Madinat al Nakheel

The site for this new city of one million inhabitants stretches along the KhorAbdallah inlet connecting the city of Basra to the Gulf. The landscape master plan builds on the site ecology protecting the tidal wetlands that occupies 1/3 of the site area, as a protected natural landscape, wildlife habitat and nature park. The landscape masterplan proposes a “green-blue” network, a soft movement network that includes pedestrian and cycling paths and navigable canals. The multifunctional landscape of the green-blue network incorporates amenity and recreational spaces and connects components and layers of the urban fabric. The landscape vocabulary is sustainable environmentally, rooted in the distinct character of rural south Iraq with date palm orchards in the core and xeric landscapes at the peripheries.