Rethinking Dubai's urbanism: Generating sustainable form-based urban design strategies for an integrated neighborhood

Abstract

DedicationThis work is dedicated to my Mother who has been my biggest ally, my motivator, and my inspiration. Her major concern and goal was always to see me happy and successful in my personal, professional, and academic lives. I have learned a lot from her, more than any other human being. She taught me, inspired me, supported me, and challenged me.She had the insight and intelligence to give me guidance, assistance, care, and love.Regardless of her pain and chronic diseases, she made a huge sacrifice by sending me abroad to pursue my Master's and Doctorate in a time when she greatly needed me. After I completed my Master's in 2007, she refused to accept my decision to stay home and forget about the PhD. I still remember the night she came in my room and told me, -Just go and continue what you already started and invested in; I cannot accept you being around while you are missing a great opportunity. This is the best for you now and in the long term. As for me, your brothers and sisters will take care of me, and most importantly, Almighty God is with me; He will protect me, give me strength, and cure me.‖ My Mother was indeed the fuel that launched and propelled this work. Without her blessings, prayers, soothing words, love, and encouragement I would have never been able to pursue my studies. It is sad that she is not around to witness this effort and achievement.My dream was to go back home and show her my work and accomplishment. But, I am sure that she can feel it and sense it even though she is in the other world. Approaches to sustainable development must stress elements other than just design itself, such as grasping the nuances of the cultural traditions, politics, and implementation constraints. Therefore, this research also involved collecting survey responses from local and expatiate residents in Dubai and interviewing Dubai government officials in order to identify and to understand the relevant political and cultural aspects as well as obstacles associated with the experts' design recommendations. In particular, survey responses were used to: (1) identify the public opinion surrounding some of the Dubai neighborhood design ideas suggested by an international and local panel of experts; and (2) understand how the public value and prioritize the suitability of the proposed design strategies to Dubai's cultural environment.

Assessing Neighborhood Satisfaction and Social Capital in a Multi-Cultural Setting of an Abu Dhabi Neighborhood

“…Studies show the existence of social segregation in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which can influence this negative relation. While recent studies call for more inclusionary planning [44,45], it seems the non-locals are not satisfied living in a neighborhood with the local population.…”

Walkability Between Dubai Developments: “Seen but Not Reached” – A Portrayal Assessment of Walkability Indices in Dubai, Uae

“…According to Alawadi and Dooling [1], enormous buildings were constructed in Dubai without any reference to the urban context nor the local unique theme, and such misconduct could have been avoided if public participation had been involved in the urban planning process, or if any contextual study was performed: "public engagement might reduce the accelerated pace of decisionmaking and implementation processes which resulted in many developments that are neither culturally nor environmentally sensitive". The emphasis on sustainable methods needs to occur, to retrofit the strategies of developments in our current Dubai [2].…”

“…Alawadi [2] states: "Dubai is an automobile-dependent city; most of its urban areas sit inside large super blocks surrounded by multi-lane highways and grade-separated interchanges that restrain accessibility". That indicates the difficult conditions that the city will encounter when implementing methods of integration and connectivity, as the only intended integration between the city's mega-developments is through mobilized transportation.…”

Design and planning for accessibility: lessons from Abu Dhabi and Dubai’s neighborhoods

“…Since the 1960s, the UAE government has subsidized thousands of plots and sponsored the construction of single-family neighborhoods for citizens (Alawadi 2017a, b). Public housing programs and land use planning led to the proliferation of sparse and disaggregated neighborhoods, which cover up 55.2% of built-up land in Abu Dhabi and 40% of developed areas in Dubai (Alawadi 2017a;Alawadi and Benkraouda 2018;Scoppa et al 2018).…”