British architects Foster and Partners have joined together with the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, part of the Mubadala group, to design and implement plans for the world's first zero carbon, zero waste city in Abu Dhabi.

The first project to emerge from the Masdar Initiative, it will be a new 6 million square metre sustainable development that uses the traditional planning principles of a walled city, together with existing technologies, to achieve a zero carbon and zero waste community.

The new city will be a centre for the development of new ideas for energy production and responds to the urban identity of Abu Dhabi while offering a sustainable urban blueprint for the future.

Launched at the Cityscape Abu Dhabi show in May, it will attract the highest levels of international expertise and commerce, providing a mixed-use, high-density city. The programme includes a new university, the Masdar Headquarters, special economic zones and an Innovation Centre.

In a statement issued to coincide with the announcement of the project, Norman Foster said: "The environmental ambitions of the Masdar Initiative - zero carbon and waste free - are a world first. They have provided us with a challenging design brief that promises to question conventional urban wisdom at a fundamental level. Masdar promises to set new benchmarks for the sustainable city of the future."

The principle of the Masdar development is a dense walled city to be constructed in an energyefficient two-stage phasing that relies on the creation of a large photovoltaic power plant, which later becomes the site for the city's second phase, allowing for urban growth yet avoiding low density sprawl. Strategically located for Abu Dhabi's principal transport infrastructure, Masdar will be linked to surrounding communities, as well as the centre of Abu Dhabi and the international airport, by a network of existing road and new rail and public transport routes.

Rooted in a zero carbon ambition, the city itself will be car-free. With a maximum distance of 200 metres to the nearest transport link and amenities, the compact network of streets encourages walking and is complemented by a personalised rapid transport system. The shaded walkways and narrow streets will create a pedestrian-friendly environment in the context of Abu Dhabi's extreme climate. It also articulates the tightly-planned, compact nature of traditional walled cities. With expansion carefully planned, the surrounding land will contain wind, photovoltaic farms, research fields and plantations, so that the city will be entirely self-sustaining.