing the operations in the industries, like heavy and light manufacturing, refineries, chemical plants, power plants, and mineral extraction and processing, which generate huge amounts of waste. All

these wastes need to be treated and recycled efficiently in waste treatment sites (Figure 29).

As the waste is high, the project addresses the issue radically to secure that the waste is managed appropriately. The project uses the system of underground tunnels across the district to dispose the waste to the central depot. The system creates the linkages between all buildings to ensure that the waste is gathered in one place, that is easily accessible to the municipality (Fraker, 2013). The central depot is in a hidden area at the edge of the neighborhood, so each collection process will not concern the residents’ lives or affect the quality of their life. The design district provides other means of waste management systems by recycling, reuse and reduce methods. Also, it uses the waste to produce clean energy.

Figure 26: Per capita waste generation in the MENA countries, 2017 (Bhargava, 2018)

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Figure 28: Waste Category, percentage distribution of Non-hazardous solid waste by source activity 2017 “Waste categories� (Statistic Center Abu Dhabi, 2017)

Figure 27: A landfill in the UAE; waste recycling plant in the UAE (Waste, 2017)

Figure 29: Number of Waste treatment Sites (landfills), in % by Emirates, 2017 (National Statistic Office, 2017)

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BIODIVERSITY The natural biodiversity of the UAE is obliterated by urban developments. It lacks biological diversity because it is located in the empty quarter desert. It includes different ecosystems of flora and fauna covering desert ecosystems, mountain ecosystems, marine ecosystems and wetlands (Figure 30) (Biodiversity and Environment, 2020). The UAE has endangered species (Figures 31,32) such as Antelopes and Lynxs, and has only 43 protected areas (Figure 33); Dubai Ras Al Khor Wildlife sanctuary is one of the examples of these protected areas (Figure 34).

Figure 30: Ecosystems in the UAE (Biodiversity and Environment, 2020)

Figure 31: Antelopes endangered species (Biodiversity and Environemnt, 2020)

Figure 32: Lynxs endangered species (Biodiversity and Environemnt, 2020)

Figure 33: Dubai Ras Al Khor Wildlife sanctuary (Biodiversity and Environemnt, 2020)

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Wetlands are home to some of the richest variety of living things on Earth including amphibians, birds and insects. In the UAE, wetlands include coastal areas, wadis, sabkhas, shallow seagrass and coral reefs, mudflats, salt marshes, and mangroves but also numerous artificial lakes, ponds created for recreation, water storage, or sewage plants. The UAE has 7 Wetlands of international importance with different species of fauna and flora (Figure 35).

These limited number of species have to be protected in order to maintain the natural biodiversity of the UAE. However, there are many factors affecting the biodiversity in UAE, such as climate change that is constantly affecting biodiversity in coastal ecosystems. It is clear that coastal areas will experience severe flooding because of the rising sea level.

sprawl, that pressures biodiversity and destruction of habitats of wild species. These factors negatively impact the wildlife and contribute to soil degradation, less vegetation, disappearance of living species, increase soil salinity and decrease soil fertility.

The project contributes in preserving the natural biodiversity by making green corridor along the site using UAE’s trees that adopts to the nature of the desert and its high temperature. Using green corridors plays a role in reducing the district temperature and provides shadings for pedestrians to minimize the usage of cars, which creates an environment with less carbon emissions.

Another factor is population growth, currently the population of UAE has reached 9 million. This will result in increasing modern living habits and demands, which will lead to the increase of degradation of ecosystems rate due to high pressure on many natural resources (FAO, 2019).

The economic growth rate is witnessing an increase of infrastructure, this also leads to less land areas, increase of energy consumption, and rise of exploitation. Last is Urban

Figure 34: Protected areas in the UAE (Biodiversity and Environemnt, 2020)

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Al-Zora Ajman

This wetland is an important bird and biodiversity area in the region, supporting over 87 bird species.

UAE WE TLANDS

Wadi Wurayah National Park Fujairah

Sir Bu Nair Island Sharjah

Ajman

There are 40 coral species and 76 reef fish species recorded in this site, including seven coral species that are classified as vulnerable.

Sharjah

Bul Syayeef Marine Abu Dhabi

This site is a coastal wetland with diverse habitats including mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass beds.

The area's geology has created a unique system, that allows run-off water to emerge between rocks, creating fresh water streams, pools and waterfalls. It supports 11 threatened species of mammals and hosts 17 reptile species.

Fujairah

Dubai Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary Dubai

Consisting of low-lying saline flats, lagoon, intertidal mud and sand flats, and mangrove swamps, this site is a critical habitat for over 450 species of fauna and 47 species of flora.

Mangrove & Alhafeya Protected Area in Khor Kalba Sharjah

The critically endangered Hawksbill turtles and Green turtles can be observed near the mouth of the mangrove's inlet.

Al Wathba Wetland Reserve Abu Dhabi

This site was declared a reserve after the first successful breeding of the Greater Flamingos there in 1998.

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Wetland Figure 35: UAE Wetlands (2020)

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CLIMATE The temperature average in the UAE is 28 °C. The temperature is the highest in July, with average of 37 °C. In January, the average temperature decreases to 19.0°C. The temperature can reach up to 43°C in summer and 12°C in winter (Figure 36). The average perception is 9.7mm and the humidity is 51% (Figure 37) (Sharjah climate, n.d.). Sharjah is considered to have a desert climate with extremely hot and humid weather during summer.

Across the year, there is almost no rainfall. The wind direction in Sharjah is west 7 months a year, and around 5-6 months the wind

is west-north-west and the speed average of the year is 30 Km/h (National center of metrology, 2017).

The project uses the sun exposure in Sharjah (Figure 38) to provide the energy needed from solar panels. Also, the project focuses on providing shading with landscaping and shading structures that creates a comfortable climate and encourages walkability. It takes into consideration, the orientation of the buildings, the size of plots and the location of windows to reduce the sun exposure.

Wind Direction Sun Circulation

Ajman Sharjah Airpot Stop The District

Figure 36: The average temperature degree of Sharjah in 2019 from Jan until Dec, it’s between 44 for the maximum in August and 12 for the minimum in January (Climate in Sharjah, 2019) SHARJAH

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Figure 37: The humidity average of Sharjah in 2019 from Jan until Dec, it’s between 60%-80% except April and May they be below the 60% (Climate in Sharjah, 2019).

Figure 38: Sun path and wind direction in Sharjah

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URBAN HEAT ISLAND The increase in temperature in urban areas due to UHI effect can have negative impacts on three pillars of sustainability, i.e. environment, people and economy. Some of the negative impacts include increase in energy consumption, increase in temperature leads to an increase in demand for cooling, which subsequently puts pressure on electricity supply during the peak periods of demand.

Another impact is an increase in emission of air pollutants and GHGs, as more electricity is needed to cool the surfaces. Demand on energy supply leads to emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases from the power plants. Use of ozone depleting refrigerants such as CFCs in the air-conditioning system causes depletion in the stratospheric ozone layer. Elevated temperature also promotes the formation of ground-level ozone.

Demand on water is another impact of increase in temperature, as the surface and air get hotter, people consume more water for both indoor and outdoor usage and it puts pressure on water supply.

As hot surfaces transfer the absorbed heat to water features such as rivers, streams, ponds, lake etc; this increases the surface water temperature and alerting the aquatic ecosystem structure and functions.

Elevated day and night temperatures along with higher air pollution can cause respiratory diseases, discomfort, heat stress and decrease productivity and increase heat related mortalities affecting the overall quality of life.

In addition, paving the desert with asphalt which is used in all roads and highways, houses, and building materials with very low amount of landscaping contributes to UHI (Urban Heat Island) effect in cities. The UHI negatively affects the weather conditions within the city causing climate change and increase in temperature.

Urban heat island is quite common in cities located in the desert.

However, very few studies are done so far to find how cities in

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semiarid and arid areas act as urban heat islands. The UAE consists of seven Emirates and weather here is a tropical desert climate.

Out of seven Emirates, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah have experienced a rapid rise of high and low intensity urban areas in recent years. Some studies indicated that Sharjah has seen 64.8% change in land cover and a 1.5 degree C rise in land surface temperature (LST) in the past 10 years. These are the common indicators of UHI (Swain, 2018).

The project responses to UHI by the use of sustainable materials in the buildings, reduce paving roads to only main roads connecting the district with the surrounding, minimize the usage of vehicles and encourage public transportation like walking and cycling.

The project uses sustainable energy production, and recycled water. The project also uses native trees to minimize the demand on water, as well as planting the whole area with trees to reduce urban heat island effects, replaced by creating an urban cooling island effect in the district.

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THE PORJECT

SITE ANALYSIS

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LAND USE AND URBAN FORM The site is considered an empty area that has many trees and plants with vacant land covering most of the site and the surroundings. There are some governmental entities in the east direction such as the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Sharjah Health Care City. Also, the Muzairah residential area which is a low-density area with single family homes is in the east. In the south west the University City is located, in the west direction there is the Sharjah Airport. The airplane landing path passes through the site from the south-west direction, which is considered noisy and unsafe for residents. Figure 39 shows the

Damascus (DAM) Sharjah (SHJ) Figure 39: Airplain landing path crossing the district

landing path crossing the site. In the north there is Al- Rahmanya residential area which is a low-density area with single family homes. (Figure 40). The site lacks the variety of urban form because most of the area is a vacant land. There are low-density and single-home infrastructure surrounding the site, and some farms in the center as shown in figure 41 of the site.

The new district desgin is mid to high density urban form using mixed land uses with close proximity and compact development designs. The Health Care City will provide the project with the

Dhaka (DAC) Sharjah (SHJ)

Kathmandu (KTM) Sharjah (SHJ)

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needed health facilities. The governmental entities will facilitate the transactions needed by the residents and businesses. The upper part of the district will be with low density residential buildings and the right side will have governmental buildings to keep it more consistent with Al- Rahmanya residential area and the governmental entities near the site. Sharjah Airport will significantly facilitate people’s movement and transporting goods. To avoid airplane noise, the area near the landing path will be used as a resource production area for the district.

Figure 40: Land use (2020)

Site borders

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Health care city

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Figure 41: The site (2020)

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SHARJAH DESIGN DISTRIC T d

MOBILITY AL RAHMANIAY

The site has no public transportation means and lacks a bus station; the nearest bus stations are the Airport bus station and University bus station (Figure 14).

