Spaceship in the Desert: Energy, Climate Change, and Urban Design in Abu Dhabi

Experimental Futures

by Gökçe Günel

In 2006 Abu Dhabi launched an ambitious project to construct the world’s first zero-carbon city: Masdar City. In Spaceship in the Desert Gökçe Günel examines the development and construction of Masdar City's renewable energy and clean technology infrastructures, providing an illuminating portrait of an international group of engineers, designers, and students who attempted to build a post-oil future in Abu Dhabi. While many of Masdar's initiatives—such as developing a new energy currency and a driverless rapid transit network—have stalled or not met expectations, Günel analyzes how these initiatives contributed to rendering the future a thinly disguised version of the fossil-fueled present. Spaceship in the Desert tells the story of Masdar, at once a “utopia” sponsored by the Emirati government, and a well-resourced company involving different actors who participated in the project, each with their own agendas and desires.

Genres: Anthropology, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2019

About the author

Gökçe Günel is Assistant Professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona.

Reviews

[loyboy]

DNF idk why i wanted to read an ethnography for fun. concept was cool writing was sooooo boringgggg. never doing anthro again after grad.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting ethnography but it hedges around a lot of the core power dynamics

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

so much to think about here! the projects/initiatives covered here all seemed to be in such a tenuous balance, particularly between actual practicality and futuristic imaginaries - the further the projects departed from reality, the more unsustainable they became. but does that make them a failure? this will definitely stick in my head for a while

[DM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this but it felt a little bit all over the place; not quite sure what the main arguments/takeaways are. The parts most interesting were about materializing potential and the personal rapid transport project.

[Sachin Bhatia · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is more than what meets the eye

[Mariam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, but a little too theoretical for my liking.

[Erin]

only read chapter 5 and thats how it will stay, interesting ethnography

there are so many ways to conceptualize and approach a problem

[Erin Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

research