DAVIS (CBS13) – When you think of Dubai, you probably don’t think of Davis, but soon the two could have a lot more in common when it comes to living green.

Featuring bright lights and outstretched sky scrapers, Dubai is a unique metropolis in the United Arab Emirates more than 8,000 miles away.

Tuesday, we didn’t go to Dubai, but to UC Davis to talk to Bob Segart about the West Village.

“It’s really gratifying because this project is 10 years in the making,” he said.

Developers in Dubai want to build a sustainable city there based off of the West Village model.

It’s easy to see why the Dubai developers were inspired. Enormous solar panels in the center of the West Village face west in a direct line of sight to the sun to provide energy for the village.

Efficient heating and cooling and special insulation cut down on energy use.

“These buildings will use about 50 percent of the energy of a typical building,” Segart said.

A couple of weeks ago the CEO of Diamond Developers came to Davis to soak up energy ideas. The Dubai city will house 2,500 people and aims to save 60 percent more energy and water in its buildings.

Dubai will also take another idea, solar panels on parking structures, from the West Village.

The Dubai developers say they will break ground on their green city next year.