Masdar City: 'One day, all cities will be built like this...'

Today I hope to shine a light on a specific aspect of Agenda 21 - Sustainable Development, but first let's have an overview of what Agenda 21 actually is.

Agenda 21 for dummies.

In short, Agenda 21 is as follows:

- Restricted freedom of mobility as you sit for hours in gridlock traffic
- Mounting limitations on -- or even loss of -- your private property
- An engineered housing crisis that you're being told must be solved by those who caused it - with your money
- Loss of your parental authority to a government education system that seems to emphasize social indoctrination over education
- Transitioning of water resources to regional control by non-elected bureaucrats with subsequent engineered shortages
- Heavy influence of international and non-government organizations (NGOs) over local policy, at the expense of representative democracy
-Limitations on privately owned resource extraction.

For more detailed analysis, see here.

However, I want to focus upon what the future will look like under Agenda 21, a future that we can already see glimpses of today. I give you...Masdar City.

Masdar City

Masdar is a project in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Its core is a planned city, which is being built by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, with the majority of seed capital provided by the government of Abu Dhabi. Designed by the British architectural firm Foster + Partners, the city will rely entirely on solar energy and other renewable energy sources, with a sustainable, zero-carbon, zero-waste ecology.

Source

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/3e43f178fb27.jpg[/atsimg]



On the face of it, Masdar might not sound like a bad place to live. But it incorporates all of the initiatives of Agenda 21/Sustainable Development and when you see past all of the technology and eco-friendly babble you can see it for what it is - a walled city where private transport is non-existent.

Of course, Masdar City is a top of the market example, you can be sure that mere peasants like you and I wouldn't live in anything as near as classy. And Masdar has already come under scrutiny for being an elitist, gated community.

NY Times: Masdar City’s Just A Futuristic Playground For The Rich

The New York Times critic Nicolai Ouroussoff has diverted the Masdar City argument from a project that might not lift off – the laughing stock of the Middle East – to something that could actually, but perhaps shouldn’t work. Though he compliments their costly vision, Foster & Partners’ design – part tradition with some high-tech padding to cushion a hot and carbon-parched future – will be one of a long string of cancerous enclaves that separate the rich from the poor.

His telling of the car-free city powered mostly by the sun resembles Margaret Atwood’s elite compounds from ‘Oryx and Crake,’ wherein dubious scientific experiments take place in sterile laboratories while the seedy pleebs on the outskirts succumb to strange, manufactured diseases.

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However, Masdar isn't as unique as you may think. For several years now we have seen an increase in gated communities all over the world, especially so in the UK and the US...

Welcome to Gated Britain

There are now more than a thousand gated communities in England - most of them built in the past five years alone. What does this steel-fenced property boom tell us about the society in which we live?

There are now more than 1,000 gated communities in England.

But the UK has only just begun. In the United States, where five years ago some eight million residents lived in gated communities, the phenomenon has mushroomed. Today 50 million - one in six of the population - live in these self-governing estates. In parts of the States 90 per cent of new housing is gated. The story is the same in many parts of the world.

Now they are springing up all over Britain: new private housing developments, with gates, electronic entry systems, CCTV and often with private security guards.

But the walls that are designed to keep undesirables out can also keep undesirables in.

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The term 'gated communities' sounds far too grand and up scale, the future of our cities will be far more like slums, something Prince Charles is very pleased about...

Prince Charles hails Indian slum as model for Western life

BRITAIN'S Prince Charles has cited the Mumbai shantytown setting for the film "Slumdog Millionaire'' as a role model for sustainable living in Western cities, a report said Saturday.

In the book, called Harmony, Prince Charles contrasts the "fragmented, deconstructed" housing estates of Western nations with the "order and harmony" of the dusty potters' colony featured in the Oscar-winning movie.

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Sounds lovely doesn't it? I wonder if the good Prince would be the first to put his money where his mouth is, hmm?

And those of you who don't think this could happen better think again, for our governments are doing all they can to slowly implement such a society...

Social Engineering Bill In Senate Will Force You Into City

A social engineering bill to restrict residence in the suburbs and rural areas and force Americans into city centers has passed the United States Senate Banking Committee and is on the fast track to passage in the Senate.

The bill is called the Livable Communities Act (SB 1619) and it was introduced by corruptocrat outgoing Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.). It seeks to fulfill the United Nation’s plan Agenda 21, adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and signed onto by “New World Order” President George H.W. Bush.

This bill is designed to destroy your community. According to the non-profit American Policy Center the bill:

Is a blueprint for the transformation of our society into total Federal control.
Will enforce Federal Sustainable Development zoning and control of local communities.
Will create a massive new “development” bureaucracy.
Will drive up the cost of energy to heat and cool your home.
Will drive up the cost of gasoline as a way to get you out of your car.
Will force you to spend thousands of dollars on your home in order to comply.

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As Karl Marx once said: The theory of Communism may be summed up in one sentence: Abolish all private property.

Remember what the video told us...'One day, all cities will be built like this.'

Additional:

www.npr.org...
www.npr.org...
www.theatlanticwire.com...
www.environmentalgraffiti.com...

reply to post by LiveForever8

Hello LiveForever8,

I live in downtown Abu Dhabi. I know where Masdar City is supposed to be but the project was supposedly put on hold due to financing.(?) Anyway I have never seen it. It is next to AUH airport.
Tomorrow is Friday and it is the weekend here. I will take a ride out there and see what's up as far as the development stages.
Take some pictures, if there is anything to photograph other than desert.
It's been a while since I have been out to Al Ghazal golf club where the city should be.
Go have lunch with the wife and play 9 holes on the sand course.
I'll get back to you on this.
73's,
Tom

reply to post by tomdham


Wow Tom, that would be great. See what you can dig up

According to news sources people have begun to move into the compound already:

The city is currently under construction, and Ouroussoff points out that Westerners' first dismissal of the town as "a gimmick ... turned out to be wrong": people have begun moving into the "first section of the project" in the past week.

