Communities 60 Winter 2018 • Number 181 W e were driving [and] saw a big sign that read “The Sustainable City,” so we checked it out. The main point that attracted me was the community. I did like the solar panels to offset my carbon footprint and the waste segregation system, but I believe that sustainability is about having a community and sharing things. My main reason to live here was [its] intention [to be sustainable]. —Eva 1 We knew moving to Dubai was going to be a big change. We started doing our research to see how Dubai can satisfy our lifestyle that focuses on less consumption and organic food. I typed “organic Dubai” on the browser and a place called “The Sustainable City” popped up. —Angie and Mark 1 Angie and Mark are an American couple. Eva and her husband are Dutch. Like many other residents of The Sustainable City (TSC), these two expatriate couples sought a community in Dubai that would align with their values and support their desire for a sustainable lifestyle during their time in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With an average summer temperature around 106 0 F and a population that is 90 percent expatriate, building a community in Dubai, let alone a sustainable community there, can be a challenge. The Sustainable City (TSC) is a five million square foot (46 hectares) planned community in Dubai, UAE. Construction started in 2013, the first residents came in December 2015, and by May 2018, 90 percent of homes were completed and occupied. Residential units include 448 townhouses and 50 detached villas in five neighborhood clusters, plus 89 apartments in a com- mercial plaza. Although TSC is a large developer-driven community—not resident-led and -managed like a typical intentional community—many of its residents share common motivations for living there. The developer has promoted a vision of sustainability—evident in the community’s name— which has attracted like-minded residents with over 90 different nationalities. This has created a sense of community around common values resembling that of intentional communities. In MANY SHADES OF GREEN: Establishing a Culture of Sustainability in a Diverse, Developer-driven Expatriate Community By Nermin Dessouky, Angela Sanguinetti, Alan Meier, Sarah Outcault, and Richard Tutwiler this way, TSC integrates aspects of intentional community within a developer-driven planned community model. We are a team of researchers from The Uni- versity of California, Davis, and The Ameri- can University of Cairo, investigating ways to promote a culture of sustainability in planned communities. We have been studying TSC for three years and observing how the community has been evolving over time. It is our assertion that although TSC is a large-scale developer- led community, it illustrates the ways in which the “intention” of a community is integral to sustainable lifestyles. We will discuss how some aspects of TSC’s design and management pro- mote, or present challenges to, the commu- nity’s culture of sustainability. Community Design Just by taking a five-minute walk in TSC you realize that it is more than just another large-scale residential development. Standing in the middle of the green spine, you can see solar panels atop all the roofs (40,000 panels to The central spine of the community showing the divided waste bins, biodomes, and solar roofs. Residents biking as a form of internal transportation inside TSC. 1. Names have been changed to maintain confidentiality.