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Vehicular Street Network Etihad Rail

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PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION The site has no public transportation means and lacks a bus station. The nearest bus station is the Airport bus station and University bus station, which shows lack of connectivity with the surrounding areas. The UAE supports different projects to improve sustainability, as Etihad train, which is supposed to transport people and goods across the cities, but it is still not implemented. The Etihad Railway will be crossing the seven Emirates, passing Sharjah through Al Dhaid Road E88 (figure 42).

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Figure 42: Public transportation map of the site (2020)

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AL RAHMANIAY

PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION

AL RAHMANIAY

The site has a well-connected vehicular street network, it has four roads on its boundaries. In the south direction, is the AlDhaid highway which connects the site to Fujairah city. From the east and west directions there are internal roads “un-named” that connect the site to Al-Rahmania residential area. The site has many unpaved roads. As shown in figure 43 of street hirarchy.

Abu Amr Al Basri St Abu Amr Al Basri St

High way Major arterial Minor arterial Internel Road Un-paved Road

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Figure 43: Street Hirarchy map of the site (2020)

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The project is placing two Etihad rail stations; one in the SouthWest of the District, and another one in Sharjah Airport which will connect the site with the Airport for visitors and will connect the site to the rest of the UAE (Figure 14). The project also links the Dubai Metro to Sharjah as a proposal to link the Metro to the other Emirates.

Also, the project upgrades the public transportation net in the UAE and especially Sharjah by providing high quality busses with a bus station every 800 meters. Al-Dhaid highway will connect the site to UAE’s northern cities to facilitate public transportation movement between the cities.

The project extends the roads between the district and AlRahmania with green paths. The unpaved roads in the site will be totally removed. All land uses can be reached by the residents within a walking distance. In particular, the district eliminates the use of cars, and provides various convenient transportation systems instead, that combines walking and public transportation.

From this perspective, the project provides the residents with the ability to move across neighborhoods in the district without using vehicles.

It is pedestrian-friendly oriented with shaded pedestrian routes.

The district incorporates the usage of smart cars (“Sharjah Transportation”, 2017). The coherent network is developed across the district, giving the priority to cyclists and pedestrians.

However, electric cars with zero CO2 emission are allowed, whilst any gas fuels are strictly prohibited.

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ENERGY The site has two main power lines with high voltage and mid voltage categories. The UAE generates most of its electricity using natural gas-fired generation. The natural gas distribution networks are in all the Emirates. The site has one main SEWA GAS line (Figure 44). Figure 45 shows two of SEWA GAS stations in Sharjah.

Mid voltage SEWA Electrical line High voltage SEWA Electrical line SEWA main Gas line

Figure 44: SEWA Gas Station in Sharjah (SEWA, 2018)

Figure 43: Street Hirarchy map of the site (2020)

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The district is exposed to direct sun light, so the solar power energy is a beneficial method to use. The project also uses other potential sources to produce clean energy as geothermal and waste-to-energy systems. The project follows Masdar City in adopting the technology of waste processing to gain the electricity from the waste, which accounts for 15% of overall energy supply in Masdar and 10% accounts for geothermal energy production, which is used in underground steam to produce electricity (“Sharjah Waste-to-Energy�, 2020). By applying these methods, the project is supplied with fully renewable energy that achieves the sustainability goal of the district. The project buildings hosts solar panels that are installed on the roofs of the living houses.

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WATER AND WASTEWATER The site lacks ground and underground hydrology. There are no springs, seeps or aqui-fers. Near the site, there is an underground hydrology aquifer. During the year, there is almost no rainfall in Sharjah. In a year, the rainfall reaches to 97 mm. Most precipitation falls in December, with an average of 25 mm (Sharjah climate, n.d.). SEWA has nine water generation plants mainly desalination plants. It has its own bottled drinking water subsidiary known as Zulal which has its factory located in Al-Rahmania area near the site. SEWA water lines located in the site are in figure 45.

distribution pipes near the site. The water shortage in the district will be provided from the Al-Rahmaniya desalination plant that is produced by solar power.

The project applies sustainable options for water and wastewater such as grey water bio-treatment, sewage water retreatment, and water recycling. It uses wetlands, living machines and biogas digester to manage the water sustainably. The district is equipped with modern systems that will con-trol the water flow and secure that all water used is processed maximally to reuse it, as well as con-tributing to the improvement of the self-sufficiency of the district. The project sets policies to regu-late water demands. It includes restriction on some types of water use and setting prices for water consumption. The project designs systems for recycling water and using treated wastewater for irrigation purposes. The water system in the site is an extension to the existing water SEWA Water lines

Figure 45: SEWA water lines location in the site (2020)

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BIODIVERSITY AL RAHMANIAY

FLORA The site is located in a desert area that lacks the biodiversity of wild plants. There are two types of trees and some other herbs; weeds and shrubs. Ghaf trees and Ghawif trees are randomly distributed in the site (Figure 46). Ghawif trees cover approximately 30% of the site. Ghawif trees were recently introduced to the UAE for the purpose of establishing artificial forests but it spreads outside the forest area. Its classified among the 100 most dangerous trees in the world for its dependency on absorbing large quantities of water, which exposes the groundwater to drought, it also leads to the death of the surrender plants (Al-Rifai, 2018)

AL RAHMANIAY

AL RAHMANIAY

Abu Amr Al B

Abu Amr Al Basri St

Abu Amr Al Basri St

Native Plants Al Ghawif Tree Al Ghaf Tree

FAUNA There is variety of reptiles and birds in the site. As the site is part of UAE desert, it will contain lizards, geckos and toads. The spinytailed lizard ‘Dhub’, is the most widespread reptile. Also, different kinds of scorpions and snakes are there. Laughing dove and the white-eared bulbul are the two main birds found in the site.

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The district has green corridors to reduce the district temperature and provides shadings for pedestrians. The project uses the Ghaf tree in landscaping and shading. All Ghawif trees will be removed using special treatment to prevent the growth.

Figure 46: Flora Site Map, the map shoes the distribution of the native plants, Al-Ghaf tree, and Al-Ghawif tree (2020)

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CLIMATE The site is located in Sharjah and lies on 6m above sea level.

Sharjah is considered to have a desert climate with extremely hot and humid during the summer. During the year, there is almost no rainfall. The temperature can reach up to 43°C in summer and 12°C in winter. The site is exposed to high and direct sun light.

The wind direction in Sharjah is west 7 months a year, and around 5-6 months the wind is west-north-west and the speed average of the year is 30 Km/h (National center of metrology, 2017). Figure 47 shows the direction of the sun and wind.

The sun exposure is considered when placing the solar panels in the right direction to provide the energy needed from solar panels.

The solar panels in the site is directed to the east to provide the energy needed from the solar panels. Also, the project focuses on providing shading with landscaping and shading structures that creates a comfortable climate and encourages walkability. The project takes the wind direction into consideration to determine the location of the buildings, distance between each, to capture cold air in the site by narrowing the streets throughout the wind direction. In addition of linear greenways that would help maintain the movement of fresh air and decrease the climate heat.

AL RAHMANIAY

AL RAHMANIAY

Abu Amr Al

Abu Amr Al Basri St

Wind Direction Sun Circulation

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Figure 47: Sun path and wind direction in the site (2020)

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TOPOGRAPHY The site consists of sand dunes with different elevation (Figure 48). The map shows the digital terrain model of the site, which consists of sand dunes with different elevations (Figure 49).

AL RAHMANIAY

The sand will be excavated and used in the construction phase, as means of sustainable use of reusing the current sands of the Sharjah desert.

Abu Amr Al Basri St

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Figure 48: The Map shows the Digital terrain model of the site, which consists of sand dunes with different elevation (2020)

Figure 49: Site view of the topography (2020)

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THE PORJECT

PROJECT’S ECONOMIC BASE

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PROJECT’S ECONOMIC BASE Dubai has already demonstrated how supremely-designed and modernized a district must look like by constructing Dubai Design District (D3) (Figure 50). The idea behind D3 consisted in the creation of a neighborhood, which will untie the designers in order to enjoy the latest trends and events in fashion, architecture and all design related fields. (Kelly, 2017).

The same model is used for Sharjah Design District, since Sharjah is perceived as a cultural Emirate, the central idea of Sharjah Design District (SDD) follows the base of D3, integrating traditional cultural Arabian elements. It is critically important, though, to integrate the conventionalism with modernity, addressing these issues in each element of district design. In addition to the district’s sustainability, it is also a very compelling aspect for people to visit.

The aim of SDD is to gather, unite and develop creative minds that drive future innovations in the Emirate, at the same time demonstrating the creativeness of Middle East to the wider public.

In particular, SDD is supposed to become famous for fashion festivals, design galleries and other events that will showcase the creative work of the best Middle East designers. SDD is the place,

where creative people can live, work, entertain and engage with each other to educate and promote the education of the next generation. In order to achieve these goals, SDD provides a variety of facilities of different purpose. For example, the district will comprise boutiques, showrooms, galleries, design studies, labs, restaurants and an open space gym. The project will fully adhere to the sustainability principles, creating not only the place for the development of designers, but also contributing to the sustainable environment.

Other examples of Design Districts in the world are Miami Design District (Figure 51) and Victoria Dockside in Hong-Kong (Figure 52). The first one is known for its unusual architectural forms that include many glass elements of sphericity (“In the Zone”, 2019).

The latter Design District in Hong Kong incorporates many green natural elements and regeneration of avenue of stars similar to Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

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Figure 50: Dubai Design District (D3, 2018)

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Figure 52: Victoria Dockside in Hong-Kong (Victoria Dockside global art and design district, 2019)

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Figure 51: Miami Design District (Miami design district, 2019)

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GREATER CONTEXT Similar to many other projects, Sharjah Design District benefits from its location. The district is within close proximity to the airport, which will provide transportation convenience. The Emirate of Sharjah is known as the cultural Emirate, which also has two design schools- Sharjah University and American University of Sharjah. Many art and design museums are located around the site together with Sharjah Design hub, which will increase the development of the district. The proposed metro line connects all the Art and Design facilities to SDD and in future to D3 in Duabi. The location of SDD is promising for further rapid development and expansion of the district to become one of the most famous areas in the world (Figure 53).