Source

But yes, it would be great to see what you can find out about it.

reply to post by LiveForever8


Hey LiveForever8,
I found this in The National, a local paper, updated on the 11th of Oct.
Check out the link:

Masdar City, The National

You really got me interested in this now. Can't wait till tomorrow. Thanks for the lead on this. Learn something about your own city everyday. From someone far, far, away!!!

The first stage is now scheduled to be completed by 2015. A phased approach and a flexible deadline for the later stages would allow Masdar to adapt to the demands of the market, he said. "We're not going to be tied into a rigid timeline." Masdar has registered 70 companies to join the free zone at the development, said Ahmed Baghoum, the director of city operations at Masdar. [email protected]

Maybe I can put in a reservation....
Not likely!

Anyway, I will get back to you tomorrow with some more info.
73's,
Tom

BTW, check out this link as well from TODAY in the Gulf News, another local paper!!:

Masdar and the British Prime Minister, et al.

reply to post by tomdham


Great stuff Tom, cheers

Make sure you check back in once your field trip is over and let me know how you got on. Take pics, ask for leaflets/brochures, ask questions - whatever you can

The guy in the video seems really freaked out by the though of not having a car.
A lot of people in the world don't have cars. It won't kill you. He seems to forget that he has two feet. Try walking a bit. No private transportation? ok... just more alarmist ranting about the "evils" of a "socialist agenda".
I am all for preserving individual liberties, but some of this stuff is just plain ridiculous imo.

reply to post by pirhanna


If you were to delve deeper into all of this you might change your mind. This isn't about the advantages/disadvantages of not owning vehicles, it's about your freedom to do so if you so wish. Not just private vehicle ownership but private property in general.



Taking Liberty

"Either you have the right to own property, or you are property" - Wayne Hage.

Originally posted by LiveForever8
reply to post by tomdham

 

Great stuff Tom, cheers

Make sure you check back in once your field trip is over and let me know how you got on. Take pics, ask for leaflets/brochures, ask questions - whatever you can

Well, finally got back and it is DIRT and SAND with one building: the Masdar Institute.
There are really no signs to the place. Just kind of stumbled upon it.

Check out the photos. A heck of a lot different than the MSM reports!!


Here goes....

Masdar City Gate 1
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/1faa5d80eabd.jpg[/atsimg]

Masdar City, THEY WISH!!
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/28ebcf682000.jpg[/atsimg]

No Camera Sign...
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/545f1c3cd0e9.jpg[/atsimg]

THE WALL!!!
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d4f0139733f2.jpg[/atsimg]

Gate 2....
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/6935a5fe0d9f.jpg[/atsimg]

The Solar "Farm"
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/596200a736aa.jpg[/atsimg]

Masdar 'City" Now...
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/634a9c90ce99.jpg[/atsimg]

The ONLY Building...Masdar Institute
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/aaf96548ce9f.jpg[/atsimg]

The Institute's Solar Water Heaters:
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/4d41046744bb.jpg[/atsimg]

The Beautiful Landscaping Available:
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/0f9a8f9be135.jpg[/atsimg]

The Bustling Streets with Solar Powered Street Lamps: ZERO Carbon Footprint
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d957e2176780.jpg[/atsimg]

And last but not least: on the way out we say a "cloaked" alien craft pretending to be a Etihad Airliner!!!
Sly, buggers... Hurry get Maybe, Maybe Not and Phage on this!!
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/9f8564e2eeb2.jpg[/atsimg]

Well that's about it. Let me know what you think.
So much for Agenda 21 in our lifetimes?

73's,
Tom

reply to post by tomdham


Awesome pics Tom, nice one

Seems like they are focusing on the most important part of the construction first - the institute. As you have already quoted in a previous post:

The first stage is now scheduled to be completed by 2015.

So I reckon that in the next 15-20 years the whole things will be up and running. It shall be interesting to see how it develops.

So much for Agenda 21 in our lifetimes?

Not so fast. I could give you literally thousands of examples of how Agenda 21 is and will continue to effect our daily lives. It is very much here already, Masdar is just their 'flagship store', so to speak.

Once again, great job! And keep me up to date with any developments you hear about regarding Masdar

Huh, I don't get that statement!

Huh, I don't get that statement!

Double post!?

reply to post by Neutradol

Originally posted by Neutradol
Huh, I don't get that statement!

What statement are you referring to?

The city of the future: Its a story of camels, penguins and cars you dont drive

Masdar City, located between Abu Dhabi Airport and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, is a template for a vision of a new kind of city. Covering an area of around three-and-a-half square miles, it will eventually be home to 40,000 people and hundreds of businesses.

At its centre is the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, where 100 students are already living.

Daily Mail
[

Tree towers in Taiwan and the mega-pyramid of Tokyo: An awe-inspiring glimpse at the cities of the future

Free wi-fi everywhere, streets dedicated to free-flowing public transport, cars banned, and no waste or carbon emissions - but while these may sound like far-fetched cities of the future, they are already here.

Masdar city, only a few miles from the Middle Eastern economic powerhouse of Abu Dhabi, will be fully operational by 2020 and plans to recycle most of its water. It will also ban 'gas-guzzling' cars, which will be replaced by a subterranean battery-operated transport system.

Similar ecological moves are afoot in China, where Dezhou in the north of the country has created 'solar valley' with street lights and swimming pools heated by the sun and 80 per cent of buildings with solar water heaters.

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