Arabic

Dr. Amer Adham Moustafa

School of Architecture and Design, American University of Sharjah.,UAE

Waterfront as a Public Resource:

Observations on Dubai’s Man-Made Islands

 Waterfronts constitute a significant public resource in any city. They provide cities with unique opportunities for urban development, recreation, and placemaking. Great world cities have utilized waterfronts to define their urban character, diversify the urban experience, and enhance the public realm.

Dubai has, in the last decade or so, embarked on an ambitious undertaking to transform itself into a global destination. To that end, the city has sprawled horizontally along the periphery, intensified growth in the center and along major thoroughfares, and pursued development schemes on reclaimed land along its waterfront.

Developments such as the Palms trilogy (Palm Jumeirah, Jabel Ali, and Deira), the World, and the Waterfront have transformed the city’s 45-mile-long natural beach into an articulated waterfront of over 800 miles. These developments have added a remarkable real estate value, created a new urban brand, and diversified the city’s urban ambience.

This paper will examine Dubai’s waterfront developments. What are we to make of Dubai’s waterfront developments? What motivates their pursuit? What possible discursive approaches are most appropriate to understand and evaluate these developments? What can other cities learn from Dubai’s experience