the highest in the world, while residents' water use

is around the double the global average.

But a radical new development aims to permanently redefine

how the Emirate thinks about sustainability.

Welcome to Dubai's sustainable city.

It's green spine is formed of 11 bio-dome farms,

supplied by recycled water, they allow residents

to grow fresh herbs and produce.

The desert sun plays its part, too,

providing power through thousands of solar panels,

and though dust sweeping in can reduce the efficiency

of those panels to just 20%,

2,500 trees are being planted

to shield against this, creating a buffer zone

helping purify the air.

Stark problems require bold solutions.

It's this challenge the designers of tomorrow's cities need to rise to

if a truly sustainable future is to prove anything more than a desert mirage.