From ecological bio-domes hosting green species of herbs, shrubs and trees across the region and gleaming stark-black solar farms nestled in the ocean of golden sands to towering building structures embellished with an architecture like no other and futuristic electric podcars swiftly moving from one destination to another?

The Masdar City was nothing short of a ?desert? miracle for a student environmentalist as I. Awestruck as I was, I toured the city as a student visitor from my school.

The Masdar City was a project planned more than 8 years ago with a bold purpose to create the world?s most sustainable eco-city.

The project was initiated by the Mubadala company and via a well-knit network of green investments, the City is quickly being regarded as an example for cities to match up to, by encouraging fast-paced sustainable growth and development and simultaneous mitigation of unnecessary production of energy, water and waste.

This was reflected in each and every corner of the city. We entered the building to be toured from the ground floor and were transported to the head office of Masdar by the PRT or the Personal Rapid Transit system vehicle.

On reaching our destination, the automated system of the PRT led us into a large hall, where I was given a presentation and also shown a 3D map of the City, including the locations we had been through.

We were also shown the model of the Solar Impulse, the mechanism it worked on as well as a brief history of its making and the cutting-edge technology used at Masdar.

Once we had ended our tour within the building, we were taken outside and shown the outside appearance of the building as well as the eco-biodomes that hosted plant local varieties and species from all around the desert environment of the UAE.

The city has an amalgamation between the traditional Arabic architectural methods of design and modern technical-know-how. In addition, the unique building design successfully traps moving winds, which are naturally cooler and more favorable for residents walking in the soaring temperatures during the Middle-East?s characteristic summer.

However, just as misleading as the previous line may seem, the ample sunshine available in the UAE is also a boon to the region. Utilizing the piercing bright sun rays of the desert, Masdar also generates plenty of energy to run the city and its technologies and holds a record for one of the largest photovoltaic installations in the entire Middle East as a whole.

The Masdar City visit concluded on a positive note, with students taking back memories of one of the most environmentally-successful projects of the 21^st century, keeping in mind of course, the many more projects that follow this great feat in the near-future.