The Main Activities surrounding the District are

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S H A R J A H G R E AT E R C O N T E X T

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Figure 53: Greater context of design activites in Sharjah (2020)

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THE PORJECT

SHARJAH DESIGN DISTRICT

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SHARJAH DESIGN DISTRICT The UAE is a very economically-developed country, which is set for rapid growth. The mix of governmental reforms, incentives and innovations resulted in significant growth of non-oil sector GDP, which is the determinant of the overall UAE’s economy surge. John (2019) reported that UAE’s non-oil sector is estimated to shift from 1.6% in 2019 up to 3% in 2020, implying 90% growth just in a year. One of the most essential contributing factors to growth is EXPO 2020, which is supposed to approach the country to $500 billion economy. It is remarkable that UAE has rapidly moved from oil economy, which amounted to 85% in 2009 to non-oil economy, which is projected to compile 80% in 2021, by developing tourism, aviation, construction, retail, hospitality and real estate sectors (John, 2019). In view of the aforesaid, UAE’s economy is presumed to positively affect the development of the project, since the growth of construction sector aligns with the overall increase of the country’s GDP. As UAE’s economy is firmly surging, Sharjah in particular benefits from the process of long-term growth. The main sectors supported by the state include culture, education, social programs and construction (Sophia, 2020). To some extent, the diversification indicates the individuality of community, as the

sectors addressed by Sharjah differ from the ones addressed by UAE in general. Even though the state is a part of UAE’s economy, it has its individual growth plan and budget, as well as a separate report. In present days, Sharjah reports extensive growth of its economy, which allowed it to increase the spending budget by 2% in 2020 compared to 2019 and become the third-biggest economy of the UAE (Sophia, 2020). Taking into account that the project is planned on launching in Sharjah, the state will be favorable for the project’s rapid growth and development due to high level of the state’s economy expansion.

The project has been developed as the first unique district in the UAE, that combines traditions of Sharjah along with modern architectural design and innovative sustainability features.

The district is the representation of Sharjah’s future, which is supposed to be progressive and prosperous. The district has its unique spirit, that will unite the creative minds from all over the country to collaborate and generate the ideas, that will renovate the future. The project is deeply integrated with the sustainability issues in Sharjah, assessing not only its current viability, but also the perspectives for future development.

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VISION The vision of SDD is to become a fully sustainable neighborhood, which will integrate the most foreword thinking and creative minds that will drive the future changes within UAE and Sharjah particularly. Similar to D3, the project will provide the location, where creative ideas will be created and collaborated, consequently developing the culture of the UAE and integrating innovations to attain further success (“About Us”, n.d.) Given that the district is sustainable, it will fully represent the ongoing trend of sustainability and pinpoint an ultimate necessity to implement innovations and grow the country from the multilateral perspective.

GOALS SDD has very ambitious goals, that will possible transform the perception of Sharjah in general. In present, the Emirate has not much enthusiastic initiatives, that is why the project has all chances to level Sharjah up to the degree of Dubai’s and Abu Dhabi’s progress. The primary goal is to make the district fully sustainable with zero CO2 emission, total renewable energy supply and appropriate waste and water management. Once the project represents the face of the future, the second goal will be to create an environment, where the sustained and exponential growth of individual and collaborative skills of creative people will occur.

STRATEGIES Created by Eucalyp from the Noun Project

All strategies designed for SDD are aimed at the accomplishment of the goals set for the project. The first beneficial strategy lies in the location of the district, which is close to the airport and popular design schools, that creates a good foundation for creation of ingenious hub. The second strategy is to incorporate traditional design elements of Middle Eastern culture with the modernity and innovations, similar to D3 (Kelly, 2017). The integration approach will allow to create new stylish architectural zone, distinctive from others, which are currently promoted in UAE. The third strategy will be similar as applied by Vauban, which consists in the provision of public transit across the district, that will be sustainable, but will also provide connections across the city with the possibility to travel quickly (Fraker, 2013). The strategies specified will increase the level of SDD progression, creating it into the Sharjah’s brilliant architectural style, creativity and innovativeness.

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PROJECT’S RESPONSE TO SUSTAINABILITY IN UAE The project is an eco-district, formed of different neighborhoods, completed with various social, religious, entertainment and educational facilities. The project is car-free and uses renewable energy, local food production, waste and water recycling systems.

The purpose of the project is to construct fully ecological district with zero carbon dioxide emission. The transportation network interconnects the inner infrastructure so that the travel time to any of the facility is minimized. The project addresses the following sustainability issues:

• • • • • •

Urban Form and Density Mobility and Transportation Energy Waste Management Water Food Production

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CONCEPT & URBAN STRUCTURE The main five sustainable urbanism principles for any eco-district are “Adequate space for streets and an efficient street network, High density, Mixed land-use, Social mix and Limited land-use specialization�. (UN-HABITAT, 2014)

design core. Each neighborhood provids the daily activities for the users. As well as a dedicated area for the production of sustainable resources and light industries.

The district connects the surrounding sites by drawing functional and visual links extending them into the neighborhood centers creating entry and exit points to the visitors. The district minimizes the usage of vehicles by restricting the access of cars within each neighborhood allowing one main street crossing all central public spaces to provide daily transportation needs and activities.

The center of each neighborhood is a public park surrounded by mixed land uses and commercial activity. This way there is a constant dialogue between the park as a place of relaxing and recreation versus the commercial hub. Placing the main economic design core activity of the district at the crossways of central major thoroughfares aligns itself with the hustle and bustle that accompanies the traffic whilst also serving as a design hub of job opportunities for the residents of the neighborhoods, students and tourists at the center of the district (Figure 54).

The district is divided into five neighborhoods surrounding the

Figure 54: SDD Concept plan (2020)

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MASTER PLAN

Al Rahmanya Neighborhood

Sharjah Design district is a unique eco-district, formed of five neighborhoods, completed with various social, religious, entertainment and educational facilities. The district is an ecological district with zero carbon dioxide emission. SDD combines traditions of Sharjah along with modern architectural design and innovative sustainability features. It is a pedestrian oriented district with compact mid to high density mixed land-uses (Figure 55, 55a).

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Sharjah Metro Station Etihad Railway Wind Direction

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Figure 55: Sharjah Design District Master Plan (2020)

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75 District Design Core

Resources Area

Main economic center is spread in 7 hectares of space. It’s the place where people can shop, dine, live, explore and experience art and design, participate and enjoy many events and get inspired.

The district is fully supplied by renewable energy systems; solar and biomass, as well as waste, water recycling systems and food production.

Wind Green Corridor

The district is designed to host two wind corridors that captures the air passing through the district, this is one of the methods used to cool the district.

Figure 55a: Sharjah Design District Master Plan (2020)

Neighborhood Center

Each neighborhood has a unique public space, providing all the community facilities within five to ten minutes walking distance.

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LAND USE AND URBAN FORM According to the UN-habitat organization that aims for a better urban future, the main five sustainable urbanism principles for any eco-district are “Adequate space for streets and an efficient street network, High density, Mixed land-use, Social mix and Limited land-use specialization�. High density is a key to achieve sustainability and to prevent urban sprawl; which is one of the main challenges in urban planning today.

UN-habitat defines a ratio of around 150 person/hectare for the district to be sustainable. Mixed land-use is a key factor to achieve high density ratio with a good quality life for people. Mixed landuse is a combination of residential, commercial, industrial, offices, recreational and institutional activities. UN-habitat proposed a floor area distribution for different uses with a minimum and maximum percentage to be followed by the eco-district, 40 to 60 percent for economic use, 30 to 50 percent for residential use and 10 percent for public services. The combination of high density and mixed land use will reduce car dependency in the district and convert it to a pedestrian oriented district that encourages walkability and support different public transportation means.

As well, it will provide jobs that will increases the local economy of the district (UN-HABITAT, 2014).

Sharjah Design District is designed to have a compact mid to high density of 140 persons/hectare. The district is a mixed land-use that consists of five neighborhoods with residential, mixed-use, institutional, recreational, light industries, sustainable resources production and commercial in the main design economic center which is the core of the district. The design core includes commercial buildings and offices related to design, a stage for outdoor design activities and many restaurants, cafes, and shops.

It has main design activities such as showrooms, galleries, design studios, design labs, runway and fashion shows. The district has a separate zone for the logistics and light industries such as design factory, 3D printing shop and design publishing magazine. An energy, water and food production resources to provide the whole district with its needs (Figure 56).

The urban form shows the high-density compact form with close proximity of buildings to provide shade between the buildings and blocks size of maximum 100 x 100 meter to facilitate pedestrian movement (Figure 57).

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SHARJAH DESIGN DISTRICT LANDUSE

Figure 56: Sharjah Design District Land use map (2020)

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SHARJAH DESIGN DISTRICT URBAN FORM

Figure 57: Sharjah Design District urban form (2020)

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SDD has a good mix of land uses particularly by allowing the ground floors of mixed-use buildings to house other uses for example commercial uses. Such mixed uses are focused towards the center of each neighborhood, accessible to all especially by foot within a maximum of five minutes walking distance and also accessible by bicycle. As a result, the

Figure 58: Active frontages

neighborhood does not allow the use of vehicles internally except the main roads and allows various land uses to be in proximity to each other. The commercial-residential land use mix coupled with adjacent park and cafes encourage the gathering of people towards the center of the neighborhood, making it lively and thriving with people constantly (Figure 58).

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The district land area is 432 hectares. The built-up area is 395 hectares. The district has 925 building with different uses. The number of the residential and mixed-use buildings is 858 with 15,800 dwelling units (Figure 59). Figure 60, shows the land areas per land use percentages. Figure 61, shows the area of each land use. Based on the ratio of 1:1 employment to population ratio, the district will provide more than 50,000 job opportunities, the design core will provide more than 5000 jobs. The jobs in the district vary based on the activity and most of the activities need designers, fashion stylists, models, managers, store managers, account managers, sales assistants, security, cashiers, visual SDD Land use merchandisers and much more.

