Cities and their inhabitants produce huge amounts of greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming and environmental damage. In response, a number of communities are focused on reducing their carbon emissions, with some attempting to go entirely carbon-free. The Sustainable City in Dubai, a 500-home complex outside Dubai City, proposes one solution. Scroll through the gallery to discover how other communities are living sustainably.Fujisawa in Japan is a sustainable smart town built by Panasonic in collaboration with 17 other companies. Located 50km west of Tokyo and receiving its first batch of residents in November 2014, the town’s infrastructure is based on a smart grid which connects every building to a central real-time energy network. This means the energy demands of the inhabitants are connected to the variables of renewable energy.The 600 houses and 400 apartments, which can accommodate 3,000 people, are equipped with solar panels to provide clean and carbon-free energy. The engineers predict a 70% reduction in CO2 emissions. The leaf-inspired road layout also channels wind which reduces the need for air conditioning in hot weather.The Danish municipality of Sonderborg has the ambitious goal of aiming to be carbon-free by 2029. The ProjectZero plan was launched in 2007 and involves a move towards using renewable energy. The plan includes the establishment of on- and off-shore wind farms.The ProjectZero plan is a collaboration between politicians, businesses and the 77,000 people that live in the area. Much of the region lies on the coast and has experienced flooding due to rising sea levels and heavy rainfall. The municipality is already a hub for green technology. Danfoss, a leader in solar energy, and Linak, who make components for wind and solar energy technology are based there.Spanish architects Infiniski take an eco-friendly approach to design. This involves using recycled and non-polluting construction materials. The basic components of many of their buildings are shipping containers. They are also designed to provide a cooling effect in hot climates and are cheap and quick to build.One way of moving towards eco-friendly and carbon-free living is as simple as reducing the size of your home. The Tiny House Movement (an example pictured above) is a transition towards building smaller homes and downsizing. Smaller homes, by their nature, have much less cooling and heating costs, and are powered by solar panels on the roof.
