Dubai: Sudden City

N

In this month's edition of National Geographic (I know, not the most scholarly of journals) there is an article in there titled "Sudden City: A feverish dream of the future springs from the sands in Dubai".

When breezing over the article I noticed a certain tone in the article. The tone was more of praising the developments there, no matter how environmentally unsustainable (see the Palm Jebel Ai, or the reently completed Palm Jumeirah).

I get an online bulletin called VMAIL at work and more often than not, there is a reference to some project that is happening in Dubai, followed by the mind-boggling amount of money which will be spent on it.

In Australia, (but I can only really speak for Melbourne), there seems to be a heightened emphasis on Sustainability, and yet, when people in the Architecture and Design profession talk about Dubai it seems to evade the same open criticism that other developing nations seem to bear the full brunt of. A megacity such as Bangkok gets pinned for being unsustainable, and yet, designers are strangely quiet when it comes to asking what on earth a 2.4 million square foot mall (Mall of Emirates) is good for.

Do designers, and everyday people, deliberately turn a blind eye to it? Or is it we are being bought over by the allure of money and mega structures beyond our wildest dreams?

beatriz

A megacity such as Bangkok gets pinned for being unsustainable, and yet, designers are strangely quiet when it comes to asking what on earth a 2.4 million square foot mall (Mall of Emirates) is good for.

That's is a very good point, we must also note that the Emirates are the ones with the largest ecological footprint, followed by the US and Australia in the 7th place (Nation Master, March 2006, http://www.nationmaster.com). Developing nations, such as Brazil, can also provide us with inspiration when it comes to sustainability. I found this article on Curitiba particularly telling: http://www.brazilmax.com/news.cfm/tborigem/pl_south/id/9

Anonymous

Thanks Beatriz on the tip about Curitiba. I was wondering why the name sounded so familiar and I realised that I watched a small segment on it about 3 months ago on ABC/SBS. I can't remember the exact program it was on, but I do have a copy of that segment on the sustainability and measures taken in Curitiba if you'd like it to show your students.

I think what troubles me with Dubai is that in the mass media Dubai is often referred to as some sort of "example" for the rest of the Arab world. Whether it be in politics, or not, I don't believe that a large gap between the very rich and the desperately poor should be an example for any country, let alone city. I see the same disparity between classes in other Developing countries and yet, because Dubai is in the Arab world, it escapes much of the criticism about poverty and discrimination.

In respect to the 2.4 million square foot mall, would Melbournains agree with such a gross structure being built in the city or suburbs? There is already criticism of mega-malls like Chadstone in Melbourne and numerous criticisms of strip mall cultures elsewhere.

Perhaps being "civilized" or "developed" means as a Developing nation, you must take on the follies of the Developed nations and prove thatyou are well versed in how to plan, execute and proliferate the unsustainable choices and then, when the media turns the tide, you are a victim of criticisms due to the wasteful nature of all your said planning, excution and proliferation which was driven by (and I am guessing here), by the need or the desire to be percieved as Developed. I don't see how one can praise and marvel at the wonder of a city and the next minute berate it for merelycapitalising on what people had marveled at in the first place.

N

*sorry Beatriz, that was my post above as "Guest" I didn't check if I was logged in! :oops: