The Loop Project in Dubai For a Sustainable World

The ambitious plan to make Dubai the best city in the world to live in has been revealed and it features a 93 km long sustainable highway. ‘The Loop’ project would curate the world’s smartest running and cycling tracks in Dubai. The project will be developed as a mixed-use facility that would offer both leisure and climate-friendly facilities to the residents. Right from its design to its predicted benefits, ‘The Loop’ is our guiding light into a brighter, better future. 

The Intent

The Loop is geared towards quickly connecting over 3 million residents to important services and sites by walking and cycling tracks in Dubai whilst incorporating a rather healthy mode of transportation. Keeping in sync with Dubai’s new 20-minute city strategy, it will offer a pleasant climate-controlled environment throughout the year, encouraging residents to walk and pedal as their primary means of transportation. A reasonable projection of having over 80% of Dubai’s residents commute by bicycle and on foot by 2040 is the higher objective. 

There exists a significant gap between cycling and public urban transportation. The Loop also addresses crucial challenges like safety and year-round usability. The Loop represents a paradigm shift from infrastructure centred around cars to infrastructure centred around physical activity which includes cycling tracks in Dubai. Residents of Dubai are all set to not just enjoy seamless urban mobility but take serious steps toward improving their health.

What Led to Its Inception?

Dubai is now following in the footsteps of other cities to touch new or better horizons in urban mobility. Challenges like climate change and swift urban expansion have led to cities improving travel aspects like walkability and cycling. Noise emissions, staggering high levels of CO2, air pollution, safety, and congestion are some of the most common problems faced by people all over the world owing to a car-centric travel approach. The Loop has been developed as the world’s smartest walking and cycling infrastructure that will enable a higher quality of life. 

Let’s pause for a moment and understand the intricacies of the urban fabric in Dubai. The very fibre of Dubai’s being is circled around a car-centric travel approach and is engineered to cater to the same. Thus, transitioning this highly developed car-oriented city into an activity-oriented one requires a seismic shift in urban infrastructure planning.  

With newly built road infrastructure and highways that align how people move around, there was a need for a bold vision that would push the transition towards walking and cycling between the neighbourhoods. This vision is backed by the fact that active mobility can be implemented and managed at a neighbourhood level with much more ease. Hence, The Loop will enable urban residents to cycle or walk to essential amenities within a few minutes of their homes. The overall dependency on cars will recede with the newly established cycling tracks in Dubai.  

“Our aim is to re-engineer the future mobility infrastructure in Dubai to become more than sustainable transport systems. To think of such infrastructures as much as spaces and utilities for people, where various leisure & community services can also be provided. These types of infrastructures should be an enjoyable mode of sustainable transport, no matter the weather conditions.’’ says bahiras Bagheri an, CEO of URB. 

There’s More to The Loop

‘The Loop’ is not only being established as an Urban Mobility Infrastructure, but a mix-use attraction that will offer both wellness and leisure facilities. The aim is to offer integrated services, and necessary facilities allocated between neighbourhoods. The essence is to promote the well-being of the economy or Dubai’s future. 

As a mix-use attraction, The Loop will feature sports courts, fitness stations, and several tourist assets like wellness centres and wellness hotels for the promotion of wellness tourism. It also features neighbourhood allotments and pocket parks that would eventually help communities connect better and enhance social engagement. 

Unlocking New Goals: The 20-Minute City

With this project, Dubai will be able to achieve its ambition of transforming into a 20-minute city. As per this objective, 55 percent of Dubai’s population will live within a range of 800 metres of a mass transit station. This means that they will be able to access popular destinations and daily needs within 20 minutes by bicycle or foot. This new goal is described in Dubai’s 2040 urban master plan to make Dubai the world’s most liveable city. Since active mobility is one of the most crucial aspects of healthy liveable cities, it has become a priority on Dubai’s list. 

For Dubai to top liveability charts, the authorities are aiming to make cycling, running, and walking the primary modes of transportation instead of taxis and cars. This initiative will be topped up by providing improved social facilities and infrastructure for the residents. The Loop will work on these lines to generate shared facilities, resilient infrastructure, and better connectivity in the neighbourhoods. The Loop will become the world’s largest urban shared facility where numerous neighbourhoods can make use of the common amenities. This in turn will promote economic, environmental, and social sustainability. 

Features of Dubai’s The Loop Project 

The Loop project brings with it a plethora of smart and sustainable features that offer what are essentially Green solutions – some of which are explained below.

Adaptable and Multi-Functional

Dubai’s The Loop project will be among the few greenest corridors in the city. One of the smartest features of this climate-controlled highway is that it would provide holistic solutions to economic opportunities, resilience, mobility, and social infrastructure while also rendering environmental benefits. The Loop project will also be one of the highest-tech infrastructures in the world. 

Since the project is offering accessible and safe mobility, it is aiming to enhance the resilience of the people and the city. Numerous vertical farms integrated throughout the highway will also ensure food security. Renewable energy will also be added to the grid, thanks to advanced technology. 

• Beyond Sustainability

Apart from reduction in emissions, sustainable and active mobility have other benefits too. It improves public and environmental health and social cohesion. One of the biggest features of The Loop is that it is in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to curate sustainable, resilient, and safe cities. Hence, it is designed to mitigate climate change, develop resilience to natural hazards and improve public health. 

The Loop will also have an exclusive app, rewarding the citizens for their daily cycling tracks in Dubai or walking endeavours. This will also motivate the residents to churn out economic benefits for governments and citizens. 

• Producing Clean Energy

Footsteps, one of the world’s cleanest and most abundant energy sources, will be used by The Loop to produce electricity. The Loop project in Dubai will turn the daily footprints of people into sustainable energy, preventing them from being wasted.

The kinetic pavement that is built into the running lanes converts each stride into useful energy. The technique operates utilising electromagnetic induction generators that are vertically displaced by a person’s footfall. The energy is produced by that motion of displacement. Furthermore, it is used to power generators.

The recycled vehicle tyres are used to make the energy-harvesting floors flex when people walk on them, creating kinetic energy. Additionally, sensors built into the flooring provide vital information like the number of footfalls and energy generated in real-time.

The dynamic walkways will encourage entertaining group interaction while promoting social involvement in sustainability. The immersive and instructive experience provided by The Loops flooring will be ideal for school children learning about kinetic energy. The kinetic flooring of The Loop will ultimately allow each person to make their own impression.

• The Loop – The Ultimate Tool For a Sustainable Future

Long-term exposure to noise pollution in urban areas can cause health concerns such as cardiovascular illness, mental health issues, sleep disturbances, and cognitive impairment. The Loop will make it easier for walkers and cyclists to move around town while also creating cities that are safer, cleaner, and more liveable. Active transportation is better for your health, reduces traffic, saves money, takes up less space, and emits no carbon.

The Loop in Dubai will improve people’s levels of physical activity, reducing health risks. It will increase accessibility to key destinations and services (including jobs, social events, and educational opportunities), which will in turn, enhance the quality of life.

The Loop will also save a lot of space because fewer streets will be needed in the future. Thus, old roads can be transformed into dynamic, healthy settings by incorporating additional greenery and activity spaces.

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