Residential mid density 46% Residential mid density Residential low density 3%

395 ha

Land use Area

Residential low density

Mixed use (commercial and residintial) 26% Mixed use (commercial and residential) Sustainable esources production 13% Resources production Recreational 1% Recreational Industries Worship places 4% Industries

Parking 1% Worship places Educational 1% Educational Governmental 2%

Governmental

1%

Parking

2%

Design core

Design core

Figure 60: Landuse area per percentage (2020)

Total area

432

hectares

Built up area

395

hectares

Sustainable desnsity

140

persons/hectares

Population

55300

persons

Figure 59: Sharjah Design District land area (2020) Land use

hectares

Residential mid density

182.8

Residential low density

10.8

Mixed use (commercial and residintial)

102.7

Resources production

50.1

Recreational

2.8

Industries

15.5

Educational

7.4

Worship places

3.6

Governmental

8

Parking

5.6

Design core

6.5

Total

395

Figure 61: Sharjah Design District area of each land use (2020)

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Sharjah Design District is designed to accommodate a total of 55,300 persons who will live and work in the area, and 50,000 travelers will visit the district. The average household in the UAE is 4.5 persons. According to the (un.org, 2017) and by comparing UAE’s household size with the countries having a similar household size, SDD distribution of household by family member will be as the UAE (Figure 62).

Majority of UAE population are males and fall under the age group of 25-54 which is the average working age. SDD is following the UAE population percentages Figure 63 & 64 & 65 shows the population breakdown by age, gender and nationality.

The number of students in studying age 0-14 are 7853. Following Sharjah students’ structure (MOE, 2019). 70% are in primary school while 30% are in secondary school figure 66.

Figure 62: SDD Households

Figure 64: SDD gender precentage

Figure 63: SDD population breakdown by age

Figure 65: SDD nationality breakdown

Figure 66: SDD Student’s percentage

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BUILDING TYPOLOGIES The district is a convenient place for people with different income levels and social groups. There are three main different types of residential housing which are apartments with different forms, town houses and accommodations. The accommodations are for labors and workers with low income and bachelors, different apartments types for mid income and town houses for high income people. The variety of building typologies presents in each neighborhood which enriches visual experience.

The main building typologies are folded, U-shaped, L-shaped, closed, courtyard and linear. The heights of the buildings vary from three floors to six floors and each typology can adapt more than one use with different height. Figure 67 shows the building typologies for residential, mixed use and commercial buildings.

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NIGHBORHOOD B U I L D I N G T YP O LO G I E S Use

Type

Commercial

Mixed-use

Block

Height

Use

Type

Folded

G+3

Residential

Closed

G+3

U - shaped

G+3

Courtyard

G+3

G+5

U - shaped

G+4

G+4

Folded

G+3

Linear

G+5

L - shaped

G+4

3D

Linear

Folded

L - shaped

U - shaped

Figure 67: SDD Building typologies (2020)

Section

G+3

G+2

Block

3D

Section

Height

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COMMUNITY FACILITIES Providing community facilities that are accessible to all the people within walking distance is a key principle in a sustainable district. Shops, schools and other local services should be within a 400-meter radius of residents’ homes, which is approximately 5 minutes walking time. (Terri Pikora, 2001). Every neighborhood needs a nursery, place of worship, primary school, clinic and a community center. For a larger scale, the district needs a secondary school, health center, and a local center. Sustainable districts should provide different public open spaces in the residential area. Every sustainable neighborhood should have a toddlers play area, playgrounds, local park, pocket park and all should be connected with a green path network. All the facilities should be reached either by walking or through a public transportation system which its station should be within 400m.

(Barton, 2010).

A sports complex, library, market, pharmacy, shopping center and community hall are also in the neighborhood center to be accessible for all. The district has three churches, three secondary schools within 10 minutes walking distance. Figure 69 shows the distribution of community facilities in one neighborhood which will be similar to the other neighborhoods. Figure 70 shows the typical neighborhood on a 3D view.

5 min

5 min 5 min

5 min

Sharjah Design District provides all the facilities needed to the people which are concentrated in the center of each neighborhood where all the people can reach it within 5 minutes walking distance (Figure 68). All the daily activities needed such as nursery, mosque, primary school and clinic are in the neighborhood center within 5 minutes walking distance.

5 min

Neighborhood center 5 min Pedestrian Shed

Figure 68: Neighborhood Center pedestrian shed

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NEIGHBORHOOD C O M M U N I T Y FA C I L I T I E S

2-3 minutes 200 meters

Figure 69: SDD community facilities map (2020)

5 minutes 400 meters

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Figure 70: SDD Typical Neighborhood view (2020)

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SHARJAH DESIGN DISTRICT PEDESTRIAN SHEDS

5 min

5 min 10 min

5 min 5 min 10 min

The pedestrian sheds for the important facilities in SDD are designed to be within a five- to ten-minutes walking distance.

Pedestrian shed for schools with 5 minutes walking distance for the primary schools and 10 minutes for the secondary school (Figure 71 & 71a). The number of students in primary schools is 5497 students, will be distributed by the nearest school to their houses and the number of students in secondary school is 2356 students. Each neighborhood has two mosques. The district has three churches. Pedestrian shed for the worship with 5 minutes walking distance (Figure 72 & 72a). Each neighborhood has a clinic and a main pharmacy within a walking distance of 5 minutes (Figure 73).

5 min

10 min

5 min

Primary School 5 min Pedestrian Shed Secondary School 10 min Pedestrian Shed

Figure 71: Primary School Shed

Figure 71a: Secondary School Shed

5 min

5 min 5 min 10 min 5 min

5 min 5 min 5 min

5 min

5 min

5 min 5 min

10 min 5 min

10 min 5 min 5 min

Mosque 5 min Pedestrian Shed

Clinic & pharmacy 5 min Pedestrian Shed Church 10 min Pedestrian Shed

Figure 72: Mosque pedestrian shed

Figure 72a: Church pedestrian shed

Figure 73: Clinics Pedestrian shed

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DISTRICT’S ECONOMIC CORE Sharjah Design District (SDD) is a unique eco-district that focuses on the design concept by integrating traditional cultural Arabian elements. The design concept covers many categories such as fashion, drawing, art, architecture, innovation, calligraphy and much more. It’s the place where people can shop, dine, live, explore and experience art and design, participate and enjoy many events and get inspired. SDD is the home for all creative designers and the youth. SDD provides different workspaces in different interests, design, drawing, and art workshops. SDD’s location in Sharjah is a strategic location due to the proximity to the airport which will attract many visitors and tourists to visit the district.

Sharjah Design District’s main economic center is spread in 7 hectares of space accommodating many activities. Sharjah Design District’s center is a place where we offer a range of design-led boutiques, showrooms, galleries, restaurants and cafés. As well as outdoor gym facilities and sports fields to encourage healthier lifestyles in a safe and convenient environment. Figure 74, shows the list of activities within Sharjah Design District. Sharjah Design District main economic activities are located in the center of the district to be accessible for the five neighborhoods. Showrooms, galleries, design studios, design labs, runway and fashion shows

are in the center, to let the district be livable all day and night.

The main stage will grasp all people attention to attend different shows and activates to socialize and enjoy their time. In addition to different restaurant, cafes and multi shops purposes are available in the district.

The SDD is known by its showroom were designers can show their latest designs in fashion, furniture and more. Art and fashion design galleries to showcase art-pieces of local and international artists. Custom sized studio for photography and videography.

Logistics & Light industries for packing of clothes and shoes, printing and publishing using recycled materials. Design Labs where designers can experiment in fabric, colors and have a space to host workshops. A design magazine to publish design trends and products. Design factory were different designs will be made such as jewelry, clothes and furniture. 3D printing shops and labs with recycled design materials. A runway to demonstrate designs, clothing and accessories during shows. The district is not only for designers, architects, interior designers or talented people, it’s for all people who are creative and passionate about design. Figure 75 Shows Sharjah design district core 3D view

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SHARJAH DESIGN DISTRICT DISTRIC T ’S CORE

Figure 74: Sharjah Design District core

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Figure 75: Shows Sharjah design district core 3D view

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LIST OF ACTIVITIES 01 | Showroom: Where designers can show their latest designs in fashion, furniture and more.

02 | Galleries: Art and fashion design galleries to showcase art-

09 | 3D printing shop: 3D printing labs and recycled design materials

10 | Offices

pieces of local and international artists.

11 | Concert area: (open area) for fashion shows, the plaza can 03 | Design Studios: Custom sized studio for photography and

be transformed to be a concert stage

videography.

12 | Performance stage: (open area) for fashion shows, the 04 | Logistics & Light industries: Packing of clothes and shoes industries, Printing and publishing industries using recycled materials.

05 | Design Labs: Where designers can experiment in fabric, colors and have a space to host workshops.

06 | Design magazine: To publish design trends and products.

07 | Design factory: Where different designs will be made such as jewelry, clothes and furniture.

08 | Runway: To demonstrate designs, clothing and accessories during shows

plaza can be transformed to be a concert stage

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MOBILITY Mobility is one of the most important elements of a sustainable district. Mobility in the district is based on these four principles:

01 | A Vibrant street life: by providing various activities, active frontages and street width, as well as minimizing the presence of private transportation. The district is designed to be high in density and provides mixed land use, which will encourage a lively street life. Cities must be able to link demands with the supply of goods and be able to provide people material and essential needs, as well as creating a safe vibrant city. It will also encourage people to walk or cycle around the district (UN Habitat, 2019).

02 | Walkability & pedestrian friendliness: Promoting walkability will attract people into public spaces, this will also reduce traffic and congestion and increase local economy and relations. The street network must enable necessary services to be offered within a walkable distance to ensure safety. Walkability also reduces the automobile reliance and reduce air pollution and depletions of resources.

03 | Provide public transportation systems: Connecting urban and suburban centers to encourage public transportation to be used in the district.

01 | Encourage cycling: Streets must be cyclist-friendly and linked to public transport and major activity centers with continuous networks and secure parking/intermodal center.

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PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION Sharjah Design District’s mobility is connected to the rest of the city. The design encourages walkability in the neighborhoods to reduce car dependency, optimize use of land and provide interconnected network of streets which facilitate safe, efficient and pleasant walking, cycling and driving experience to the users. Sharjah Design District’a mobility plan offers different public transportation options to the residents and visitors. The district is surrounded with multi accesses, including the new proposed public transportation systems in the UAE “Etihad railway”, which connects all the Emirates. The Etihad Railway is dedicated not only for goods but also to transport people (Etihad railway, 2019). The metro line is a proposed extension of the existing metro lines in Dubai. This links the site with Dubai and the Northern Emirates. As well as connecting Sharjah airport with the site for tourists and visitors. A tram line that serves all the centers of the neighborhood and a single bus line that links the airport bus station with the site (Figure 76)

CAR PODS The district encourages the usage of car pods as means of sustainable transportation in the district. Passing through 12

m, 10 m and 8 m roads and will have a dedicated station to be recharged and maintained.

