Pearl Building Rating System - Estidama

Credit Section
LBo: Livable Outdoors
The Natural Systems part of this document emphasize the primary elements that must be discovered,
embraced and nurtured for all forms of life to flourish. This section, Livable Outdoors focus on those
elements that influences the quality of human life and are in the direct and deliberate control of the
design and development team.
The design of outdoor space is fundamental to an individual's well-being and, as a direct consequence of
this, the prosperity of a city. Not only does this relate to public spaces, but also to commercial and
private outdoor space.
“Our ultimate goal is to create a cohesive, contemporary and
sustainable urban fabric for this new city and prosper as an
attractive, livable place that preserves the Emirate’s unique
culture and environment.”
— H.E. Falah Mohamed Al Ahbabi – General Manager, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council.
In order to be considered truly sustainable, new development must go beyond the environment to address
the other three pillars of Estidama – social, cultural and economic. This requires consideration of issues
such as increased mobility and access to community facilities and connectivity and comfort of the public
realm to encourage increased pedestrian activity.
Establishing an iterative and inclusive design process where stakeholders and key design professionals can
contribute to, and help evaluate, a range of alternative solutions will greatly enhance a development’s
success in terms of sustainability, livability and market performance.
This section aims to address these issues by encouraging:
� the provision of outdoor space – private, as well as communal, to promote active urban environments;
� the provision of shaded walkways and other measures to provide more thermally comfortable outdoor
environments;
� the provision of local amenities;
� the use of alternative modes of transport such as buses, trams and metros (once completed), car
sharing, the use of alternative fuel vehicles, cycling and walking; and
� the reduction of urban light pollution.
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