In recent years, Dubai has embraced the 2040 urban masterplan in order to become the world’s most liveable metropolis, and urban transit has become a focus for authorities. The nation thinks that physical mobility is essential for thriving communities. And, in keeping with Dubai’s 20-minute city plan, URB built The LOOP to allow 80% of Dubai’s inhabitants to walk or cycle to work and access everyday requirements and locations in under 20 minutes.
The LOOP is a 93-kilometer-long sustainable highway designed to urge inhabitants of Dubai to choose a healthy means of transit. The structure offers a climate-controlled atmosphere all year round, making walking and cycling the favored modes of transit in the city. The project is presently undergoing study and development. According to the URB team, the project’s goal is to set a “new standard” for the world’s best bicycle and walking infrastructure.
The goal is to re-engineer Dubai’s future movement networks to be more than just sustainable transportation systems. Consider such infrastructures as places and utilities for people, where different leisure and community services can be given, as well as interconnected activities such as vertical fields for food security, parks, and recreational areas, as well as chances for business.
These kinds of infrastructures should provide an enjoyable method of sustainable transportation regardless of the weather. They decrease reliance on automobiles by providing chances for strolling and riding, as well as incorporating necessary facilities into their design. The initiative also intends to use kinetic power as a sustainable energy source. The irrigation devices will also be operated on recycled water to conserve resources.
Concept Development | The LOOP
THE LOOP also tackles critical issues such as safety and usefulness all year long. As a result, THE LOOP marks a radical departure from the conventional infrastructure design paradigm, which favors vehicles over people. It will enhance people’s well-being in Dubai by making urban transit an enjoyable experience.
“Redesigning Dubai’s future transportation infrastructure to become more than just eco-friendly transit is our top goal,” said Baharash Bagherian, CEO of URB. To see these structures as more than just structures, but also as locations where people can go for essentials such as food and drink, as well as places where they can engage in recreational, entertainment, and social activities.
Using this type of infrastructure to get around should be a pleasurable and ecologically friendly experience regardless of the weather or precipitation level.”
The 20-Minute City
As a result, the LOOP aligned with Dubai’s aim of developing a 20-minute city in which people can stroll or bike to everyday necessities and locations in 20 minutes.
In Dubai, the plan will substitute vehicles and taxis. The aim is to make walking, jogging, and riding the primary means of transit in Dubai, as well as to enhance social infrastructure and amenities.
It will also improve community connectivity, resilience, and common amenities to support Dubai 2040. It will be the world’s biggest urban sharing center, allowing communities to share facilities and promote social, ecological, and fiscal viability.
Purpose with Recreational Multipurpose | The LOOP
The project will be a multifunctional location that will include retail stores as well as health and fitness facilities, swimming pools, and outdoor play spaces. THE LOOP will include tourist assets such as wellness lodgings and amenities to further promote wellness travel. The project’s incorporation of pocket parks and allotments will allow future well-being economies by promoting social contact and strengthening community ties.
Benchmark of Resilience
The Loop will be one of the greenest planned routes, with multifunctionality as its most prominent feature, addressing transportation, resilience, social infrastructure, economic possibilities, and environmental concerns.
Another intelligent feature that aims to provide safe and accessible transit at every event, bolstering the city’s robustness, is design-integrated technology.
It produces renewable energy and provides food security through its numerous vertical farms, making it much more sustainable urban transportation in Dubai’s most densely populated areas.
Kinetic Energy to the Rescue
The kinetic pavement is used in the project’s running routes to collect energy from every footfall. The method employs electromagnetic induction generators to displace the energy created by a person’s footstep vertically, which is then fed to generators for use as power.
The energy-harvesting flooring is made of repurposed car tyres that flex when walked on, producing kinetic energy. In addition, sensors embedded in the carpeting provide real-time electricity and footfall data.
The LOOP’s carpeting will be engaging and educational for students learning about kinetic energy. These kinetic pathways will promote enjoyable, socially sustainable involvement and allow everyone to make a difference.
Sustainability and Beyond | The LOOP
THE LOOP’s architecture have resulted in many beneficial results, including improved public health, resilience to natural disasters, and climate change mitigation. The United Nations prioritizes the development of sustainable, egalitarian, and resilient communities, and THE LOOP supports these endeavors.
The initiative seeks to make the city more sustainable and healthy by encouraging residents to stroll and ride bicycles along an enjoyable, secure green path.
Residents of THE LOOP can also receive rewards for everyday cycling and walking routes by using a specialized app. Consequently, people will be healthier and happier, and the carbon impact of metropolitan transportation will be reduced.
References
- ArchDaily. (2023). URB Reveals Design for The LOOP, a 93-Kilometer Long Controlled-Climate Cycling Highway in Dubai. [online] Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/995879/urb-reveals-design-for-the-loop-a-93-kilometer-long-controlled-climate-cycling-highway-in-dubai#:~:text=Designed%20by%20URB%2C%20The%20LOOP [Accessed 24 Feb. 2023].
- Anon, (2023). Dubai Unveils ‘The LOOP,’ a Gigantic 93km Climate-Controlled Pedestrian and Cycling Freeway – Arch2O.com. [online] Available at: https://www.arch2o.com/dubai-unveils-the-loop-a-gigantic-93km-climate-controlled-pedestrian-and-cycling-freeway/ [Accessed 24 Feb. 2023].
- Reporter, A.S. (n.d.). Dubai: 93km climate-controlled highway concept announced. [online] Khaleej Times. Available at: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/transport/dubai-93km-climate-controlled-highway-concept-announced?_refresh=true [Accessed 24 Feb. 2023].
