Dubai is building the world’s first climate-controlled city

In the future, when our home planet is covered in man-made waste, we all might live in climate-controlled, perfectly manicured bio-domes. Plans unveiled by developers show intent to build an entire indoor city in Dubai, complete with retractable glass roof in what is being billed as the world’s largest shopping center. It sounds like a sci-fi horror movie, but it probably won’t be much different than what Earth is like in the future. The name of the Atlantis-like city is Mall of the World, and will include over one hundred hotels and serviced apartment buildings. Basically, if you’ve ever dreamt of living in your own perfect utopia, Mall of the World might be it. In addition to the hotels and apartments, it’ll also include a 8-million square foot shopping center, along with a theater modeled after London’s West End.

While some of the planet’s richest nations are focused on the issue of climate change and how to lessen humanity’s impact on the environment, officials in Dubai have plans that may ultimately eliminate the concern altogether by building a climate-controlled city. Called the Mall the of the World, the 48 million square-foot mini-metropolis would be the first city-sized enclosure to allow residents to completely avoid outside conditions for extended periods of time. Using 4.5 miles of enclosed promenades, the vision of Dubai Holding, the developer of the project, is to allow visitors the ability to experience normal city life inside the controlled environment for weeks on end. Although the idea of such a massive enclosure might seem off-putting some, because of Dubai’s extreme summer temperatures, which average 104 degrees, the temperature-controlled environment could become the region’s most popular destination. During Dubai’s winter months, when temperatures average 73 degrees, the city’s enclosed promenades will be opened to allow in the fresh air. Included in the city will be 100 hotels and luxury apartments, a “wellness district” designed to attract medical tourists (an increasingly important aspect of Dubai’s business development) and what the project’s developers expect to be the largest theme park in the world.