BUS ROUTE / STOPS A bus stop can be found after every 400-meters interval in the site, which is a five-minute walking distance. The site houses ten bus stops in one bus route that increases the use and prevalence of the option of public transportations in the site, encouraging walkability, and provides connectivity within the district and with the surrounding neighborhoods (Figure 77). The bus route starts at the airport bus stop and goes last to Al Rahmanya neighborhood.

SDD TRAM The district also provides Sharjah Tram that passes through the centers of all the neighborhoods in the district, allowing users to have other means of public transportations. The tram starts at the resource area next to the metro station, this links the public transportation and provides a smooth transportation journey for users. The tram goes into a loop within the district in 8 stops after every 400-meters interval in the site, which is equivalent to a five-minute walking distance (Figure 78).

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SDD PUBLIC MOBILITY

Figure 76: SDD Public mobility map

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SDD BUS ROUTE / STOPS

Figure 77: SDD Bus route / stops map

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SDD TRAM NETWORK

Figure 78: SDD Tram network map

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PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE NETWORK The neighborhood design discourages the access of cars in all streets within the neighborhoods, surrounding each neighborhood to provide connectivity with the rest of Sharjah streets and access of goods and emergencies. The map shows 300 meter shed of each parking structure to allow all users to park within four minutes walking distance. The parking structure is placed next to each drop off area, this way residents will depend on walking, cycling and using public transportation means to minimize CO2 emissions, creating a sustainable district (Figure 79). The map also shows a dedicated space for trucks and buses to park in the resource area to be away from the neighborhood and close to the resource areas to move goods.

PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE NETWORK Sharjah Design District provides adequate space for streets and an efficient street network. The street network will also shape the urban structure which, in turn, sets the pattern of development blocks, streets, buildings, open spaces and landscape, bicycle rental stations, public transit hub in the district. Pedestrians are able to walk throughout the permeable district and

neighborhoods particularly under the comfort of trees provided everywhere or under recessed building shades. Ample number of pedestrian crossings further facilitate pedestrian flow. Bicycle paths permeate the entire neighborhood as do pedestrian pathways and pedestrian crossings connecting the pedestrians to the bus stops every 400m standard distance guideline. In this way residents have a continuous journey path that they can take without relying on vehicles and thereby instilling within the residents a sense of individual environmental accountability The map shows a typical neighborhood and district core pedestrian and bicycle network. Bicycle lanes are prevalent throughout the entire neighborhood as 2m lanes on the 20m, 12m, 10m and 8m roads. This renders the pedestrian pathways free for just walking thereby simultaneously encouraging both sustainable transportation options. Four bicycle rental stations are placed every 300 meters (4-minute walking distance) around the neighborhood (Figure 80 & 81).

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SDD VEHICULAR NETWORK

Figure 79: SDD Vehicular network map

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SDD NEIGHBORHOOD PEDESTRIAN & BIC YCLE NE T WORK

Figure 80: SDD Neighborhood Pedestrian & Bicycle network map

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SDD DISTRIC T ’S CORE PEDESTRIAN & BIC YCLE NE T WORK

Figure 81: SDD District core pedestrian & Bicycle network map

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STREET HIERARCHY Sharjah Design District bases its transportation strategy on a hierarchy that puts pedestrians first and emphasizes sustainable (Figure 82), public transportation, which is supplemented with clean point-to-point services, and finally adds personal vehicles in the largest road type (20 m) see figure 83 is prevalent on those areas of site that take from the heavy traffic flow from the exterior but as you move towards the inner fabric of the neighborhood the roads begin to get smaller to 12 m (figure 84), 10 m (figure 85) and 8 m (figure 86), then the narrowest roads 6 m (figure 87), that are in vicinity of the villas and houses allow for least amount of vehicular traffic and therefore discourage the noise associated with vehicles. As part of that strategy, SDD has introduced several technologies that support its mission. The transportation strategy, though, is only part of the overall sustainability story.

This starts with neighborhoods that provide all basic services within walking distances. It is more sustainable to walk to the store or café than to use an electric vehicle. This expands to a higher level of services in specific locations in the city such as schools and offices that are accessible on bikes or with Pod cars. Building the city in that way enables the transportation strategy to be a successful neighborhood and “truly” narrows to pedestrian (Figure 88).

The hierarchy of streets is accompanied with a greater sense of urban intimacy as one move from larger to narrower road types; particularly the 12m type that creates a fine balance between being wide and spacious and being cozy. It therefore accommodates functions that spill onto the street such as outdoor café seating to accentuate this desirable enclosure.

Sharjah Design District bicycle track is a cycle path “Plastic Road” material developed by Dutch firm KWS and Wavin, which will lead to more sustainable roads being rolled out across the district.

Figure 82: Pedestrian and cycliest path

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SDD NEIGHBORHOOD STREET HIRARCHY

Car pods station Major arterial 20m Minor arterial 12m

Collector 10m

C

Collector 8m

C

Collector 6m

E E

B D B D A

Figure 88: SDD Street Hirarchy

A

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CROSS SECTION SEC TION A [20 M]

Figure 83: Cross section

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CROSS SECTION SEC TION B [12 M]

Figure 84: Cross section

6.0

2.0

3.5

1.0 12.0

3.5

2.0

2.0

2.0

2.0

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CROSS SECTION SEC TION C [10 M]

Figure 85: Cross section

4.0

2.0

6.0 10.0

2.0

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CROSS SECTION SECTION D [8 M]

6.0

2.0

Figure 86: Cross section 8.0

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CROSS SECTION SECTION E [6 M]

Figure 87: Cross section

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PUBLIC SPACE The impressions of cities are formed by the quality of public spaces. They are the areas that shape the community connections in neighborhoods, places for interactions and exchange of ideas (Pacheco, 2017). Public spaces are basic needs for cities from an economic, social and environmental value (Kim, 2015): Economic value; increase economic vitality, reduce public expenditure on health care, and urban management, higher property prices, attracts human capital and increase business confidence. As for social value; improved quality of life, increase both real and perceived security safety, promotes social equity and perceive security and safety, promotes social equality and stability, increase cultural vitality and social integration and civic pride.

Environmental Value; reduce pollution (air, noise, and water), increase ecological diversity and reduce energy consumption.

The public spaces in the district is based on these ten principles (Pacheco, 2017):

01 | Diversity of Uses: Mixed land use around the public space creates a safer environment and friendlier atmosphere for people. A place of mixed residential, offices, retail and cafes.

These diverse activities attract other external activities that also

contribute to creating a safe space as more people in the streets prevent crime. However, these spaces need to be alive at night as well.

02 | Active Facades: Streets and sidewalks show how public spaces are perceived and used in a city. Connecting the commercial ground level of buildings with sidewalks and street plays a role in the safety and attractiveness of the urban design of the district.

03 | Social Dimension and Urban Vitality: Accessible streets, parks, sidewalks, plazas, open public spaces, pocket parks, pedestrian networks and bicycle paths encourage interaction between people and the urban environment, increase urban vitality and density around the social center.

04 | Human Scale: The space needs to be designed to make people feel safe, the buildings to-ward the center should not be more than G+5 to create a sense of safety and eye level environment for users

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05 | Lighting: Lighting in public spaces creates the necessary conditions for more safety during the night specially for cyclists and pedestrians.

06 | Stimulating the local Economy: The quality of the public space increases the economy as it offers a leisure living environment for visitors and leads to easy connectivity and access of local commerce.

06 | Local Identity: In order to generate a strong relationship between people and the public spaces, local business needs to be considered as it characterizes the neighborhood and plays a role in the social and cultural dynamics and has a long term impact on the personality of the space.

06 | Complete Streets: Complete streets and shared places defines and insures the circulation of the different networks within the district (pedestrian network, bicycle network, public transportation stops, vehicular path).

06 | Green Areas: To ease the temperature in the summer and

increase air quality, vegetation plays a big role in humanizing cities to attract people to open public spaces.

06 | Social Participation: involving residents in the design and planning of the district to meet the community’s district needs and maintain the quality of the public spaces.

The district is characterized by an assortment unique central open public spaces that are linked to one another creating spatially coherent neighborhoods. Each neighborhood is compact by the high density and connected street network linking all public open spaces together. The district building heights ranges between G+3 to G+6 mixed and residential buildings higher towards the edges, and lower towards the center of the district to follow the principle of human scale environment.

Figure 89 & 89a shows an example of one of the neighborhoods in the district, the middle main green corridor links between the two centers of the neighborhoods. The neighborhood park is at the center of the neighborhood, reachable within less than 10 minutes from every home. The public park is the fo-cus of the neighborhood inviting families, children and individuals. Figure 89b shows the district core public spaces.

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SDD NEIGHBORHOOD P U B L I C S PA C E S

Figure 89: SDD Neighborhood Public spaces map

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SDD NEIGHBORHOOD PA R K S H E D

Figure 89: SDD Neighborhood Park shed

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DISTRIC T ’S CORE P U B L I C S PA C E S

Figure 89b: SDD District core public spaces

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alike through its extending arms, i.e a plethora of other pocket parks are distributed across the neighborhood maximizing opportunities for outdoor recreation and they are consciously landscaped with a variety of trees that provide dappled shade to the users below (Figure 90).

engage the vision of the user just as it engages them physically by inviting them to the restaurants and cafes housed within them. Some parks are provided on the edges of the neighborhood to attract people from other neighborhoods as well (Figure 91).

The neighborhood allows nature to permeate not only through the fabric of the neighborhood but within the confines of building form resulting in the creation of typologies that house green open spaces within them to create pocket parks, semiprivate parks, private parks, private parks and those that humble themselves

Networks of shaded streets that extend to and from every corner of the site. These greenways in-clude the major landscaped edge and host a main and secondary green corridor with multiple activi-ties like walking and cycling. Each nighborhood has a unique central space see figure 91.

