Frank Herbert's novel Dune describes life on a planet where there are no open sources of water, and the inhabitants are forced to condense water from the atmosphere, creating entire underground lakes. It was this principle that formed the basis of the desert cities project developed at the University of Toronto.
The novel Dune was published back in 1965. Back then, no one could have imagined that there could really be problems with water in the world. But scientists are already predicting that in the future water will become the main and most expensive resource of the Earth. And it is over water that the wars of the future will be fought. That is why projects are emerging to solve this problem.
Architects at the University of Toronto developed their project specifically for the Southwestern United States of America, for the Colorado River Valley. Recently, the use of water from that river has reached such a scale that droughts unthinkable just a few decades ago have begun in these areas. That's why many Colorado Valley cities are creating their own water storage facilities in case of future climate disasters. Everything is heading towards the fact that the fantasy of the creator of “Dune” will come true.
It is for such a case that this project was developed. According to the project, in the future, even the desert will be able to become fully inhabitable and self-sufficient in terms of water and food. To do this, it must be riddled with something similar to a honeycomb. The cities of the future with all their infrastructure will be located in these honeycombs. There will be residential areas, vegetable gardens, and parks.
On top of each of the honeycombs (except for garden ones) there should be special membranes necessary for condensation of water from the atmosphere. Where possible, it will be necessary to drill wells to the aquifers of the earth's crust.
Of course, such cities will not be very large. Still, a city needs space. But these separate underground cities can be connected by underground canals, creating real urban agglomerations of millions.
Although this project was developed specifically for the American Southwest, it can be implemented in any deserted point on the globe. The time will come...
Territorial location. Deserts are hot and dry areas of the earth. The most extensive deserts in the world are the Sahara in Africa, Victoria in Australia, Atacami in South America. The largest deserts on the Eurasian continent are located in Central Asia. These are the Karakum and Kyzylkum.
Features of the desert. When the wind blows in one direction on the sand for a long time, the sand begins to move and beautiful dunes of a certain shape are formed from it. Dunes are sandy hills in the desert. One side of them is always convex, reminiscent of a stooped back, and always faces the direction from which the wind blows. And long tentacles are stretched in the wind - they are called “horns”.
When the wind changes, the dune immediately begins to turn over to show its back. Vegetation often appears on the dune. The sand covers it, and it moves and, growing through the dune, captures it with its branches and roots and holds it in place.
Vegetation. Plants that grow in hot and dry desert conditions have over a long period of time developed special adaptations that help them adapt to such a climate. Many people store water in their leaves and stems during the rains. These are cacti, aloe. Some plants have spine-shaped leaves, others have a thick, waxy covering, which allows them to save water.
Some get water from great depths with their long roots, the length of which reaches m.
Large representatives of the animal world also live in arid places. These are camels and antelopes. Antelopes are good runners and run great distances in search of water. And the camel stores fat in the tissues of its body, which, when consumed, releases water.
Population. Where there is water, the desert retreats. Under the generous sun and artificial irrigation (watering), the cotton fields turn green, fruits, melons, and watermelons are filled with juice. People have long waged a daily struggle with the desert, laying canals and building reservoirs.
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New York, Dubai, Shanghai, Moscow... What unites all these cities? Of course – world famous skyscrapers! High-rise buildings that make your head spin are a symbol of any modern city! However, few people know that the first multi-storey buildings appeared not in America or Europe, but in the middle of the desert - in Asia! Shibam in the Republic of Yemen today it is customary to call "the oldest city of skyscrapers in the world" or "Deserted Manhattan"!
The uniqueness of the city is that skyscrapers were built here for the first time on earth - buildings up to 30 meters high. The high-rise buildings were built from clay bricks, close to each other, so that they formed something like a fortress. Even today you can get into this city only through one gate, so Shiban is quite reminiscent of an ancient defensive structure that protected local residents from Bedouin raids.
Most of the buildings were built in the 16th century and are still in use today. Today, the unique architecture of the city is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Program; tourists can see more than 500 houses, the height of which ranges from 6 to 11 floors! There is a single-family apartment on each floor. There are no windows on the ground floors; there are granaries and premises for livestock; on the middle floors there are living rooms; above there are kitchens and bedrooms. The top floor (mafraj) is reserved for men's rest. Many houses are connected by passages: they used to serve as a means of communication during the war, but now they are used by elderly people who get tired of walking up endless stairs.
The city has a population of about 7,000 people. Time changes little the appearance of Shibam: the walls of the houses, covered with whitewash, still turn white as they were hundreds of years ago. The only traces of civilization are satellite dishes and air conditioners on the clay walls.
However, we should not forget that nature is not always favorable to people, and if the desert gave life to Shibam, it destroyed Kolmanskop. This, until recently, was flourishing and populated, but over the past 50 years it has turned into a ghost town.
Ghadames, known as the “pearl of the desert,” is located in an oasis in southwestern Libya (historical region of Tripolitania). It is one of the oldest cities on the Sahara border and an outstanding example of a traditional settlement. The city has a population of about 10,000 people, mostly Berbers, who live in traditional houses made of mud, bricks and palm trees, tightly grouped like a honeycomb. Its residential architecture is characterized by a vertical division of functions: the first floor is used for storing supplies, the next floor is for family living and, finally, at the top there is an open terrace intended for women. The terraces are connected by passages that allow women to move freely while remaining hidden from male eyes.
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1. Shaped like a circle, the ancient city of Ghadames is a tight cluster of houses. The fortified outer walls of houses along the edges of the city form a fortress wall. This city fence is broken here and there by numerous doors and bastions.
2. Ghadames is an ancient city. The first mentions of it date back to the Romanesque period, when the settlement was known as Cidamus, a fortified city built in the first century BC.
3. None of the surviving buildings date from the early Berber or Roman periods. However, the distinctive style of residential architecture distinguishes Ghadames from other North African cities and towns that stretch along the northern border of the Sahara from Libya to Mauritania.
4. Today Ghadames is a small oasis located next to a palm grove.
5. The historical part of Ghadames was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1986.
6. Buildings overhanging street passages create what looks like a network of covered galleries or corridors instead of regular streets. These galleries are “reserved” exclusively for men.
7. While men walk on the ground, women walk “on the roofs,” or rather, on terraces connected by passages. The terraces are the kingdom of women, which, according to local residents, gives them great freedom. This way they can make friends with their neighbors and move around the city.
8. All houses have at least two main floors. The first floor, which is often sunk into the ground, is accessed through a single door, behind which there is a narrow passage leading to a room where supplies are stored. At the rear there is usually a staircase leading to a much more spacious second floor.
9. The residential floor, as a rule, includes an attic and bedrooms, and sometimes a living room. Occasionally, there is another floor above it with a similar layout.
