Dubai: A History & Sustainable Future (?)

Dubai is a city that’s located off of the coast of the Persian Gulf within the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Famed for its skyscrapers and state of the art infrastructure, it is a city that has had a remarkable growth period since 1973 [1]. Much of Dubai’s success can be traced back to the strategic planning that took place in the 20th century, funded by its oil revenues.

In Dubai’s case, Singapore has been a major source of inspiration and competition. Both are Asiatic coastal city (states) that have involved tourism and business through government intervention to allow them to become instant cities [1]. Instant cities are simply cities that are a product of rapid urbanisation [2].

Dubai changed their laws in order to attract foreign investment. Prior to the law changes it was stated that only Emirati nationals were allowed to own and/properties and to a lesser extent other GCC nationals [1]. The revised laws increased the accessibility of foreigners to the residential market, allowing them to be able to purchase buildings.

Dubai's planning was done in such a way that it seemed like it was the city where there was constant development of cutting edge infrastructure and buildings [1] e.g. Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab. The development of cutting edge infrastructure has been described as ‘bigness’. Bigness is what led to Dubai securing multiple world records for structural feats and infrastructure [3]. The realisation of the vision has helped improve Dubai’s global image thus further attracting FDI and tourism. The ruling family of Dubai are continuing to utilise bigness as evident by the ongoing project ‘Santiago Calatrava tower’ [4].

Dubai’s strategic planning stemmed from that the realisation that one day their already limited oil production would peak, which it did in 1991 [5]. Since then oil production has been declining which validates the foresight that the government had. The strategic planning involved economic diversification and expansion specifically addressing the modernisation of production sectors and the development of secondary and tertiary sectors [6].

Before we can delve deeper into the city's plans for future sustainable growth we must first understand how it got to where it is today.

Development of the city

Dubai set out to be one of the major players in several different fields and so to do this they set out to build multiple cities prior to 2005 [6]: Internet City, Media City, Festival City Dubai Marina, International City, Dubai International Finance Centre, Burj Dubai, Dubai Mall. All these projects have been completed by 2018.

Dubai’s growth was fueled by a unique mix of state control and economic liberalism [6] where the royal family decides what is included within the city’s strategic plan while the competitive market attracts foreign investment.

In the western world's port cities, the cities have lost their trading identity in exchange for increased investment in the advanced producer services (e.g. London). Dubai on the other hand has been able to develop both [7] due to the fact that Dubai has no history tying it down thus allowing it to be developed as envisioned by the government. Dubai has generally followed the development path of east Asian port cities (e.g. the wildly successful Singapore).

Dubai has been developed over what can be described as phases. There are four major phases whereby the development of the city state changed drastically [1][7][8].

These phases are thought to be:

• Phase 1: The fishing village and the advent of a free port (1900s–1950s) – during this phase little economic growth or expansion occurred.
  

• Phase 2: The entrepôt port-city (1960s–1970s) - growth occurred due to a master-plan that was drafted by the British architect John Harris (shown in drawing below).
  

• Phase 3: The regional transshipment hub port-city (1980s–1990s) – Suburban growth occurred in this phase courtesy of a more ambitious master-plan.
  

• Phase 4: The logistics hub port-city (2000s–present) – Rapid urbanisation occurred marked by a diversified economy and increasingly larger city borders.

Dubai has been so successful in their model that other cities across the globe are initiating their model this is known as Dubaization [4]; regional cities which have/are attempting to imitate Dubai’s model include: Doha, Cairo, Manama and Istanbul. During the phases the city’s population grew significantly as visualised in the graph below.

Let's take a look at the start of it's true modernisation which occurred during Phase 3.

Phase 3 deep dive

In phase 3 the planning style changed from a rigid masterplan to one of a more 'comprehensive and structural planning approach' [4]. This was due to rapid uncontrolled development beyond the masterplan’s borders.

An emphasis was placed on the development of the ports namely the Rashid port and Jebel Ali port [8]. This was done in order to stimulate growth of the marine merchant sector as well as to prepare for an increase of ships and goods passing through the city.

The expansion of the ports was funded by the oil revenue [4]. During this phase free trade zones (FTZs) were put in place in order to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).

