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| Flash Animation: Dubai's growth over 30 years. |
Zones of Growth and Discard
The government has been zoning areas according to their function since the late ‘90s. This is especially noticeable in the Jabel Ali Free Zone, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Land, and Knowledge City. High growth has been occurring on the west coast of Dubai beginning at Dubai-Al Ain Road. The investment towards a state of the art business core is driving the construction at an astonishing rate. The new business core will eventually stretch along the shore until Jabel Ali, the major port city of the emirate.
Photo: Construction of Jumeirah Residence project
Construction surrounding the airport and existing port of Dubai (Rashid Port) is driven by the need for a better urban form. Highways are being expanded and redirected to improve traffic congestion. Older, low-cost regions at the centre of Dubai are subject to gentrification, another factor that is causing people to move to outer regions. This development is removing the urban polarization which Peter Hall describes as privileged areas alongside disadvantaged sectors7. Zones of discard or unattractive residential areas that are in proximity to industrial areas, are growing in outer regions inland.
All other inhabitants requiring low cost housing often share, sometimes over 10 people in one room8. Social assistance is only available for UAE nationals, but there are plans for immigrant assistance. The unemployed are deported if they cannot afford to pay the 500 dirham ($136 USD) daily fee17 to extend their visas which are valid 3 months from the date of entry. The lack of poverty in Dubai is due to deportation of the unemployed, most of which are from Iran, the Philippines, India and Pakistan.
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| Source: CIA Fact Book |
Roadways
Roadways are highly relied on in Dubai. Having a car is a necessity to commute within the city as it is expanding beyond its original boundaries of the 90's. All areas are accessible by freeways and buses. Buses are mainly used by blue collar workers which leads to a reliance on taxis and cars by everyone else. Private buses are also used by companies to ship employees from neighbouring areas such as Sharjah.
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| Photo: Traffic along Sheikh Zayed road (interchange #1) |
Taxis in Dubai were once owned by individuals. There are however several privatised companies that have come into the market for taxing. Most of them have digital meters that start at $1.00 CAD and go to any reuqested destination. Sharing taxis from Deira to Bur Dubai was a common occurrence allowing workers to pay 2.50 AED (less than $1 CAD) to travel across Dubai. With the new taxi regulations, sharing has been stopped and the cost of transportation is out of reach by the blue collar class who pay 1.00 to 4.00 AED ($0.30 to $1.25 CAD) for the bus18. Privately owned cars that solicit business from passer-bys are illigal alternatives. The ministry of transportation does not have any plans for extending bus routes in coming years which leave commuters reliant on personal or hired transportation.
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| Graph: Commute time in minutes according to work type |
Traffic is a major concern to all residents of Dubai. The government is investing billions into restructuring roadways, but the traffic problems are not being solved properly. High population density stems from the close proximity of high rise apartment buildings in the downtown core. Urban planning is localized and does not factor in expected population growth. As a result, Dubai is launching a toll system as a way of controlling traffic along with a railway system.
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| Map: Toll system 'Salik' that is being implemented between Bur Dubai and Jumeirah. Source: Gulf News |
Railway
A state-of-the-art railway system, Metro, is to be completed by 2010 in two phases. The total length of the system is 69.7 km with 37 stations. The east-west line spans the coast of Dubai from Jabel Ali to the Airport Free Zone. The north-south line covers both sides of Dubai Creek from Bur Dubai to Deira. There is no connection into neighbouring Sharjah or Abu Dhabi which poses problems for many middle class inhabitants of the UAE that cannot afford to live in Dubai9, but is expected to ease traffic considerably.
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| Map: Dubai Metro railway system Source: Dubai Municipality |
Public Transportation
The bus system in Dubai does not connect properly to the surrounding cities. Inter-emirate transportation is stifled by a lack of government cooperation among Emirates, simlar to TTC and Mississauga Transit routes. The Dubai bus route map is very confusing and unorganized. Private and company provided transportation is heavily relied upon by commuters which results in traffic congestion comparable to Los Angeles. Within Dubai, public transportation is usually punctual. Traffic congestion at the downtown core often stifles schedules and patrons have to stand in bus shelters (if available) in the oppressing 90% humidity heat. Many people would rather use air conditioned cars than buses if possible.
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| Photo: Dubai bus |
See Dubai Bus Route Map
Pedestrians
Pedestrian infrastructure has not been a priority until recently due to the extremely high number of deaths. There has been a 32% increase in fatalities from 2005 to 2006. There were a total of 243,386 recorded road accidents in 2006 with run over accidents accounting for 120 of the 312 fatalities or 38%. Statistics show pedestrian deaths are on the rise, but this figure is less than the population growth rate revealing a slight decline in pedestrian deaths relative to population growth10. As a result, the year 2005 - 2006 was dedicated to widening pedestrian sidewalks and making alternate routes where highways exist.
Airways
Emirates Airlines is the official airline of Dubai. Etihad Airways is Abu Dhabi’s response to Emirates which has been quite successful. However, Emirates has been around for 22- years, while Abu Dhabi's Etihad has been operating for 2-years. Etihad has a non-stop flight to Toronto which is an opportunity Emirates has been slow to meet. Landing rights are being negotiated for Toronto to implement a daily direct flight to Toronto. In recent years, a growing number of expatriates from Toronto are investing and conducting business in the UAE. Emirates Airlines has flights to alpha world cities such as New York, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Milan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Almost all beta world cities are also covered by Emirates routes. New routes being added include Tunis, Bangalore, Beijing, Nagoya, Addis Ababa, Hamburg and more. Of the new routes, 3 are to India.
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| Source: Emirates Airlines |