Figure 91: SDD Public park, semi private park, and private parks

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Figure 90: SDD Public areas

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Figure 91: SDD neighborhood centers

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BIODIVERSITY / BIOPHILIA AND THE DISTRICT LANDSCAPES The site preserves the identity of the UAE by using native plants which helps the environment as it grows in a place that matches its growing requirements by thriving, ventilating and moisturizing the soil. It requires less amount of water and this will lead to preserve the water. This approach makes the site sustainable as the native plants assist in managing the rain water runoff and maintain the soil health as their roots are going deep in the earth and keep the soil from being compacted. The distribution of the trees in the site consider the type, height and the sun exposure.

The site avoids planting the climbing plants near to the solar panels because it prevents the sun radiation to be absorbed by the solar panels. The site combines between using native trees and seasonal plants.

Al Ghaf tree is one of the strongest trees that grows in the desert, resists the heat and the shortage of water due to its small leaves that reduce the amount of water evaporation. It has long roots extending to more than thirty meters under the earth surface to reach the underground water. In the site, the GHAF tree will help in shading perspective, and will represent the identity of the area as it shows the meaning of patience and tolerance, this tree will be used throughout all pocket parks and pedestrian paths in the

site. As for the Neem tree, it will provide the needed shading in the site and will give it a green and colorful look of a sustainable district, Al Neem will be used in the public central spaces. The palm trees resists the high temperature, and can grow as tall as 23 meters with leaves that reach to 5 or 6 meters (Eleanor, 2019).

The Palm tree will provide the district with dates and shading at the same time. It will be placed in all main roads to bring up the UAE’s identity in the district. The sidr tree helps in eradicating six tons of harmful carbon dioxide emissions every year; therefore this tree will be placed in the two wind green corridors of the site to allow the access of fresh cold air in the site (Figure 92).

The seasonal plants grow in a specific period of the year. These seasonal plants are distributed in the district alongside each tree, and used in landscaping, known for their unique colorful plants Bougainvillea, Frangipani (Plumeria), Cenchrus ciliaris, Cordia sebestena to represent the concept of the district, which focuses in design, fashion and colors.

The site uses the same sand during the construction phase to compile with sustainable principles, distributed in the public parks and the playground for children activities.

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Al Ghaf Tree

Al Ghaf Tree

Bougainvillea

Al Neem Tree

Frangipani (Plumeria)

The Bougainvillea blooms in white and many other colors such as pink, red, orange, and purple.represent. The concept of the districts by its different beautiful colors.

Strong tree that’s grow in the desert, resists the heat and shortage of water by the small leaves that helps to reduce the loss of water due the evaporation.

The green tree throughout the full year, will provide shading and give the site a green and colorful look of a sustainable district.

Palm Tree

The tree that resist the high dessert temperature of the UAE. Provide the district with dates. The palm tree can grow as tall as 23 meters with leaves that reach to 5 or 6 meters

The Sidr Tree

The trees reach maturity in about five to seven years, it is hoped they will help eradicate six tonnes of harmful carbon dioxide emissions every year.

NATIVE TREES

Figure 92: SDD Trees landscaping

The Plumeria is popular plants in the UAE. The flower that produce in the Plumeria tree color is combination of white and yellow. Consider as tropical plant that grows in February and March

Cenchrus Ciliaris

A seasonal grass that can grow in the site. It gives a beauty and some livability in the site.

Cordia sebestena

A seasonal flowers that blooms from January to March, giving the site some of UAE’s seasonal plant.

SEASONAL PLANTS

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BIO-CLIMATIC ARCHITECTURE The climate is the average of a specific area climate along the year. The area that is divided into different zones and each zone has a different weather is forming the micro-climate. The micro-climate can play a role in the building typologies and the distribution of buildings with civic commercial or visual importance. The trees along the streets can affect the climate and reduce the urban heat island. Trees can minimize the need for intensive air-conditioning in vehicles and adjacent buildings.

The urban heat island is an area with a warmer weather than the surrounding.

In the district, there are many solutions used to reduce the heat:

ROTATION OF BUILDINGS The climate of the area affects the building location and typology.

Whereas, the sun circulation plays a role in the location and rotation of each building. To avoid the heat, the interface of each building is rotated to be in north east direction; opposite to the sun. This will create a shaded street and minimize the heat within the district (Figure 93).

Figure 93: building rotation opposite to the sun direction

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BUILDINGS There are different building typologies depending on the need of each neighborhood with private open spaces. The building typology adopts to the form of each block to fit the function, those that free up ground space to simultaneously provide a shade to walk beneath, and those that humble themselves, and stoop low and playfully engage the vision of the user just as it engages them physically by inviting them to the restaurants and cafes housed within them. The buildings are also energy sufficient having solar panels in the roof top to produce the energy needed, and connects to the trash bin system which is considered the main collector of the waste in the district.

WIND GREEN CORRIDOR The district is designed to host two wind corridors that captures the air passing through the district, this is one of the methods used to cool the district (Figure 94).

Figure 94: Wind green corridor to capture the cool wind

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MATERIALS The sustainable materials which is known also as the green building materials will be used in the buildings, streets, and landscape. The green materials are low in environmental impact that are being used in production, placing and maintenance processes. Also, green materials are durable, reusable and include recyclable and local materials from the area itself. The materials that will be used in the buildings, streets, and paths are sustainable and follow the sustainable design guide.

The district will follow the green architecture principle. The green architecture is green buildings, streets and infrastructure elements. The design of green infrastructure focuses on the environmental sustainability implementation (Marjorie, 2011).

The key concept of the green infrastructure is the natural ecology by providing the basis for the construction model. The materials in the green infrastructure are energy and water efficiency, resources management and less construction cost. The materials have long term effects on the environment. The district will use materials such as:

03 | Re-cycled products: The products that are used in the green infrastructure are the products that can be efficient after recycling such as paper, plastic and stones (Emily, 2016).

03 | Water and energy conservation: Using materials that conserve the energy and water due to sustainable reasons, the shortage of the water in the area, the high cost of the water desalination and energy production such as solar tiles and smart insulators (7 Sustainable Construction Materials, 2018).

03 | Natural or renewable materials: The materials that exist in the nature of the area, which are more sustainable and renewable.

All the materials will be used in the district to maintain the sustainability and to live in a friendly environment district. For the construction phase, the sustainable concrete will be used along with the stones from the site. Also, using the woods for the doors.(7 Sustainable Construction Materials, 2018). The cycle path has a new way which is by using the re-cycled plastic. The re-cycled plastic is the main material of the path with the fine gravel (Daniel, 2018). There are two layers, the upper one which is

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the fine grave that makes the road stiffer and protects against UV radiation. It will be more sufficient due to the high temperature and direct sun radiation. The inner layer which is the re-cycled plastic with different types of plastic such as the plastic cups (Len, 2018). The pedestrian path will use the eco-friendly paving (eco-grid) rather than the concrete paving. It has a grid shape with an open space in each square. It provides 39% open space for the grass or sand.

The project’s sustainable design focuses on having a balance with the needs of the area by using sustainable materials that are suitable with the hot weather. The main goal of the sustainable design is to reduce the use of the main resources such as energy, water and raw materials. The district sustainable design will create a productive, safe and livable environment.

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SDD ENERGY SYSTEMS

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ENERGY To be sustainable, “cities must themselves, or in the resources that they command, become low-carbon, resilient, and livable” (J. Simon,2015). To eliminate GHG emissions, cities should sift their energy production from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources such as solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, biomass energy and energy from urban waste. (Kammen,2016) SDD is exposed to direct sun light, so the solar power energy is used mostly. The project has one main solar farm to produce the energy and to supply the district with the needed energy.

In addition, using solar panels installed on the roofs of all the buildings as well as in the car parking and solar-powered LED street lights to light up all the streets.The project uses other potential sources to produce clean energy as waste-to-energy systems and biomass. By applying these methods, the district will be supplied with fully renewable energy that will achieve the sustainability goal of the district (figure 95).

Following Masdar City that uses 10MW solar photovoltaic power plant with an area of 21 hectares to produced 17,500 MWh annually enough to 500 homes (Masdar,n.d) (Figure 96). The district has one main solar power plant with area of 14.8 hectares and a biomass plant with 4 hectares. The total area of energy

power plants is 18.8 hectares with production of 16,652 MWh/ year. Photovoltaic solar panels for residential use are on the roof top pf all buildings. A typical solar panel with 65 inches x 39 inches produces around 360 watts of power (Ben Zientara,2012) in average peak sun of 5.84 hours/day in the UAE (Das,2014). One solar panel production per day is 2.1 kWh/day. According to UAE State of Energy Report 2015, “residents use about 550 liters of water and 20 to 30 kilowatt-hours of electricity a day”. (Usage and demand of Electricity in UAE,n.d). The district population required a total of 401,133 MWh/year. Therefore, using 400 solar panels for each building with average building roof top area 0.2 hectares in total 924 buildings, will be efficient to provide it with the energy needed with production of 488,981 MWh/year. Total solar panels area is 45.3 hectares with 369,600 solar panels.

Biomass is used for electric power generation produced by variety of materials such as wood, agricultural and human waste that is produced in the district. For a 7.5 to 12 MW biomass power generation units required at least 4 hectares (MNRE,n.d) (Figure 97). The project will have a bio mass power plant with 4 hectares area to produce 4320 MWh/year.

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SDD ENERGY SYSTEMS

Solar panels

Solar in all buildings

Solar power plant

Figure 95: Sustainable Energy Systems in SDD

Biomass power plant

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ENERGY CONSUMPTION

ENERGY PRODUCTION

ENERGY CONSUMPTION

ENERGY PRODUCTION ENERGY PRODUCTION

Solar photovoltaic panels for residential use

ENERGY PRODUCTION

10MW solar photovoltaic power plant and bio-mass

Electricity consumption per person for resedntial uae Required energy

Amount

Unit

30

kWh/day

401,133

MWh/year

for the economic zone and other uses

Total area Required energy

Total energy consumption

14.8

hectares

12332

MWh/year

hectares

Bio-mass power plant production

4320

MWh/year

MWh/year

Energy power plant total area

18.8

hectares

MWh/year

Energy power plant total production

41

hectares

440,542

Solar power plant area

Unit

4

Unit

39,409

Amount

Bio-mass power plant area

Amount

Figure 96: Energy consumption and production of the district

Unit

5.84

hours/day

0.00016

hectares

One solar panel power

360

watts

One solar panel production per day

2.1

kWh/day

Average building roof top area

0.2

hectares

Number of solar panels per building

400

solar panels

400 solar panels production per day

840

kWh/day

400 solar panels production per year

529.2

MWh/year

Number of buildings

924

buildings

Total solar panels area

45.3

hectares

369600

solar panels

488981

MWh/year

Average peak sun

Solar power plant production

ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION

Amount

16,652

MWh/year

One solar panel area

Total number of solar panels Total solar panels production per year

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Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) provided Dubai Design District (D3) with three substations, the first substation with total capacity of 178 megawatts (MW) to support lighting, cooling and power requirements (Arabian industry, n.d). Three stations will provide approximately 534 MW to the D3 with area of approximately 200 hectares. SDD’s economic core with area of 6.5 hectares will need an amount of 18.69 MW. Electricity consumption for the design core and other uses with total 41 hectares is 39,409 MWh/year. The sustainable energy total production is 505,633 MWh/year will be suitable for the total SDD consumption with 440,542 MWh/year. Figure 96 shows the energy production and consumption of the SDD district.