The famous Jebel Ali FTZ was established which has continued to be an integral component of Dubai’s economy to this day [8]. The FTZs had profound effects of the development of the city [4] as it led to Dubai becoming the premier location in the region for businesses to set up shop.

As economic opportunities increased in Dubai, more economic migrants arrived looking for work. This lead to urban sprawl thus resulting in the need for the alteration of the masterplan.

Phase 4: The Modern Era

The current development phase has been dubbed the urban globalisation period [8]. In phase 4, the FTZs were further developed. Each FTZ had its own specific niche e.g. technology but all of the FTZs shared three commonalities [4]:

1. World-class facilities

2. Minimal tax

3. Minimal red tape

The government begun taking responsibility over the development of the city allowing their vision to become a reality [6]. An aim of the government was to grow the tourism sector to become a major component of the economy [8].

To achieve this a global marketing initiative was undertaken along with strategically chosen megaprojects which would allow ease of access to the small emirate and generate interest. Examples of megaprojects would come to include: Dubai International Airport (the world’s busiest airport in 2016 [9] and Burj Khalifa (the world’s tallest structure since 2008) [10].

During this time and influx of expats arrived in Dubai whether they originated from the west or the east. The constant stream of construction meant that there was always work available for labourers. The workers would then need a place to live thus helping the residential market flourish. investment opportunities were marketed worldwide especially related to the residential sector. Many celebrities bought beach front houses which further spurred the economy due to the increased awareness of the global populous to Dubai.

Upon achieving their goal, the diversification of the economy, the government realised that smart initiatives were the next logical steps forward so that Dubai can remain competitive globally. Problems had begun to compound for instance Sheikh Zayed road (a main road which connected various important places) was becoming increasingly congested and healthcare services were becoming overwhelmed.

...the government realised that smart initiatives were the next logical steps forward so that Dubai can remain competitive globally...

"So what's all this got to do with climate change?" I hear you ask. Well the Dubai's government has been trying their hand at turning Dubai into a smart city!

Smart Initiatives

Smart Dubai 2021 is the plan for Dubai to become a smart city. It is part of the UAE Vision 2021 which focuses on the improvement of the environment and the improvement of social cohesiveness [11]. Six objectives have been identified by the governmental bodies in charge of the masterplan to focus on [12]:

1. Living

2. Economy

3. People

4. Mobility

5. Environment

6. Governance

Throughout the Smart Dubai website it is reiterated that people are at the core of this transformation. Everything is done so that citizens and tourists lead a safer, more efficient and more comfortable life.

Let's go through these objectives one by one.

Objective 1: Living

This objective has been chosen to make Dubai a liveable and resilient city. Various infrastructure services will be connected. Water and electrical distribution will be monitored to reduce the leakage amount [12].

These changes will improve the quality of life for the resident by reducing bills as well as tailoring services to each individual’s needs.

Objective 2: Economy

The economy will be strengthened by providing a platform for innovation to flourish. It is believed that disruptive technology has a leading role in driving economic growth [12].

Objective 3: People

Social services will be designed to have ease of accessibility via digital access, a particular emphasis has been made on healthcare/pharmaceutical services and education (Smart Dubai Office, 2018). ICT solutions will aid citizens in accessing healthcare services such as booking appointments and ordering prescriptions [8][13].

A unique feature of the smart city initiative that Dubai is using is the Happiness Meter index. This index has been designed to measure how satisfied the citizens are with various aspects of life in Dubai [12]. This index is likely closely linked to the quality of life index because in theory the higher the quality of life, the more satisfied the citizens, the happier the citizens.

Objective 4: Transport

Mobility is the pipeline of the economy. The quicker traffic flows, the higher the efficiency of many aspects of the economy ultimately leading to more money being generated.

Autonomous vehicles, shared transport and public transportation services will be developed (including sea and air transport) [12]. In terms of public transport, the Dubai metro is the longest automated metro network globally. It is an example of the intertwining of transport and technology by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) [3].

Smart traffic monitoring and parking meters will be implemented for ease of monitoring and parking within the congested city [8][12].

Objective 5: Environment

Till this point, Dubai has sacrificed environmental sustainability for the sake of diversifying its economic base and satisfying the local population's housing needs [4]. However, the introduction of Al Safat system is designed to improve the environmental impacts that buildings cause. A bronze, silver or gold certification is awarded to buildings who pass stringent tests which assess how ‘green’ the building is [8].

In order for a building plans to be awarded a permit to proceed to the construction stages they must be awarded a minimum of a bronze certification [12] [14]. Al Safat system draws parallels to the energy performance certificate scheme (EPC) in the U.K. [15].

In addition to the building regulation alterations, existing buildings are being retrofitted to minimise greenhouse gas emissions. Implementing this system is expected to have reduced CO2 emissions by 7.3 million tonnes by 2019 [14].

Energy is a large contributor to environmental impact whether it is the production of electricity or it is the consumption of energy by vehicles and machinery. Solar panels will be introduced in a limited capacity at first into the electric grid through the Shams project so that the harmful side effects of fossil fuel use are mitigated.

Hybrid and electric vehicles will take an increasingly important role within the city in order to reduce the stress being placed on the environment [8][12].

Objective 6: Government

Smart governance’s aim is to provide seamless transfer of data between government sectors thus allowing all services and transactions to be paperless cashless and online (Smart Dubai Office, 2018). This will be achieved by means of blockchain [16].

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References:

[1] Bagaeen, S. (2007) ‘Brand Dubai: The instant city; or the instantly recognizable city’, International Planning Studies. doi: 10.1080/13563470701486372

[2] Barth, G. P. (1975) Instant cities : urbanization and the rise of San Francisco and Denver.

Acuto, M. (2010) ‘High-rise Dubai urban entrepreneurialism and the technology of symbolic power’, Cities. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2010.01.003

[3] Acuto, M. (2010) ‘High-rise Dubai urban entrepreneurialism and the technology of symbolic power’, Cities. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2010.01.003

[4] Alawadi, K. (2017) ‘Rethinking Dubai’s urbanism: Generating sustainable form-based urban design strategies for an integrated neighborhood’, Cities. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2016.10.012.

[5] Gulf News (2010) ‘Oil in Dubai: History & timeline’, GulfNews.com. Available at: http://gulfnews.com/business/oil-in-dubai-history-timeline-1.578333.

[6] Pacione, M. (2005) ‘City Profile : Dubai’, Cities. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2005.02.001.

[7] Akhavan, M. (2017) ‘Development dynamics of port-cities interface in the Arab Middle Eastern world - The case of Dubai global hub port-city’, Cities. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2016.10.009.

[8] Virtudes, A., Abbara, A. and Sá, J. (2017) ‘Dubai: A Pioneer Smart City in the Arabian Territory’, in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. doi: 10.1088/1757-899X/245/5/052071

[9] Smith, O. (2017) ‘Which is the world’s busiest airport for international passengers?’, The Telegraph. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/busiest-airport-international-passengers/.

[10] Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (2018) 100 Tallest Completed Buildings in the World by Height to Architectural Top. Available at: http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/buildings.

[11] UAE Vision 2021 (2014) Sustainable Environment and Infrastructure. Available at: https://www.vision2021.ae/en/national-priority-areas/sustainable-environment-and-infrastructure.

[12] Smart Dubai Office (2018) Smart Dubai 2021. Available at: https://2021.smartdubai.ae/

[13] KPMG (2015) ‘Dubai - A new paradigm for smart cities’, (July), pp. 1–36.

[14] Saseendran, S. (2016) ‘Dubai launches green building rating system’, Gulf News. Available at: https://gulfnews.com/news/uae/environment/dubai-launches-green-building-rating-system-1.1861227.

[15] Cavada, M., Hunt, D. and Rogers, C. (2017) The Little Book of SMART Cities. Available at: http://liveablecities.org.uk/outcomes/little-book-series%0A.

[16] Alketbi, A., Nasir, Q. and Talib, M. A. (2018) ‘Blockchain for government services — Use cases, security benefits and challenges’, in 2018 15th Learning and Technology Conference (L&T). doi: 10.1109/LT.2018.8368494.