Rapid Growth/Change
What differentiates Dubai from other regions within the United Arab Emirates is its early diversification from an oil-reliant economy to one that focused on services and tourism. The wealth and prestige currently enjoyed by many regions within the U.A.E can arguably be stated as being built upon the back of the oil industry. With rich oil deposits and state run production facilities this resulted in unprecedented wealth and a higher standard of living for the citizens of the U.A.E.
Despite the inherent wealth of the region Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stated that he had a vision for what Dubai could be and embarked on enhancing the local economy through the development of real estate projects that would encourage foreign tourists to come to Dubai. Due to favorable government exceptions regarding taxation and the development of a policy that encouraged foreign direct investment Dubai thrived during the late 1990s till early 2006.
Hundreds of ambitious construction projects were put into effect with various developers competing as to who could develop the tallest and most prestigious projects within the city. This resulted in skyrocketing real estate prices as many assumed that Dubai’s growth as a major metropolis would continue to grow and thus investment into local real estate would be a viable means of growing one’s personal wealth.
Other ambitious projects that were underway within Dubai took the form of the Burj Khalifa which is the tallest building in the world, The Burj Al Arab which is the tallest hotel in the world with its distinctive sail design and finally the Palm and World Islands which are artificial man made islands intended to increase Dubai’s coastline and act as a major tourist destination through the development of various resorts and hotels on its various shores.
Unfortunately as a direct result of the 2008 financial crisis Dubai has suffered significant setbacks in its real estate industry. A large percentage of the islands available in “the World” continue to remain unsold and the delinquency in sales has resulted in many of the islands to experience the natural processes of erosion.
While it maybe true that the location continues to be maintained by a sand dredger this particular state of affairs continues to remain unprofitable until sales of the remaining islands on Palm Island and the World are done within the near future. Another unfortunate consequence of the financial crisis is that it has called into question the continued viability of the investing into real estate in Dubai.
What must be understood is that from the latter half of the 1990s to 2006 Dubai continued to expand as a metropolis with quite literary dozens of construction projects being completed within a year. The original vision for Dubai, as developed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was to turn the entire area into both a major business hub and tourist destination. As such unprecedented levels of construction grants were approved to various contractors over the years.
While it may be true that such a goal has largely been achieved as evidenced by the presence of several major corporations within the area the fact remains that Dubai’s continued expansion resulted in more property than consumers. It was assumed that there would always be consumers to purchase units from the rapidly developing metropolis however when the financial crisis hit this resulted in an unprecedented decline in consumer demand.
As a direct result Dubai actually had to borrow money from its neighbor Abu Dhabi in order to pay for its massive debts accumulated during the boom years (Reed, 50 – 52). Today, various unfinished projects continue to dot several areas of Dubai’s urban landscape, as testament to uncontrolled rapid overexpansion that should have been reigned in early in to prevent such a mess from occurring.
Environmental Degradation
One of the inherent problems in dealing with the rapid expansion of any metropolis is the environmental degradation that comes as a direct result of the expansion. While it may not be evident now the fact remains that since Dubai is currently home to 1,771,000 people of varying cultures and descents this represents a considerable number of individuals placed within a region that is no larger than a small U.S. city.
For example, it is a well documented fact that thousands of gallons of human waste and excrement is collected on a daily basis from thousands of septic tanks throughout the city and is transported to the lone sewage treatment plant (the Al-Awir) in order to be processed and sanitized.
Unfortunately, such as system was never meant to contend with the population explosion that Dubai has experienced in the past two decades resulting in various illegal activities ranging from improper dumping procedures in the desert to outright dumping into the ocean or sewer systems. Such an activity poses numerous risks for local residents, especially those swimming in the water, due to the possibility of contracting typhoid and hepatitis from the infected water.
Another problem involving environmental degradation is the sheer amount of pollutants evident in Dubai’s atmosphere at the present. What must be understood is that the primary means of energy production utilized by Dubai is that of several fossil fuel power plants located in various surrounding areas. The inherent problem with this particular means of energy production is the sheer amount of Carbon Dioxide released into the atmosphere which poses severe health hazards for the local population.
In fact due to the Dubai’s growing energy needs several more power plants are expected to be constructed within the coming years which will create even greater levels of pollutants within the atmosphere (Dubai Electricity And Water Authority Selects World Consultant For First Phase Of The Study, 1). It must also be noted that Dubai’s unique geographical location plays a crucial role in the increased levels of CO2 in the upper atmosphere.
In other cities such as Tokyo, Manila and New York prevailing winds and storms tend to scatter the amount of accumulated CO2 in the atmosphere into other locations. Unfortunately in the case of Dubai the relatively arid climate with few storm showers and prevailing winds has helped to ensure that CO2 concentrations continue to remain high which poses a real and verifiable health risk for the residents of the region.
Further contributing to the problem is the sheer amount of cars within Dubai which contribute to CO2 emissions already being released into the atmosphere by fossil fuel power plants (Vehicle Emissions Cost Arab Countries US$5 Billion, 1). It is also an unfortunate fact that alternative energy sources haven’t been explored as much resulting in the problem having no foreseeable solution in the near future.
Crime in Dubai
It is actually rather interesting to note that there is actually very little petty crime occurring in Dubai due to its modernized police force and strict laws for even the simplest criminal violations however this doesn’t mean that there is no crime whatsoever (Crimes In Dubai Down 53% In Q1, 1). Crime in Dubai has taken a more “subtle” approach in that despite prostitution being illegal there is actually a very large prostitution industry present within the region.
This takes the form of various Russian, Ethiopian, African, Filipino and even Indian prostitutes being connected in a vast underground network of prostitution dens and escort services that are both highly illegal yet oddly condoned. The reason behind this is connected to the fact that there is a large male to female imbalance within the region resulting in prostitution becoming a necessity for Dubai’s male population.
The end result is the creation of an organization that thrives on bribes and under the table agreements in order to ensure that the flow of prostitutes continues to supply the apparent need. This is a particularly strange turn of events especially when taking into consideration the fact that Islam doesn’t exactly condone the practice yet many members of the clientele of the various brothels in the city are supposedly devout Muslims.
Another interesting crime that occurs within the country is the manner in which immigrant construction workers are being treated within Dubai. It was seen through numerous investigative studies examining the treatment of Dubai’s construction workers that many are underpaid, overworked and forced to sleep in conditions that many reports describe as “inhuman” with 8 workers at times forced to sleep in a room made at most for two people.
In fact when examining the sheer amount of human rights violations involving construction workers in Dubai it can be stated that this is the most proliferate type of crime within city which was unfortunately tolerated due to the necessity of a large workforce to create many of the buildings seen in Dubai today.
Works Cited
“Crimes In Dubai Down 53% In Q1.” Arabia 2000: International Security & Counter Terrorism Reference Center. 2010 Web.
“Dubai Electricity And Water Authority Selects World Consultant For First Phase Of The Study.” Arabia 2000: International Security & Counter Terrorism Reference Center. 2011 Web.
Reed, Stanley. “Debt Watch In Dubai.” Businessweek 4153: 050-052. Business Source Premier. 2009 Web.
“Vehicle Emissions Cost Arab Countries US$5 Billion.” Arabia 2000: International Security & Counter Terrorism Reference Center. 2010 Web.