Figure 96: Masdar Solar system (Masdar. 2018)

SDD is following energy smart grid which is a network of energy generation resources, transmission lines, substations and transformers to distribute the energy among the end user consumers, from the power plant to homes and businesses.

The energy smart grid responds digitally to changes in electric demand using technologies and sensors distributed along the energy network. It increases the efficiency of energy transmission, quicker restoration of energy after power disturbances and better integration of renewable energy systems (Figure 98).

Figure 97: Biomass Plant (MNRE,n.d).

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Figure 98: Energy Grid system in the district

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SDD W AT E R S Y S T E M S

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WATER According to Lehmann (2011), the concept of Green sustainable urbanism implies management of the water in a way to approach zero emission and residue within urban zones. Lehmann (2011) identified that the biodiversity of ecosystem must be maximized, whereas in contrast, grey water should be used discreetly to mitigate the risks of climate change resulting from water management. The concept foresees the construction of recycling systems and green roofs, that will act for each urban district independently, polishing the water through decentralization.

High energy consumption in water treatment represents a barrier for implementation of recycling system. According to California Energy Commission, Conveyance the water needs 0–14,000 kWh/MG, Water Treatment needs 100–16,000 kWh/ MG and distribution needs 700–1,200 kWh/MG. Each stage is affected by the “water source (deep aquifers being the most energy-intensive to pump); the volume of water transported; the distances and topography between sources, treatment plants, and end users; the quality of the source water; the intended end uses; and the technologies used to treat water and wastewater” (California Energy Commission,2005).

In response to water management sustainability, SDD provides water recycling system, that will allow using the resource efficiently. Tidal Flow Wetland Living Machine is used as the main water treatment which is combination of two effective treatments (Figure 99). The project has six big tidal flow wetland living machines with area of 13 hectares to produce 13,674 m3/ day. Figure 99 shows the location of water treatments. Figure 100 shows the calculation of water production and consumption. The recycled water will be used in watering the trees of the district.

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SDD W AT E R S Y S T E M S

Water treatment plants Tidal Flow Wetland Living Machine system

Figure 99: Water systems map in the district

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WATER CONSUMPTION

WATER PRODUCTION WATER PRODUCTION

WATER CONSUMPTION

Amount

Water consumption per person

Required water

0.55

20428

Unit

m3/day

m3/day

Amount

Unit

Tidal Flow Wetland Living Machine system area

0.0027

hectares

Tidal Flow Wetland Living Machine system production

2.84

m3/day

Water treatment plant total area

13

hectares

Water treatment total production

13674

m3/day

* A full infrastructure separation for the blackwater and grey water, the blackwater will goes to Biogas digester plant. * Shortage of water will be covered from Al-Rahmaniya solar desalination plant

Figure 100: Water consumption and production in the district

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GREY WATER The grey water is the sustainable solution that is used for irrigation purposes. There are some requirements to use the grey water for irrigation such as, separated pipes for the grey water in the design of each house, connect these pipes with the green area in each house, public parks, and open areas (grey water, 2018).

Biogas digester is used to reduce the amount of sludge that needs to be disposed. The project has separated infrastructure for sewage and grey water. Sewage will go to biogas digesters while grey water to the rest of treatments. The separation is done by smart house connection. A smart house connection that aims at diverting black water and grey water into two different pipes or collection tanks (Figure 101).

CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS constructed wetlands are used for purifying the water. The method is beneficial as it uses wastewater, household effluent and agricultural runoff (Almuktar, Abed & Scholz, 2018). Wetlands are good fit for decentralization and individual self-sustainability (Hophmayer-Tokich, 2018). Wetlands mainly benefit agriculture sector.

LIVING MACHINES Living machines are best suitable for treatment of industrial and

municipal wastewater. The work principle of living machines partially resembles that of the wetland, as the main purpose of the machine is to create certain bio conditions for the water purifying of grey water using the combination of sunlight and vegetative processes (Barton, Grant & Guise, 2010).

THE TIDAL FLOW WETLAND The Tidal Flow Wetland living Machine system (Figure 102 & 102a) is a series of wetland cells with micro-ecosystems living machines.

Tidal flow systems have two or more flood and drain cycles per day within each wetland cell. The wetland cells produce a highquality reusable water. The micro-ecosystems within the cells efficiently remove nutrients and solids from the wastewater. The final stage involves filtration and disinfection to produce clear and ready to reuse water (Borkar,2015). Tidal wetlands have been proven to remove both organic and inorganic contaminants in municipal waste water. According to UAE State of Energy Report 2015, residents use about 550 liters of water a day. 20,428,100 liters/day or 20428 m3/day, total water required. A wetland area with 0.0027 hectare and dimensions of 25 by 12 feet produces 2.84 m3/day for residential systems. (Catherine Taylor, n.d) The water shortage in the project is provided from Al-Rahmaniya desalination plant that is produced by solar power, which uses the solar to polish to extract salts and minerals from the water.

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Grey water Black water

Figure 101: Grey water and black water seperation system

Figure 102a: SDD tidal wetland living machine plants

Tank

Tank

Tidal wetland cell 1

\

Figure 102: SDD tidal wetland living machine system

Tidal wetland cell 2

Tidal wetland cell 3

Clean water

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SDD W A S T E T R E AT M E N T

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S U S TA I N A B L E L I F E - S U P P O R T I N G S Y S T E M S

SOLID WASTE Waste generation is an unescapable consequence of consumerism. The cost of waste has been rising due to increase fuel costs on waste transportation, and strict environmental legislation (Hertfordshire County Council, 2020). UAE does not have centralized waste system, that is why each district gathers the waste individually, which is then collected by the municipality.

The waste in UAE is very high, for example Dubai accounts for 3.5 million tons of waste annually, whilst Sharjah accounts for 2.3 million tons annually (“Waste Management�, 2020). The issue of waste production and management has taken a toll on municipal corporations around the world. Population growth in the Sharjah put increasing pressure on waste management in the county.

Therefore, the need to actively manage waste streams in Sharjah has never been more significant.

Sustainable waste management can be addressed through principles of handling solid waste (organic and non-organic) to achieve a waste-free environment:

01 | Reduce and conserve Materials: Refuse, return, reduce toxics, design out waste, reduce consumption & packaging.

Reduce the amount of waste generated and materials required for the buildings.

02 | Encourage Cyclical use of resources: Reuse products and shift incentives to stop waste.

03 | Recycling: Waste Manufactures Design Products for sustainability and take back.

04 | Reuse: retain value and function.

05 | Recycle: Inorganics and organics.

The table shows the waste consumption in the UAE per resident narrowing it down to find the total consumption of the design district (Figure 103). Sharjah design district adapts new methods to reduce the impact of waste generation, collection, transportation and disposal methods. The district will be using modern and sustainable techniques to handle waste and minimize the level of pollution. The map shows the waste treatment plants used in the District (Figure 104). The waste consumption in the UAE per resident narrowing it down to find the total consumption of the design district.

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WASTE CONSUMPTION

Amount Waste Generation per person [UAE Resident]

Waste Generation per person [UAE Resident]

Net Density

1.3

Unit kg per capita / daily

kg per 474.5 capita / annually

37,142 people

Sharjah Design District adapts new methods to reduce the impact of waste generation, collection, transportation and disposal methods. The district will be using modern and sustainable techniques to handle waste and minimize the level of pollution. To achieve a waste-free environment proper management of organic and inorganic waste is the first step taken into consideration in designing SDD sustainable district.

Using Biogas power plant to recycle waste, Underground Biogas Digester, Recycling Center, Stationery system for waste.

The diagram shows the waste organic and inorganic materials that will be treated. As for the table it shows the waste consumption in the UAE per resident narrowing it down to find the total consumption of the design district (Figure 105) Waste

Total Population of SDD

63,224 people

Organic Total Waste Generation per net density

17,623,879 Kg/per year Wood

Total Waste Generation

Inorganic

Food

Paper

Glass

Metal

Plastic

29,999,788 Kg/per year Plant & animal waste

Figure 103: The amount of waste consumed in the UAE and SDD

Cardboard

Organic Clothing

E-waste

Figure 105: Organic and inorganic waste materials

E-waste

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SDD WA S T E Stationary System Collection areas Stationary System Collection areas Trench & Composing Trench & Composing

Energy Dung

Stationary System Stationary System

Underground waste waste tunnelstunnels Underground

Energy

Dung

Fertiliser

Biogas

Fertiliser

Biogas

Anaerobic Digester Anaerobic Digester BiogasBiogas Digester Digester

Figure104: SDD waste treatment solutions map

Recycling CenterCenter Recycling

WasteWaste treatment CenterCenter treatment

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Dung

Energy Fertiliser

RECYCLE ORGANIC WASTE Today organic waste is not a “waste” but a resource.

Biogas

PRODUCTION OF BIOGAS [UNDERGROUND] Biogas is a renewable, clean source of energy. The Gas generated through biodigestion is eco-friendly (non-polluting). No combustion takes place in the process, meaning there is zero emission of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere. Production of Biogas takes place in biodigesters through anaerobic respiration.

The optimal temperature bacteria need to digest waste is around 37°C. The method may involve the digestion of vegetable, human and animal waste (Figure 106). As a result, the slurry resulting from decomposing will be used as fertilizer in the district, the methane produced in the process will be used as fuel, and it will also result in reducing of disease-causing pathogens.

