ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I describe the evolution of Dubai from an inconsequential port on the edge of the Rub al Khali desert (Empty Quarter) to a global metropolis. The chapter also defines the demographic, political and economic characteristics of contemporary Dubai and provides an account of Dubai’s urban development model. These characteristics are extreme: Dubai’s population is growing rapidly, expatriates numerically marginalize the local Emirati population, and significant socio-economic division occurs between the strata of Dubai’s society. This is valuable information because Dubai, in terms of both its cultural and natural environment – as will be shown in the chapter – presents a significant challenge to the urban professions and its ethos of socially inclusive and environmentally and culturally sensitive practice, a reoccurring theme that I explore in later chapters.
