Dubai is a city which never ceases to reinvent itself. And this time, there’s an ambitious project just round the corner- Dubai is getting the world's longest urban agriculture park!
All around the central vein of transportation of the city - the Sheikh Zayed Road. This mega road, which is the main transportation artery and link from Dubai to other major cities, is going to be reimagined as an eco valley. This green valley is going to be 25 km long and occupying 350 hectares of prime urban agricultural land around the highway.
An artery of green through the heart of the city
Spreading the idea of making the city more eco-friendly and sustainable in the long-term, the UAE government has decided to implement a few major changes that will turn this road into an eco-haven. The forerunner steps towards this overhaul include:
- Sinking the road underground so that terraces, pathways and farms can be built over it.
- Establishing farms and growing certain foods sustainably to reduce the carbon footprint in the area, thereby creating a true farm-to-table system.
- Creating several indoor climate-controlled environments.
- Developing pedestrian-friendly crossings and green spaces.
- Building native ecosystems for birds, tropical plants, insects and cross-pollinating bees.
Why does Dubai require a project of this scale?
The aim of this project is to use 80% of the productive agricultural land to grow local plants and vegetation in open air, and also improve the social connectivity of the two worlds on either sides of the road. This super park is designed keeping in mind the need to link vacant parts of the city to the mainstream society to increase the appeal and marketability of such areas.
The rest 20% will consist of non-productive leisure areas which embrace native vegetation as the project was mainly brought to the table as an answer to the lack of functional public outdoor spaces.
Roadmap ahead
This urban park will be built over 7 sequential phases with each one spread over an average of 4 kms between major interchanges along the highway. The road ways underneath will emerge from tunnels at pre-marked intersections and connect to bridges, thus allowing narrow areas of the park to continue underneath them.
Brain behind the project
While the UAE government has supported this project immensely, the master brain behind its design and concept is the architectural firm Machou Architects Group. Machou Architects Group is a major innovator in the field of architecture, based out at Toronto and Dubai. The architects of the Machou Group have been working tirelessly to make this vision a reality. The spirit that drives the project got them to say, "Dubai Super Park stitches the urban fabric back together to reunite the segregated flow of people, nature and energy."
By creating such an urban park, the project can act as a catalyst in creating eco-friendly spaces in the city. It will also drive social capital development and boost the economic value of the surrounding and interconnected areas. The super park will also create a higher social connectivity in the urban fabric of Dubai while improving competition and stabilizing the market.