Figure 106: Production of biogas in the site

MAKING OF COMPOST This is done in a large stack, mainly composed of plant remains.

And the main organisms responsible for the decomposition are fungi and bacteria figure 107 shows the compost process. The district compost area will take place in one of the neighborhoods.

As a result, the compost will be applied as fertilizer in gardens,

Figure 107: Making of compost

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it saves landfill space as well as prevents contamination of land and it improves soil conditions.

TRENCH COMPOSTING This will be done in planting areas within the district.

AWARENESS PROGRAM RECYCLING CENTRE The recycling Centre will offer sessions to the residents and students to spread awareness in the district movement of zerowaste, and to be aware of the different systems used in the district. this will give residents the opportunity to be aware of the systems used and knowledgeable of the different solutions the district adapts (figure 104).

REGULATIONS The district will also restrict plastic bags materials within the retail area and encourage into using all recycled paper bags and takeaway packaging.

DISPOSING INORGANIC WASTE RECYCLING CENTER A dedicated center in the neighborhood to recycle inorganic waste such as glass, fiberglass, plastic, tires and aluminum parts which will be taken to the recycling center factory of production upon which they can be reused and purchased by designers. The recycling center will be next to the design factory (figure 104).

STATIONARY SYSTEM Is a waste disposal system used in Hammarby Sjรถstad, Stockholm.

The waste is disposed of into ordinary refuse chutes, one for each fraction. The waste is stored for a short while on a valve, which opens when the computer-controlled emptying process starts. Each fraction is emptied and collected at a time. All waste fractions are transported through the same pipe system at a speed of 70 km/h. Fans create the partial vacuum that sucks the waste to the collection station. The waste is guided to the correct container and the transport air is cleaned through filters before being released. The largest fractions are compressed figure 108 shows the stationary trash-bins that will be used in the neighborhood. This mobility system is suitable for residential areas, figure 107 shows the diagram of the process.

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The proposed method for the project is to use the system of underground tunnels across the district that will dispose the waste to the central bin. The system will create the linkages between all buildings to ensure that the waste is gathered in one place. Some of the waste will be recycled in the district and some will be moved to Bee’ah Waste Management Complex that is close to the site. The central depot in will be in a hidden area at the edge of each neighborhood, so each collection process will not concern the citizens’ lives or affect the quality of their lives within the district and will be easily accessible to municipality (Fraker, 2013). There are different Bee’ah complex close to the site such as Bee’ah Material Recovery Facility, Bee’ah Waste Management Complex and Bee’ah headquarter.

Figure 108: Underground vaccum chute systems (Fraker, 2013).

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SDD FOOD SYSTEMS

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S U S TA I N A B L E L I F E - S U P P O R T I N G S Y S T E M S

FOOD The growing population of the UAE and rising number of tourists contributes to the increase of UAE’s food Consumption by 59.2 million tonnes in 2025 (UAE Food Industry Report, 2017). The statistic describes the amount of food consumed in the United Arab Emirates from 2011 to 2016 (see figure 109).

Figure 109: The amount of food consumed in the United Arab Emirates from 2011 to 2016 (Statista, 2020)

In 2014, the amount of consumed food in the United Arab Emirates totaled 7.5 million metric tons, compared to 7.2

million metric tons in 2013 (Puri-Mirza, 2019). Since 2009, UAE’s residents’ food consumption has been increasing annually by 4.7 % to approximately Dh82 Billion last year (equivalent to $22.3bn), thus amounted per capita spending of Dh8,800 per year based on UAE’s population of 9.3 million. The Average food consumption of a UAE resident has reached to 862.2kg per capita food consumption, which is recorded as the third highest consumption in the GCC region after Kuwait (867.5kg) and Saudi Arabia (866.5kg).

The growth of food consumption plays a big role in attributing to high disposable income. UAE and the GCC rely by 80% on the imported food, due to lack of food production in the country (Abbas, 2015). The environmental impact of producing food locally is highly recommended to minimize the negative impacts on the environment during importing food, which results of using of synthetic and natural resources, emission of greenhouse gases, result in water pollution, carbon and nitrogen cycles, threaten the fertility, health and biodiversity of the environment.

One of the most serious environmental issues facing our world is climate change. Agriculture contributes by 25% of total global greenhouse gas emissions are directly caused by crops, forestry, deforestation and animal production (IPPC, 2014).

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The report indicates over the next four years, the GCC region’s food consumption is expected to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.1 per cent, while the UAE’s per capita food consumption currently stands at 1,486kg per year (IPPC, 2014).

Principles of sustainable food production (IPPC, 2014):

1 | Improving efficiency in the use of resource is crucial to

7 | Level of the building and scaling up to more centralized system in the district The tables show, the food consumption in the UAE per capita, and multiplying it by the total number of population in the district to find the total required food “93,951 Metric tons/per year. Therefore, the District will adapt different food production systems to produce a total of 144,563 Metric tons/ per year (Figure 110).

sustainable agriculture.

2 | Sustainability requires direct action to conserve, protect and enhance natural resources

3 | Enhance resilience of people, communities and ecosystems in key to sustainable agriculture

4 | Sustainable food and agriculture require responsible and effective governance mechanisms

5 | Food needs to be produced organically and sustainably 6 | Close to the consumer (locally)

In order to secure food supply in Sharjah Design District, the district adapts different methods to produce food (figure 111) starting at the level of the building and scaling up to a more centralized system. The project will respond to the sustainability issues by adopting the newest farming technologies to foster the growth of fruits and vegetables within the city. Many other examples of sustainable districts show that it is possible to establish good farming conditions in any weather conditions by using ecological farming systems.

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FOOD CONSUMPTION

FOOD PRODUCTION

Amount

Unit

Food Consumption per person [UAE Resident]

1,486

kg/per capita

Net Density

37,142

Total Population of SDD

63,224

Systems

Area

Unit

Area

Unit

Location

Total

Unit

Aeroponic farming

9290

sqm

0.929

Hectare

Resources area

2,041,166

Kg/per year

Hydroponics

186

sqm

0.0186

Hectare

4 Floors [284 Hydro towers]

680,345

Kg/per year

Aquaponic farming

2787

sqm

0.2787

Hectare

Resources area

91,971,000

Kg/per year

67500

sqm (2250 per floor)

6.75

Hectare

7 Building [30 story]

43,110,000

kg/per year

297

sqm

0.0297

Hectare

10 containers

6,760,000

kg/per year

people

people

Total Required Food per net density

55,193,012

Kg/per year

Vertical Farming Buidling

Total Food Consumption

93,950,864

Kg/per year

Vertical Farming Shipping Container

Total Required Food per net density

55,193

Metric tons/ per year

Total Food Production in the District

144,562,511

Kg/per year

Total Required Food

93,951

Metric tons/ per year

Total Food Production in the District

144,563

Metric tons/ per year

Figure 110: The amount of food consumption and production in the District

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SDD FOOD SYSTEMS

Vertical Farming (Building)

Vertical Farming

Figure 111: Food Systems provided in the district

Aeroponic

Hydroponics

Aquaponic

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FLOATINGHYDRO / AEROPONIC FARMING Is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate medium. Producing 2.041,166 Kg/per year in 0.9 Hectares (Figure 112).

Figure 112: Aeroponic diagram system

HYDROPONICS Is a method of growing plants without soil, by instead using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. Hydroponic will be grown in the ground floor of 4 buildings close to the economic district, where visitors can see the new methods of growing food under the LED light. This system produces tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, and lettuces (Figure 113).

Figure 113: Hydroponics (Hydroponics, 2019)

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AQUAPONIC FARMING Is a form of agriculture that combines raising fish in tanks with soilless plant culture. In aquaponics, the nutrient-rich water from raising fish provides a natural fertilizer for the plants and the plants help to purify the water for the fish (Figure 114).

BUILDING BASED VERTICAL FARMING Vertical farming “building� is designed to be able to produce 43,110,000 kg per year in 7 buildings in the district. The buildings will have 100 kinds of fruits and vegetables would grow on the upper floors while lower floors would house chickens and fish

Figure 114: Aquaponic Farming

subsisting on the plant waste. As well as grocery and restaurant (Figure 115).

SHIPPING CONTAINER VERTICAL FARMING Containers that uses the Hydroponic system to produce a total of 6,760,000 kg/per year in 10 containers placed next to one of the energy sources land (Figure 116).

The strategy will allow the district to supply its citizens with fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy products on the daily basis, which will allow to reduce food footprint, thus contributing to the improvement of sustainability.

Figure 115: Building vertical farming (Vertical farming, 2019)

Figure 116: Container vertical farming

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SHARJAH DESIGN DISTRICT

PROJECT PHASING

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PROJECT PHASING The Project will go into 5 phases, the first phase is to build the District’s economic core and one of the neighborhoods, alongside with the resources land and connecting all the main roads with the surrounding sites. The second, third, fourth and fifth phase will be building the rest of the neighborhoods (Figure 117).

Phase I

Phase III

Phase IV

Phase V

Phase II

Phase VI

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Phase I Phase II Phase III

PROJECT PHASING MAP

Phase IV Phase V Phase VI

Figure 117: SDD project phasing plan

N 0

400m

800m

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Al-Rifai, M. (14 10 2018 Đł.). The removal of 50 Ghawif trees

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Abdul-Bari, E. (2012, Febrauary 10). A research study on

how to benefit from Ghawif trees. Alittihad news.

Abhinav Banerji Das,(March,2014). A Guide to Solar

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Retrieved from https://www.mesia.com/wp-content/

uploads/2017/09/Solar-for- Students.pdf

Ashour, L.A. & Al-Awadi, K. (2017). Measuring urban form

change in Abu Dhabi. Masdar Institute for

Science and Technology. https://www.researchgate. net/publication/313399006_Measuring_Urban_ Form_and_Change_in_Abu_Dhabi Al Nahyan, A., Al Hashimy, R.E. & Lootah, A.N. (2019).

United Arab Emirates and the 2013

agenda for sustainable development. National

Committee on Sustainable Almuktar, A.N., Abed, S.N. & Scholz, M. (2018). Wetlands for

wastewater treatment and subsequent recycling

About us. (n.d.). Dubai Design District. https://www. dubaidesigndistrict.com/about-us/

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