1 Introduction “Estidama” is an Arabic word meaning sustainability. The Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) Estidama program is the government's initiative to integrate sustainability principles into Abu Dhabi's urban and economic development master plan. Adapted to the culture, climate and physical environment of the region, Estimate is developed to be more than just a set of principles or a rating system. It is presented as a way of life in the Arab world that will encourage sustainable urban and economic growth, protect the natural environment and preserve Abu Dhabi's unique cultural identity and historical assets (Estimate, 2010). trend towards the development of sustainable development policy initiatives. These are based on the idea that existing development paradigms pose a threat to the sustainability of the natural environment. If these paradigms remain unchanged, they will soon deplete the Earth's natural resources and threaten the survival of future generations. Therefore, sustainable practices are being adapted across the construction sector, sustainability rating systems are being developed to assess the environmental performance of developments, and cities are being planned based on low carbon emissions technologies. carbon or zero (Mills, et al., 2012). While Abu Dhabi remains rich in natural resources, with approximately 10% (98 billion barrels) of the world's total oil reserves and 3% (212 trillion cubic feet) of global natural gas reserves (Jordan, 2012), they adapt sustainability to remain competitive and relevant to the rest of the world (Urban Planning Council, 2011). In line with this objective, in 2005, the government presented the “Abu Dhabi Plan 2030”. The UPC defines this plan as a "road map" to reinvent e...... middle of document ...... based on behavioral change and modernization of existing developments, Abu Dhabi presents a paradigm of sustainable city based on technology that is only affordable to the rich and privileged. Reiche (2010) agrees that the spending and strict regulations necessary to implement the sustainable development model presented by Abu Dhabi are only possible for extremely wealthy and undemocratic governments. On another front, Cugurullo (2013) questions whether sustainability is the real driver. of Estidama. He says that while Estidama's economic benefits are concrete, its environmental benefits are vague. Therefore, the environmental aspects of sustainable development play a minimal role in Abu Dhabi's sustainability policy, while its real goal is to expand Abu Dhabi's influence on the global economy through the sustainability industry. renewable technologies (Cugurullo, 2013).